Bank Notes

Some financial companies are noticing the effects of the war on consumers; they're not concerned yet, but they are paying attention.

First Citizens finally pulls the plug on the failed bank it acquired in 2023. Also, prediction markets are keeping regulators and lawyers busy.

LendingClub has decided to rebrand itself as Happen Bank. What will happen to its ticker symbol?

Iran is charging tolls to cross the Strait of Hormuz, and demanding payment in crypto, which helps it both raise money and evade U.S. sanctions.

The president's nominee for Fed chair should get a hearing, and there will be a lot of questions. What he isn't getting, at least right now, is a vote.

The U.S. is preparing to turn its conflict with Iran into the kind of economic war that Iran has been waging since the start.

JPMorganChase, Bank of America and PNC are all investing money into new branches; actual, physical branches. Not many, but they are doing it.

The development of artificial intelligence could be used to embed a moral architecture in the new financial system.

Goldman Sachs' earnings were stellar, and the other major will likely also be strong; but the details beyond the bottom line that are worth paying attention to.

First-quarter earnings will provide insights into how the Iran war is affecting consumers and how AI is changing banks.

Banks are spending more on security for their executives, given the murder of UnitedHealthcare's CEO; a new lender targets mineral-rights holders.

Goldman Sachs comes under fire for its commitment to diversity, and Jamie Dimon sounds like he's running for something.

Consumer credit card balances are down, a sign consumers are pulling back on spending amid rising gas prices and the Iran war.

Prediction markets are a problem not just for banks, but also for banks' human resources departments; plus, the new Basel framework may end up recreating the environment it was intended to prevent.

Quantum computers are one dire threat for cryptos, but public disinterest is a bigger one.

Unionization efforts at several Wells Fargo locations go in reverse, while the buzzy blockchain stuff overshadows the plain fact that customers want products that help them rather than gee-whiz technology.

A database that holds the details about every attack on databases is itself at risk of being compromised, which would leave banks and other businesses on their own when it comes to network defense.

Banks are a critical link in the chain of elder fraud; blockchain is exciting and infrastructure is boring, but they're actually the same thing; and there are way more home sellers than buyers.

Two credit unions in San Diego are locked in a bitter fight over a proposed merger; and a community bank in upstate New York fights off a corporate raider.

Trading bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is fine, but it's a sideshow: Blockchain is the underlying innovation that has the potential to change the way markets operate.