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Big-bank executives explained this week why they're still investing in their physical footprints, even as AI advances rapidly and financial technology firms wade deeper into the banking business.

Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought told the House Budget Committee Wednesday that the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund is still a target for elimination by the administration because it promotes "woke" ideology.

The topic of AI implementation came up on several big banks' first-quarter earnings calls. Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick said Wednesday that the firm views AI as a friend.

Brazil's real-time payment rail is adding PayPal as an option for small- to medium-size business payments; HSBC is launching a Hong Kong dollar-denominated stablecoin; Sezzle expands BNPL; and more in this week's global payment roundup.

A sharp decline in charge-offs, as well as lower volumes of criticized and nonaccrual loans, gave the Buffalo-based regional bank the confidence to operate with a smaller capital cushion.

Nir Zuk, who founded cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks and retired from the firm last year, has applied to acquire voting shares in Liberty Bank, N.A.

The card network expanded work with blockchain firms OwlTing and Tempo, increasing its reach into agentic commerce and stablecoins.

President Donald Trump said he would fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell if he does not resign after his term as head of the central bank ends in May. Trump made a similar threat against Fed Gov. Lisa Cook before attempting to fire her last August.

Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is pushing the Federal Reserve for records related to Fed chair-designate Kevin Warsh's actions as a member of the Fed board during the 2008 financial crisis.

The deal between OpenAI and personal financial management startup Hiro Finance, the second of its kind for the AI company, will lead to the sunset of the Hiro platform next month.

The investment bank reported a surge in net revenues for the first quarter, aided by robust client activity in investment banking and wealth management.

The Pittsburgh-based bank expanded its geographic footprint — and grew its loans and deposits during the first quarter — with the purchase of FirstBank in Colorado. Expenses also rose as the bank paid up to begin integrating its acquisition.

After a strong first quarter, America's second-largest bank hailed the resilience of the U.S. consumer, but also forecast rising inflation in the near future.

The credit card giant's BVNK acquisition wasn't a bet on crypto hype. It was a hedge against irrelevance. It suggests that the companies that defined the last era of finance are now preparing for a very different future.

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