Daily Edition

Daily edition for August 24, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated income inequality in America, and that has implications for banks and other lenders. Among those suffering most: renters, front-line workers and minority small-business owners.

Seacoast Banking Corp. of Florida, which has bought 10 banks over the past decade, has agreed to acquire community banks in Sarasota and Melbourne.

The Federal Reserve has been circumspect about whether it will issue its own digital currency. Observers are looking to an upcoming report by the central bank for clarity about its intentions and how a digital dollar would work with private stablecoins.

The payments firm Boku is uniting hundreds of fragmented mobile apps to compete with Visa and Mastercard for unbanked consumers in different regions of the world.

Carol Juel, the bank's tech and operations chief, is pushing the use of agile concepts across the organization. Here's how her efforts are paying off in developing new products, speeding up team meetings and even helping employees schedule their kids' activities.

A consortium including Coinbase Global said all the reserves of the second-largest cryptocurrency stablecoin will shift into cash and short-term U.S. Treasurys, forgoing riskier investments.

Year to date through Jun. 30, 2021. Dollars in thousands.

Year to date through Jun. 31, 2021. Dollars in thousands.

The IRS and Justice Department waged a successful campaign to crack down on UBS and other Swiss banks for facilitating tax evasion. Coinbase, Kraken and other crypto exchanges should take note.

Daily edition for August 23, 2021

Fintechs and banks have stepped up their efforts to help so-called “credit invisibles” obtain credit through secured cards, specialized installment loans and use of alternative data in underwriting. Amid much progress, questions remain about how effective these tools really are.

The regional Fed bank said it was making the move “due to the recently elevated COVID-19 health risk level in Teton County, Wyoming.”

Bankers are hopeful that the rebound in oil prices and a spike in natural gas use are precursors to more borrowing. But banks are maintaining above-average levels of reserves in case the delta variant stifles economic momentum.

The bank, which helped launch the real-time network for peer-to-peer payments, is trying to duplicate that success by helping corporate clients process certain transactions instantly with wholesale partners and, in some cases, retail customers.