Affirm boosts BNPL at Walmart, Uber expands business-travel services

Fulton Financial taps insider to become next president

Fulton Financial in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, said Wednesday it promoted Angela Snyder to become its president effective Jan. 1. Currently the $27 billion-asset bank's chief banking officer, Snyder has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. She joined Fulton in 2002 as president of its Woodstown National Bank and then served as chairwoman, president and CEO of Fulton Bank of New Jersey until 2019, when it was consolidated into Fulton Bank. "Angela is an incredible asset to our organization," said Fulton Chairman and CEO Curt Myers. "She has helped shape our culture with her positive attitude and energy. Her deep knowledge of our business and our customers make her the ideal person to help lead a significant part of our company moving forward." —Jim Dobbs

Walmart adds BNPL to self-checkout via Affirm partnership

Buy now/pay later lender Affirm has expanded its existing collaboration with Walmart to include self-checkout kiosks at more than 4,500 Walmart stores in the U.S. The BNPL option is also available at Walmart's Vision and Auto Centers. Walmart has gradually added financial services to its core brick and mortar network and e-commerce site as it builds a financial "super app," which could bolster Walmart's ability to compete with banks. The retailer recently expanded its digital wallet, enabling users to build credit, while upgrading its shopping and payment technology. Affirm is also expanding in an effort to reach more consumers in stores — more than 90% of its payments volume comes through online channels. Affirm has added a debit card, and reports more than 75,000 consumers per month are signing up for the Visa-branded card.— John Adams

Uber expands services for business travel payments

Uber's enterprise division, Uber for Business, has integrated with payment firms Brex and Ramp in an effort to sell more services to the ride-sharing firm's base of about 200,000 clients. The integrations automate receipt matching for Uber rides and meals, two frequent expense payments for employees. Companies and staff access a dashboard that includes meal programs based on individualized policies for ride- ordering and meals. Ramp's product mix includes a corporate card, while Brex sells financial services to businesses. Brex has been increasing its focus on travel payments as corporate travel recovers following the pandemic. Corporate travel has also become a major focus for fintechs and banks in the past year, as companies apply virtual cards and AI to simplify a complex mix of booking, payments, compliance and reimbursement.. — John Adams

Japan’s MUFG to buy Australia’s Link in $744 million deal

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking said it will buy Australian data manager Link Administration Holdings in a deal valued at about A$1.11 billion ($744 million), as Japanese lenders build on a slew of commitments to acquire higher returning assets abroad.

The unit of Japan's largest bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, will pay A$2.10 per share, a 23.5% premium to Friday's closing stock price, according to a statement from Mitsubishi on Monday. Link, in a separate statement, said its board unanimously recommended shareholders vote in favor of the transaction.

The deal comes a year after the Australian pension fund administration firm said that it could not agree to "appropriate terms" with Canada's Dye & Durham regarding a sale of multiple parts of its business that together had been valued at A$1.27 billion. — Adam Haigh and Harry Brumpton, Bloomberg News

Santander buys stake in Signature Bank loan portfolio for $1.1 billion

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. struck another deal to offload a portion of real estate loans from Signature Bank.

The FDIC sold a 20% stake in a venture that holds roughly $9 billion in loans to an entity controlled by Santander Bank NA, according to a statement Wednesday. The entity, SBNA Investor, paid $1.1 billion. The FDIC will retain an 80% interest in the venture, which holds loans that are backed by rent-stabilized or rent-controlled apartment properties.

The transaction marks the final step in the FDIC's plan to offload about $33 billion of commercial-property loans held by Signature Bank, which failed earlier this year. The government agency has been seeking to sell stakes in ventures tied to the debt, while also carefully navigating concerns of elected officials and community organizers because a portion of the loans are tied to rent-regulated apartments.

A joint venture including Blackstone and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board agreed to buy a $1.2 billion stake in a nearly $17 billion portfolio of commercial-property loans from Signature. Separately, Related Fund Management, an investment manager affiliated with Steve Ross's Related Cos., teamed up with two nonprofits to take stakes in ventures holding a total of $5.8 billion of loans tied to rent-regulated apartment buildings. — Natalie Wong and Patrick Clark, Bloomberg News