A consumer debt threat, fintech mania, and the crisis never ended: Top stories of the week

Consumers are back to their old spending and saving habits; Trump administration is encouraging financial innovation; some fintech firms could soon be regulated more like banks; and more from this week's most-read stories.

Consumer debt is at an all-time high. Should banks be worried?

Charting the U.S. personal savings rate from 1970 through 2018.
As memories of the financial crisis fade, consumers are back to their old spending and saving habits — and that could be a big problem.

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6 takeaways from Treasury fintech report: National charter, breaches and more

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin
Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Treasury secretary, arrives to a joint statement with U.S. President Donald Trump and Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, not pictured, in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, July 25, 2018. Trump reached an agreement today with Juncker aimed at averting a transatlantic trade war, easing tensions stoked by Trump's threat to impose tariffs on car imports. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
The Trump administration is making more than 80 recommendations to encourage financial innovation within a regulated space, including endorsing the creation of a federal fintech charter.

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The crisis isn't over

m500099_Dimond_Legal.jpg
Ten years ago, it was a banking crisis, but it became a political one. That crisis never ended.

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After years of debate, OCC to offer fintech charter

Joseph Otting
Joseph Otting, comptroller of the U.S. currency, speaks after being sworn-in during a ceremony at the U.S. Treasury in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Monday, Nov. 27, 2017. Otting, a former OneWest Bank Group chief executive officer, won Senate approval this month to lead a key U.S. bank regulator, further clearing the way for the Trump administration to roll back Wall Street regulations. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
The decision, unveiled just hours after the Treasury Department endorsed the charter concept, means some fintech firms could soon be regulated more like banks.

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Where GSE reform went wrong

Signage in front of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac headquarters.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac remain in conservatorship nearly a decade after the financial crisis, and there's still no end in sight.

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Go Midwest, young fintechs

Hurry Home co-founders John Gibbons and Jada McLean listen to employees.
Some startups are eschewing San Francisco and New York to set up shop in the middle of America. And for good reason.

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Inside USAA’s redesign of its digital offerings

Meriah Garrett USAA
Chief Design Officer Meriah Garrett provides a look at the bank's efforts to make mobile app and website design more user-friendly.

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Fintech vendors keep reinventing themselves – and banks are struggling to keep up

Quarterly fintech investment according to KPMG
Vendors keep merging, and new ones keep forming. For banks, the change brings access to more options, but shorter relationships.

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Synchrony at strategic crossroads after losing Walmart deal

Margaret Keane, president and CEO of Synchrony Financial
The Stamford, Conn., issuer of store credit cards has two potential options after the retail giant chose to partner with Capital One. But the decision over which path to take is out of its hands.

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The weak spot in banks' cyberinsurance

Four big data breaches in recent years by number of records stolen
A community bank in Virginia thought the $2.4 million hackers stole from its customers would be fully covered by its insurance policy, but its carrier begged to differ. Their highly technical legal fight is a cautionary tale for all bankers who assume they are sufficiently covered.

(Full story here.)
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