Dive Deposits: CFPB Tamps Down on Complaint Portal
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced new landing‑page language that forces consumers to dispute credit‑report errors directly with Experian, Equifax or TransUnion before filing a complaint. Credit‑reporting issues now make up more than 88% of the agency’s portal submissions, and total complaints have jumped from 542,300 in 2020 to nearly 5.6 million in 2025. The rule requires a 45‑day waiting period after a dispute and allows the CFPB to dismiss filings that skip the first step. Industry groups welcomed the move as a way to curb bot‑generated and boiler‑plate complaints, while consumer advocates warn it could deter vulnerable users.
Washington State Credit Unions Buying Banks Face New Tax
Washington has imposed a 1.2% business and occupation tax on gross income from credit‑union acquisitions of banks, effective for deals submitted after Jan. 1, 2026. The levy applies only to Washington‑chartered credit unions, exempting out‑of‑state entities and pre‑2026 filings. The move follows...
Huntington Hires BNY Alum as Next Risk Chief
Huntington Bancshares announced that former BNY Mellon chief risk officer Senthil Kumar will assume the role of chief risk officer on February 16, as the lender transitions to a Category III bank after its $279 billion Cadence acquisition. The move follows the...
Payoneer CFO Eyes Stablecoin, AI Innovation Amid ‘Stop-Start’ Economy
Payoneer CFO Bea Ordonez says the company is navigating a volatile, stop‑start global trade environment by doubling down on its highly local, globally‑scaled network. The fintech firm, which operates across 7,000 trade routes and holds eight regulatory licenses, is investing...
Santander to Buy Webster for $12.3B
Spanish banking giant Banco Santander announced a $12.3 billion cash‑and‑stock acquisition of Connecticut‑based Webster Financial Corporation, which holds $84 billion in assets. The deal will make Webster a wholly‑owned subsidiary and integrate its operations into Santander Bank, N.A., with Webster’s CEO John Ciulla...
U.S. Bank COO to Retire This Spring
U.S. Bank announced that its chief operations officer, Souheil Badran, will retire this spring after three years in the role. The bank has not yet identified a successor and says it will rely on its robust succession‑planning program, with Badran...
Why some Payments Companies Want to Be Banks
Payments companies such as PayPal, Stripe, Affirm, Revolut and Checkout.com are applying for state and federal banking charters to gain direct access to credit‑card networks and eliminate reliance on partner banks. A special‑purpose charter, first granted to Fiserv, would let...
Wells Fargo Launches Internal Proxy Voting Service
Wells Fargo’s wealth and investment‑management division has rolled out an internal proxy‑voting service, leveraging Broadridge’s platform to administer and process votes. The move makes Wells Fargo the second major asset manager, after JPMorgan Chase, to replace third‑party advisers with a proprietary solution. It...
BNY Dismissed From Epstein Case, but BofA Must Face some Claims
A federal judge dismissed all Jeffrey Epstein‑related claims against BNY, while allowing two specific allegations against Bank of America to proceed. The surviving BofA claims allege the lender acted as a knowing beneficiary of Epstein’s sex‑trafficking operation and obstructed federal...
Trump Nominates Kevin Warsh as Next Fed Chair
President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh will be his nominee for the next Fed chair, succeeding Jerome Powell whose term expires in May 2026. Warsh, who served on the Fed board from...
What’s Coming for the Banking Industry in 2026
Banking Dive reports that 2025’s 181 mergers and acquisitions are set to more than double in 2026, driven by pent‑up demand and faster regulator reviews. De novo charter applications climbed from 18 in 2025 to an anticipated 25 this year, with...
UMB CEO Takes ‘Measured’ Tone on M&A
UMB CEO Mariner Kemper said the bank will keep its M&A approach "measured," focusing on organic growth while staying open to strategic tuck‑in deals. The lender, which completed a $2.8 billion Heartland Financial acquisition last year, aims to avoid transactions that...
Ally Taps Former Acting OCC Chief as Policy Adviser
Ally Financial announced the appointment of former acting OCC comptroller Rodney Hood as a senior policy adviser to CEO Michael Rhodes. Hood, who also chaired the NCUA and held senior roles at JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and NationsBank, will guide Ally’s...
How Payment Processing Works
The article breaks down payment processing into its core components, detailing the six key players—from cardholder to acquiring bank—and the four-stage transaction flow of authorization, authentication, clearing, and settlement. It explains the distinct roles of acquirers, processors, and gateways, then...
Why Voice-Based Scams Are a Growing Threat to Banks
Phone‑based scams have moved from a niche consumer problem to a material risk for banks, with U.S. consumers losing over $12.5 billion in 2024, many through voice attacks. Fraudsters exploit the inherent trust of human speech and caller‑ID spoofing to impersonate...
FDIC Conditionally Approves Ford, GM ILC Charters
The FDIC has conditionally approved industrial loan company (ILC) charters for Ford Credit Bank and GM Financial Bank, allowing the automakers to launch deposit‑insured banks in Utah. Both banks will focus on auto lending, drawing funding from retail savings accounts...
Affirm Seeks Nevada Bank Charter
Affirm Holdings announced it has filed applications with Nevada regulators and the FDIC to launch a Nevada‑chartered industrial loan company, dubbed Affirm Bank. The move aims to give the buy‑now‑pay‑later firm a banking platform to introduce new financial products beyond...
Inside the Explosion of Banking Charter Applications
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) saw a surge of charter applications in 2025, matching the volume of the previous four years combined. Driven by fintechs and non‑bank firms seeking de novo, national‑trust, and industrial‑loan‑company charters, six applicants...
Wyoming Has Big Plans for Stablecoin
Wyoming became the first U.S. state to publicly sell a stablecoin, launching the Frontier (FRNT) token on Jan. 7 and generating $1.5 million in sales within the first week. The token, backed at 102 % by dollars and short‑duration Treasuries and operating across...
Senator Probes BNY for More Epstein Info
Senator Ron Wyden has sent a letter to BNY Mellon demanding answers about the bank’s handling of wire transfers linked to Jeffrey Epstein. The inquiry highlights that BNY failed to file suspicious activity reports on 18 million‑dollar transfers until 2019,...
PNC Mandates 5-Day RTO Starting May 4
PNC announced that all employees must return to the office five days a week starting May 4, citing the bank’s relationship‑driven culture and the need for in‑person collaboration. CEO Bill Demchak framed the shift as a natural evolution from the pandemic‑era...
M&A in 2026 May Put More Distance Between Big, Small Banks
Bank‑M&A activity is set to surge in 2026 as regulators slash approval timelines and raise asset‑size thresholds. After 181 deals in 2025, analysts expect the number of announced transactions to double, creating a barbell market where mid‑tier banks grow larger...
Coastal Financial Buys ‘Climate-Friendly’ Fintech GreenFi
Coastal Financial Corp. announced the acquisition of the GreenFi brand, a climate‑friendly consumer finance platform, for an undisclosed amount. The deal gives Coastal full governance and long‑term stewardship of GreenFi while preserving existing banking services and customer experiences. Mission Financial...
Vought Concedes on CFPB Funding
Acting CFPB Director Russ Vought submitted a request to the Federal Reserve for $145 million to fund the agency through the second quarter of fiscal year 2026, complying with a Dec. 30 court order. The order rejected the Justice Department’s claim that the...
Digital Adoption Is Accelerating Across Credit Unions — but Are the Systems Underneath Ready?
Credit unions are accelerating digital transformation, with the 2025 Credit Union Innovation Readiness Index showing an 8.5% rise in early technology adoption among the smallest institutions. However, many still rely on legacy, batch‑oriented core systems that are ill‑suited for real‑time,...
Jenius Bank Employees Say the Bank Is Closing
Jenius, the digital‑banking arm of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., appears to be shutting down after several former employees announced the closure on LinkedIn and noted the removal of the brand’s social‑media presence. The bank’s CEO cited poor market performance and...
Michigan’s Zeal Credit Union to Buy Another UP Bank
Zeal Credit Union of Livonia, Michigan, announced it will acquire The Miners State Bank, adding five branches and roughly $144 million in assets. The deal, closing in Q4 2026, will bring Zeal’s footprint to 22 branches and about $1.1 billion in assets...
Jefferies Takes $30M Loss over First Brands Investment
Jefferies disclosed a $30 million pretax loss tied to the collapse of auto‑parts supplier First Brands, reflecting roughly $45 million of direct exposure through its Point Bonita fund. The loss appears in the bank’s fiscal fourth‑quarter report, the first after First Brands filed for Chapter 11...
Baltimore Sues Fintech Dave over Cash Advance Product
Baltimore filed a lawsuit against fintech Dave, accusing the company of misleading marketing and usurious fees tied to its ExtraCash Advances product. The city alleges the product’s APR can exceed 2,500%, far above Maryland’s 33% cap, and that mandatory overdraft...
BofA Sued over Alleged Jan. 6 ‘Surveillance’
Bank of America faces a federal lawsuit alleging it data‑mined its entire customer base to flag anyone who used a BofA product in the Washington, D.C., metro area between Jan. 5‑7, 2021, linking them to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. The plaintiff claims...
JPMorgan Eschews Proxy Advisers for Internal AI Tool
JPMorgan Asset & Wealth Management will replace external proxy advisors with its own AI-driven tool, Proxy IQ, for U.S. shareholder voting. The change, slated for completion in Q1 2026, follows CEO Jamie Dimon's criticism of proxy advisers and aligns with...
4 Banking Trends to Watch in 2026
Banking activity surged in 2025, with M&A announcements jumping 45% to 181 deals, driven by regional players seeking scale. Regulatory agencies shifted tone, reopening de novo charter doors and sparking interest in industrial‑loan‑company structures. AI investments accelerated, with banks like JPMorgan...
Former Piedmont Bank Execs Start Georgia De Novo
Former Piedmont Bank executives have received FDIC and Georgia banking department approvals to launch Georgia Skyline Bank, a de novo community lender based in Roswell. They are closing in on a minimum $25 million capital raise, targeting $25‑35 million to fund operations and...
HSBC Taps BNP Paribas Exec to Lead Sustainable Finance, Transition in Asia
HSBC announced the appointment of Chaoni Huang, a former BNP Paribas sustainability executive, as managing director and head of its sustainable finance and transition business in Asia. Huang brings roughly 20 years of experience across BNP Paribas, Natixis, MSCI, Trucost and the...
Peruvian Lender to Acquire Florida’s Helm Bank for $180M
Banco de Crédito del Perú (BCP) announced a $180 million acquisition of Florida‑based Helm Bank, a lender with $1.1 billion in assets and a loan book dominated by residential mortgages. The deal, pending U.S. and Peruvian regulatory clearance, is positioned to boost...
CFPB Must Request Funds From Fed, Court Rules
A federal judge ruled that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) must continue requesting funding from the Federal Reserve, rejecting the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel interpretation of “combined earnings.” The decision follows CFPB Director Russ Vought’s effort to...
OceanFirst to Buy Flushing Bank in $579M NY Expansion
New Jersey‑based OceanFirst Financial Corp. announced a $579 million acquisition of Long Island’s Flushing Financial Corp., slated to close in the second quarter of 2026. The merger will add 30 New York branches and roughly $8.9 billion in assets, creating a $23 billion‑asset...
4 Strategies to Retain Deposits, Attract New Account Holders and Drive Growth
Community banks face deposit erosion as fintechs lure customers, but Cornerstone Advisors estimates a $2 trillion growth opportunity if banks integrate digital investing. Embedding investment services into mobile and online banking can retain deposits and attract younger clients, while generationally tailored...
Democratic AGs Sue Trump Administration over CFPB Funding
Nearly two dozen Democratic state attorneys general, led by New York AG Letitia James, have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding shutdown. Acting CFPB Director Russ Vought refused to request money from...