The neobank is also benefiting from its product diversity.

In October's roundup of top banking news: Navy Federal's contract with the Department of Defense remains in limbo, check fraud takes a bite out of Regions Financial's third-quarter earnings, a Community Reinvestment Act rule gets finalized and more.

By purchasing the merchant acquirer Atlantic-Pacific Processing Systems, the fintech Stax has rounded out its offerings in a way that echoes the structure of larger payment companies.

CEO Scott Sanborn said it's unclear when demand from banks to buy the fintech's loans will return.

Javice, accused of defrauding JPMorgan Chase in its $175 million acquisition of her college-loan-planning site, says the bank was not sticking to a court order requiring it to pay for her legal defense.

The fintech Greenlight Financial has formed a CUSO to expand access to its family banking app and educational resources after strong interest from credit unions.

American Banker's latest innovation report found that strategic corporate transactions are important for most banks but offer distinctive challenges. Fintech acquisitions give banks maximum control but can be hard to integrate if the buyers don't approach the process thoughtfully.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's proposal would give consumers a legal right to grant third parties access to financial data for a specific use, but firms cannot sell the data or use it for their own benefit — including by feeding it into algorithms or artificial intelligence.

Billy Beale joined the small Virginia bank in May, several months after its fintech partnership strategy landed it in hot water with regulators. "There's still a lot of just blocking and tackling that we've got to do to get the bank to work the way it's supposed to," he says.

The recent round of terminations comes after the neobank cut 225 employees in January.