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Santander Enters the Ring, FinTech Charter Roadblock, Recession Checklist

By Tito Donis

October 27, 2019

Greetings,

Thousands of FinTech leaders are gathering for Money 2020 this Sunday thru Wednesday. If you’d like to get together, please email us.

We highlighted the Fed interventions in the repo market in the last few weeks. The interventions, unusual for a slow growth steady-as-she-goes economic environment, are raising questions for risk managers: “what are the risks underneath the surface that we’re missing?” The NY Fed has increased permanent and temporary repo operation offerings from $75 billion to $120 billion and saw strong demand for its offerings.

Below is a snapshot from a slide PeerIQ shared at the U.S. Installment Lending Roundtable conference in NYC, a closed-door group of CxO leaders representing the nation’s largest banks and non-bank lenders. PeerIQ customers can ping their client coverage for the full deck.

Recession Checklist – Indicators Mixed

On the regulatory front, The Fed and FDIC question if agencies are assigning bank ratings consistent with the Camels System. FDIC Chairwoman, Jelena McWilliams, stated that reviewing Camels is one of her top priorities as Chair.

The OCC FinTech charter experienced a major setback this week. Federal U.S. District Court Judge, Victor Marrero, ruled that the OCC lacked legal power to grant a bank charter to a non-bank entity that is not eligible for deposit insurance. The judged cited the “business of banking clause” in the National Bank Act which states, “the business of banking requires that only firms that take deposits can receive a national bank charter.” The OCC has indicated it will appeal the decision.

In industry news, Santander Bank has announced plans to offer digital banking services sporting 1.9% deposit rates. Santander will aim to create a new online portal with better money market rates than Wall Street banks – a not so subtle dig at Marcus.

In financing news, Finitive, led by CEO Jon Barlow, closed $2 million in venture debt round with Silicon Valley Bank. Finitive provides institutional investors with alternative lending investments. Finitive will use the proceeds to further invest in its technology platform, which brings efficiency to investing and raising capital in the alternative lending sector.

OnDeck has partnered with Investors Bank. Investors Bank plans to use OnDeck’s digital loan origination platform to increase its small business lending program in selected areas of its banking network. The alliance with OnDeck will allow Investors Bank’s small business customers to complete an online application in minutes, using desktop or mobile devices. If customers are approved, they can receive funding from Investors Bank in one business day.

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