Small businesses’ must-haves: Speed, simplicity, capital
American Banker’s 2025 Small Business Banking conference yielded lessons about the need for speed, simplicity and safety in small-business lending. Other key takeaways included the significance of digital payment options and the importance of continuing to process SBA loan requests during the government shutdown.
Western Union plots its stablecoin move
The legacy money transfer firm plans to launch USDPT, a coin designed to improve international payment processing. That and more in the American Banker global payments and fintech roundup.
What the pullback of U.S. climate guidance means for banks
Credit analysts say climate risk could still pose a financial threat to financial institutions, even though the federal government has taken an ax to Biden-era climate guidance.
Fiserv’s earnings miss ‘difficult to comprehend’
The bank technology company, which faces market pressure from fintechs, cut its outlook by about 20% and restructured its leadership following the departure of former CEO Frank Bisignano to the Trump administration.
The OCC has fired the starting pistol in a race to open new banks
The agency’s approval of the stablecoin-focused Erebor will be the first of many applications to open new banks, many focused on nontraditional elements of the business.
Democratic Senators demand answers on Binance pardon
The lawmakers suggest ties between the former Binance chief and the Trump family could have led to the pardon.
Court halts compliance with CFPB’s final open banking rule
A district court has agreed to halt compliance with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Biden-era open banking rule while the Trump administration pursues its own rule.
Improving employee retention requires more than money
Replacing employees is expensive in terms of both time and money. The real management challenge is identifying the drivers of employee churn and eliminating them.
As Fed mulls the end of QT, what lessons have been learned?
The Federal Open Market Committee is expected to announce guidance on the end of its quantitative tightening program later Wednesday. As that process draws to a close, experts are questioning when and how the central bank should use its balance sheet to smooth economic stress in the future.
CFPB kills two Biden-era nonbank registries, citing costs
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is rescinding two rules issued under former CFPB Director Rohit Chopra that required nonbanks to register court orders, plus terms and conditions of contracts.