Maryland joins other states in passing EWA legislation

May 30, 2025 2:15 PM

In this week's banking news roundup: Maryland is the 10th state to pass legislation overseeing the earned wage access industry; Truist Financial adds Morgan Stanley's former Finance Chief Jonathan Pruzan to its board; South Carolina-based The Citizens Bank agrees to buy a First Capital Bank branch in North Carolina; and more.

Adobe Stock

Maryland passes bill to regulate EWA

Maryland has become the 10th state to pass legislation overseeing the burgeoning earned wage access industry, joining Arkansas, California, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin.

The law establishes licensing requirements through the Maryland Department of Financial Regulation and requires EWA providers to provide fee disclosures and offer a no-cost delivery option. It also caps expedited delivery fees at $5 for advances under $75 and at $7.50 for advances over $75, and sets EWA as nonrecourse.

"This law is a major win for Maryland consumers and a model for the rest of the country," said Fara Remtulla, COO of Brigit, an EWA and financial wellness fintech that worked with lawmakers to shape the bill. "While robust consumer protections have been a part of our business since day one, this law ensures every worker who relies on any EWA product can access their earned wages safely, transparently and affordably without falling into a debt trap." —Joey Pizzolato

Truist

Truist adds ex-Morgan Stanley finance chief to its board

Truist Financial's board of directors is growing by one with the appointment of Jonathan Pruzan, whose 30-year career at Morgan Stanley included six years as chief financial officer.

Pruzan will serve on the board's risk committee, Truist said in a press release. His arrival means the board once again has 13 directors. Patrick Graney III, who had been a director since 2018, stepped down in late August due to health reasons, according to a regulatory filing.

Pruzan left Morgan Stanley in 2023 after working for four years as its chief operating officer. He is currently a co-president at Pretium, a specialized investment firm focused on U.S. residential real estate with more than $60 billion in assets under management, the bank's release said. —Allissa Kline

The Citizens Bank to buy a North Carolina branch

Two South Carolina-based banks — The Citizens Bank in Olanta and First Capital Bank in Charleston — have entered into a purchase-and-assumption agreement in which First Capital Bank will sell its Laurinburg, North Carolina, branch to The Citizens Bank.

The deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year, includes certain deposits and certain loans, cash, personal property and other fixed assets, the banks said in a joint press release. The Citizens Bank plans to retain all First Capital employees, it said.

The Citizens Bank operates about two dozen branches in South Carolina. First Capital Bank has five branches, including the Laurinburg branch, and one loan production office in the Carolinas. Each bank has $1 billion of assets. —Allissa Kline

Preferred Bank in LA starts new share buyback

Preferred Bank's shareholders have approved a new stock repurchase plan, totaling $125 million.

The Los Angeles-based bank completed on May 8 its prior buyback program, which totaled $150 million and was authorized in 2023. In that program, Preferred Bank bought 2.15 million shares at an average price of $70.13 each, the bank said in a press release dated May 22.

"As organic growth has slowed, the bank's capital ratios will continue to climb due to our high level of profitability," Chairman and CEO Li Yu said in the release. "In this setting, buying back our common stock is a great use of the bank's excess capital and an indirect way of returning capital to our shareholders."

The stock traded Friday afternoon around $84.02 and is down about 1.8% for the year. —Mary de Wet

Citi finds buyer for another overseas consumer franchise

Citigroup said this week that its Polish subsidiary, Citi Handlowy, has agreed to sell its consumer banking business to Velobank, marking the latest development in the megabank's multiyear initiative to exit retail banking in 14 overseas markets where it was underperforming.

The transaction is expected to close by mid-2026, Citi said in a press release. The deal includes wealth management, micro-business banking, credit cards, consumer loans, deposits and assets under management, consumer clients of the brokerage business, branches and other consumer assets. It excludes Citi's institutional businesses, which Citi Handlowy will retain.

Citi's pending exit from Poland would leave just one overseas market departure to handle. Last year, the bank separated its Mexico retail franchise, Banamex, from its corporate and investment banking business.

It plans to take Banamex public this year with an initial public offering. The timing of the IPO depends on regulator approvals and market conditions to maximize shareholder value, Citi said. —Allissa Kline

MSUFCU names Benjamin Maxim chief technology officer

MSU Federal Credit Union has promoted Benjamin Maxim to chief technology officer. Maxim will lead the credit union's technology, product, innovation and engineering strategies to drive MSUFCU's continued leadership in digital member experiences.

"Ben brings a unique combination of technical expertise, product innovation, and credit union values," said April Clobes, MSUFCU president and CEO in a press release.

Maxim began his career at MSUFCU in 2007 as a web developer and has held multiple leadership positions during his tenure, including launching and leading its innovation center, the Lab at MSUFCU, which explores emerging technologies and fintech solutions to enhance the member experience. He also serves as chief operating officer of Reseda Group, the award-winning credit union service organization powered by MSUFCU.

The $8.26 billion-asset MSUFCU has been ranked in American Banker's Best Credit Unions to Work For six times. —Traci Parks

Ex-Goldman Banker Leissner gets 2 years in 1MDB fraud case

Former Goldman Sachs Group banker Tim Leissner, who pleaded guilty to helping loot the Malaysian investment fund 1MDB, was sentenced to two years in prison over his role in the massive fraud.

U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie in Brooklyn, New York, imposed the sentence at a hearing Thursday, calling his conduct "brazen and audacious."

Leissner had asked not to go to prison, arguing that his cooperation with prosecutors had resulted in the conviction of a former colleague and billions of dollars in global fines against Goldman.

Leissner, 53, had faced as long as 25 years in prison after pleading guilty in 2018 to one count of conspiring to violate bribery laws and conspiring to launder money.

The German citizen was at the center of what U.S. prosecutors described as one of the largest financial frauds in history in which billions of dollars were siphoned from the Malaysian investment fund, 1MDB. —Patricia Hurtado, Bloomberg