Latest banking news, Jan. 27, 2023

Ripple promotes Monica Long to be its president

Monica Long.

The cryptocurrency firm Ripple said its general manager, Monica Long, will be its next president. Long's "deep knowledge of crypto paired with her determination, creativity and ability to think out of the box has made her one of the most respected leaders in the industry and certainly at Ripple," Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said in a press release Friday. Long helped Ripple launch On-Demand Liquidity, which enables cross-border transactions using Ripple's XRP token. The Securities and Exchange Commission sued Ripple in 2020, alleging that the San Francisco company misled investors about XRP by failing to register the asset as a security and failing to provide adequate disclosure. In October, Garlinghouse said he expected an "answer" about the suit in the first half of 2023. — Miriam Cross

Visa hooks up with fintech on digital tipping

A Visa credit card is arranged for a photograph in Tiskilwa, Illinois, on Sept. 18, 2018.

Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

Visa has partnered with the fintech eTip to support digital tipping for hospitality and service industries. eTip uses a QR code and NFC technology that allows consumers to tip staff using a digital wallet or a contactless credit card. eTip enables the worker to receive the tip in real time in their bank account, with Visa Direct supporting instant processing. The technology is aimed at hotels, cruise lines, casinos and resorts. It's designed to avoid peer-to-peer apps, which are used less often for gratuity payments while accommodating a broader migration away from cash. The partnership also contributes to Visa's service strategy, which relies on partnerships with technology companies and other product development that takes advantage of Visa's scale yet reduces the card brand's reliance on income from payment fees. — John Adams

WaFd leader injured in plane crash returning to work

Washington Federal branch in Boise, Idaho

Brent Beardall, president and CEO of Washington Federal in Seattle, plans to return to work within weeks of a Jan. 2 plane crash in which he endured broken bones. Beardall, 51, was hospitalized and underwent surgery. He now expects to leave the hospital on Feb. 10 and return to full-time work about three days later, the $21.7 billion-asset bank, known as WaFd, said. "I feel incredibly blessed to be on the mend so quickly and to work with an exceptional team of bankers who have stepped up and done an outstanding job running the bank during my recovery," Beardall said in a press release. — Jim Dobbs

Texas credit union released from conservatorship

Frank Gargano

Edinburg Teachers Credit Union in Edinburg, Texas, is back in the control of its members after the $96.4 million-asset organization's initial placement into conservatorship by the National Credit Union Administration in March 2021. "Their efforts, along with the hard work of NCUA employees and the Texas Credit Union Department, have led to a credit union that is now on a sound footing and will continue to provide essential financial services to its members. … In short, Edinburg Teachers Credit Union is now set up for long-term success," Todd Harper, chairman of the NCUA, said in a press release Friday. — Frank Gargano

Dutch central bank fines Coinbase

Bloomberg News

The Dutch Central Bank fined the crypto exchange Coinbase for providing digital-asset services in the country prior to its local registration in September. The central bank said Thursday it's imposing an administrative fine of €3.33 million ($3.63 million) on Coinbase Europe Ltd. for operating in the country without registering with the monetary authority. Coinbase obtained its registration in the Netherlands on Sept. 22. Companies seeking to provide crypto services in the Netherlands are required to register with the central bank under the Dutch Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act. The central bank said "the base amount of the fine was increased due to the severity and degree of culpability of the non-compliance." The central bank said Coinbase, which "has a significant number of customers in the Netherlands," was in noncompliance with its rules from November 2020 to August 2022." This meant that Coinbase was unable to report unusual transactions to the Financial Intelligence Unit-Netherlands during the period of non-compliance," the central bank said. "A large number of unusual transactions may have gone unnoticed by the investigative authorities during this period." A Coinbase spokesperson said the company disagrees with the fine and while it respects the central bank's authority to enforce regulations, it is "carefully considering the objections and appeals process." Coinbase has until March 2 to object to the fine. — Cagan Koc, Bloomberg News

Revolut to start offering Irish customers local bank account

Revolut Ltd. will begin offering Irish bank account details to customers in Ireland in the next few months as the fintech continues to expand across Europe. The rollout of Irish International Bank Account Numbers means Revolut's more than 2 million customers in the country will gradually be moved off Lithuanian IBANs. The company said some Irish customers had found employers or service providers refusing to accept an IBAN from a different country within the Single European Payments Area. "Our customers can get their salaries paid directly into Revolut hassle-free, easily make direct debits, and more with the help of an Irish IBAN," Joe Heneghan, CEO Revolut Europe, said. — Aisha S Gani and Morwenna Coniam, Bloomberg News

Barclays names investment banking co-heads

Barclays is appointing Taylor Wright and Credit Suisse veteran Cathal Deasy as its new investment banking chiefs in a major reshuffle of its top dealmaking ranks. John Miller and Jean-Francois Astier, the current co-heads of investment banking at the U.K. firm, are set to leave those roles, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg News. The bank is "in active dialogue about how they will continue to help guide us in senior roles in the organization," the memo shows. Barclays notched record investment banking fees in 2021 and has been seeking to grab share from rivals after rejecting an activist shareholder's push to shrink the Wall Street division. It joins rivals including Citigroup and Deutsche Bank in hiring top bankers from Credit Suisse as the Swiss bank goes through a major restructuring that includes spinning out the bulk of its dealmaking business. The changes will be effective in late March, according to the memo. — Liana Baker, Kiel Porter and Jenny Surane, Bloomberg News, with assistance from Aaron Kirchfeld

Credit Suisse dismisses bankers in Mexico as part of global job cuts

Credit Suisse Group AG Branches Ahead of Earnings

Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg

Credit Suisse Group dismissed most of its team of Mexico-based bankers as part of its global drive to shrink its investment bank, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The cuts were focused on structured-finance investment bankers, leaving the brokerage unit standing, one of the people said, asking not to be identified discussing information that isn't public. "Credit Suisse remains committed to our investment-banking and capital-markets clients throughout the Latin America region," the Zurich-based company said in an emailed statement. "Our global franchise will continue to work with clients in all key markets including Mexico, as it has done for many years." The Swiss lender has been reducing headcount across its divisions after announcing plans last year to eliminate 9,000 roles globally by 2025. The Mexico cuts follow the dismissal of Credit Suisse's team of local equity analysts in December and the transfer of its local wealth portfolio, along with staff, to the Mexican brokerage Corporacion Actinver. Credit Suisse had 38 employees at its Mexican brokerage and investment bank at the end of 2021, and 19 at the end of September, before the equity analysts and investment bankers were cut, according to regulator data and Mexico's AMIB broker association. — Michael O'Boyle, Bloomberg News

Santander sets leadership for U.S. auto lending

A sign hangs outside a Banco Santander bank branch.

Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

The consumer division of Santander US named Betty Jotanovic to lead the bank's financing partnership with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Jotanovic joined Santander in 2018 and will be responsible for credit, funding and deal management activities at Chrysler Capital, according to a press statement from the $65 billion-asset bank. In December, Bruce Jackson was appointed CEO of Santander Consumer USA while also serving as head of its auto business. The leadership changes come as some banks pull back from auto lending amid an economic downturn and concerns about sub-prime lending in the sector. Santander, headquartered in Dallas, focuses on consumer lending across the full credit spectrum and holds the fourth-largest U.S. market share for retail auto lending, according to a J.D. Power report. — Jordan Stutts

Marqeta promotes product exec to CEO

Simon Khalaf.

The digital payment card-issuing platform Marqeta promoted its chief product officer Simon Khalaf to the role of CEO. Khalaf will take over as CEO on Jan. 31, succeeding Jason Gardner, who will become executive chairman of the company. Khalaf, who has held executive roles at technology firms including Verizon and Yahoo, will also join Marqeta's board of directors. Marqeta also said former Google executive Todd Pollak has joined the Oakland, California, company as chief revenue officer. Marqeta, founded in 2010, raised $1.2 billion in a 2021 initial public offering. — Kate Fitzgerald