Regulatory scrutiny over mergers to increase

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February 12, 2022

Regulators signal tougher US bank-merger reviews ahead

US regulatory agencies announced new steps this week for their reviews of proposed bank mergers.

Martin Gruenberg, who took over as acting FDIC chairman following last week's departure of Jelena McWilliams, said the regulator would conduct a comprehensive review of its process for entertaining bank mergers, noting that this hasn't been done in 25 years.

The Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), set a public meeting on March 8, 2022 to discuss U.S. Bank's proposed takeover of MUFG Union Bank.

Both developments are signs that scrutiny of mergers will increase. Banks can't assume anymore that M&A deals will gain relatively speedy approval. They should prepare for more protracted review processes and expect some aspects to attract greater scrutiny.

Insider Intelligence's Tom Auchterlonie has the full story.

BRIEFING HIGHLIGHTS

Apple taps Stripe as first payments provider to incorporate softPOS solution

Stripe will be the first provider to offer Tap to Pay on iPhone, Apple's software point-of-sale (softPOS) solution that will let merchants accept contactless payments like Apple Pay with their iPhones, no additional hardware needed, per a press release.

Our PayPal Core Users Forecast still stands after the company identifies 4.5M illegitimate accounts

Our PayPal Core users forecast remains accurate—even though PayPal CEO Dan Schulman reported during its Q4 earnings call that the firm had identified and removed 4.5 million illegitimate user accounts.

Q2's Helix embedded-finance solution expands its BaaS offerings to retail brands

Q2 is enhancing its lineup with embedded-finance product Helix, which lets fintechs, consumer brands, and tech companies offer banking services to their customers.

B2B startups win big as climate fintech funding soars to $1.2B

Global climate-related fintech funding surged in 2021 to hit $1.2 billion, according to a CommerzVentures report.

Twitter aims for edge in Big Tech's crypto contest with OpenNode investment

Tech heavyweight Twitter invested an undisclosed sum in OpenNode's $20 million funding round that valued the Bitcoin payments provider at $220 million, per CoinDesk.

Digital brokers expand offerings to revive retail investor buzz

Feeling the squeeze from dwindling retail investor activity, digital brokers are branching out to keep customers engaged.

Adyen bets on unified commerce to help carry H2 2021 growth

Netherlands-based acquirer and payment gateway Adyen reported €300 billion ($355 billion) in processed volume in H2 2021—a 72% year over year (YoY) surge, per its shareholder letter. Growth accelerated from H1 2021's 67% increase.

Banks usurped fintechs in merchant services satisfaction, per J.D. Power

Overall small-business satisfaction jumped 23 points from last year to 859 (on a scale of 1,000), according to J.D. Power's 2022 US Merchant Services Satisfaction Study.

American Express checking accounts can check boxes for the company

Amex Rewards Checking is the issuer's first consumer checking account. The no-fee, digital-only account is available to eligible US cardholders and has four core features.

Smaller banks' BNPL hesitancy opens door for provider partnerships

An overwhelming majority of smaller banks are eschewing the buy now, pay later (BNPL) market, per American Banker, citing an IntraFi Network survey showing that 81% have little or no interest in it.

RESEARCH IN FOCUS

Insider Intelligence's Fintech Trends to Watch in 2022

Fintech has reached new heights of funding and adoption, accelerating digital transformation across the financial services industry. Players big and small are scrambling to get ahead of the trends that will make or break growth in the coming year. This report answers questions such as: Has the fintech funding wave hit its peak? Will Big Tech encroachment in financial services impact banking and insurance? How will consumer demand for hyper-personalization reshape banking and payments experiences? How will digital brokerages find new revenue streams as they face margin pressure? And will crypto finally go mainstream?

Get the full report →

US Mobile Banking Emerging Features Benchmark 2021

A strong mobile experience is critical for today's financial institutions (FIs), given consumers' heavy reliance on that channel: 87% of adult US mobile banking users we surveyed in September said that mobile is the primary way they access their checking accounts. This fifth annual study stacks up 23 FIs against one another, evaluating their mobile app capabilities based on consumers' demand for 42 emerging features. The report highlights the most in-demand emerging mobile banking features an FI can offer to attract users. It evaluates 23 FIs across six feature categories and weights their scores according to the results from a survey of US mobile banking users. The findings pinpoint product development priorities for mobile banking apps.

Get the full report →

Payment Channels and Transaction Types

Growing ecommerce, rising connected device penetration, and new technologies like blockchain are reshaping how payment providers that enable commerce do business. To embrace lasting pandemic-driven shifts, they'll need to tap new customer bases and leverage new technology. We size core segments of the payments industry—including retail, B2B, and P2P payments—offer growth insights and forecasts, and evaluate key trends that will reshape providers' strategies in the year ahead.

Get the full report →