Citi exits 2024 enforcement action
The megabank cleared a regulatory hurdle when the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency freed it from a July 2024 amendment to a consent order. Two other orders, one from the OCC and the other from the Federal Reserve, remain in place.
Stripe’s agentic play; Google doubles down on India
The payment fintech is marketing technology that lets merchants sell through AI agents; Google adds a credit card for India’s national real-time payment rail. That and more in American Banker’s global payments and fintech roundup.
Comerica gives fuller account of Fifth Third deal talks
The Dallas bank turned down another offer because it thought it could get a higher price from Fifth Third, and also could ink an agreement faster, according to Comerica’s latest regulatory filing.
Trump directs DEA to reschedule cannabis
Moving cannabis from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug would not legalize cannabis or remove all barriers to cannabis banking, but it would allow operators to write off expenses, increase cannabis customer cash flow and eligibility for favorable loans.
Fed rescinds Biden-era crypto guidance
The Federal Reserve said in a statement that its “understanding of innovation products and services have evolved” since the initial guidance was published in 2023.
CVB in SoCal strikes deal to boost Bay Area presence
The merger with Heritage Financial joins two commercially focused banks, creating a $21.7 billion-asset institution with a presence in all of the Golden State’s major markets.
Inflation slows to 2.7% in surprise November CPI report
The Bureau of Labor Statistics Thursday indicated that the Core Consumer Price Index indicated that inflation rose by only 2.7% in November versus a year ago, a pace that is the slowest rate of price increases since 2021.
The stablecoin yield fight still rages, but on a new battlefield
Banks are unlikely to get the language of the GENIUS Act amended to better defend deposits. But Noelle Acheson explains how that doesn’t mean they won’t get what they want.
Bessent: Fannie, Freddie offering hinges on MBS spreads
The Treasury official renewed a pledge to avoid hurting how mortgages trade in a Fox Business News interview as a new study highlighted one way to do that.
Despite a tough year, SBA’s popularity with lenders endures
Banesco USA in Miami is among the banks that are eyeing the government-guaranteed lending program as a source of growth.