Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

Stock plunges more than 50% after CFPB, states sue subprime loan servicer for allegedly abusing customers; regional bank looks to underprice Amex and JPMorgan's upscale credit cards.

The bank said it will cover more customers harmed by its sales tactics; one analyst preaches patience on blockchain while a report sees explosive growth.

The FDIC and the Fed approve the bank's living will and remove growth limits; former employees of failed banks like IndyMac and Wamu still have fond memories.

The bank is likely to tout asset management at its upcoming investor day; credit union assets have exceeded banks' growth in the past decade.

The number of fintech startups has declined rapidly; several banks are using customer data to help customize retail offers.

The bank’s top shareholders want the chairman to quit if he won’t support the CEO; HSBC expected to go forward with job cuts while searching for permanent boss.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Wow, what a morning. Scan is still trying to decide whether today's confluence of events out of Washington and Wall Street is poetically just, ironic or just plain spooky. A flood of headlines centered on finalization of the Volcker Rule, a congressional budget deal and the fifth anniversary of Bernard Madoff's arrest. That's a big agenda, but, for brave readers and those who had to get their kids to school early, let's have at the most important matters:

Receiving Wide Coverage ...What's Another $2 Billion at This Point? Paul Volcker and his eponymous rule have been hogging the financial headlines for far too long this week. Time for JPMorgan Chase to take back its usual place at the center of the spotlight, today with news that it's nearing yet another multi-billion-dollar payout to government authorities. This one involves jailed Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff and a deferred-prosecution agreement for actual criminal charges against JPMorgan for turning a blind eye to Madoff's scam as it banked him, anonymice tell the papers.

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Efforts to Cool Bitcoin Fever: The European Banking Authority, which has previously raised concerns with risks tied to virtual currencies such as Bicoin, issued a statement on Friday warning of the possibility of "violent fluctuations in electronic currencies" value and the danger of "digital wallets" being hacked. European authorities argue that consumers should be aware the industry is unregulated and will not be protected. The warning comes after the Bank of China last week restricted its own financial institutions from using Bitcoin as a currency. Financial Times, New York Times

Receiving Wide Coverage ...Yes, Virginia, There is a Volcker Rule: Columnists on both sides of the pond spent the weekend parsing the true meaning of the Volcker Rule, now that U.S. regulators have finalized it. Echoing a piece in American Banker last Tuesday, Gretchen Morgenson concludes in the New York Times that with so many aspects of the measure still open to interpretation — like, um, is this activity an endeavor in approved market making or a thinly veiled attempt at proprietary trading — the success or failure of Volcker "will depend upon the appetite of financial regulators to regulate." So how hungry are the regulators, exactly? That remains unclear. For now, Morgenson argues, Volcker's real gift is a "long overdue" discussion about regulatory accountability. Over in the FT, meanwhile, John Authers opines that having "more qualitative judgement by regulators should work far better" than the useless prescriptions of Basel II (see: 2008 global financial crisis). But that's if regulators can avoid being "outfoxed" by their more handsomely compensated counterparts in the banking sector, he notes.