PayThink 2018 Direct Page

Matt Cullina is head of TransUnion's global cyber insurance business.

Unity Bank in Clinton, NJ, now offers EV charging stations in a collaboration with Encore Energy Group; fintech Beneficient announced its agreement to acquire Puerto Rico-based Mercantile Bank; Trump named payments exec Jared Isaacman to run NASA; and more in this week's banking news roundup.

With a business-friendly crypto and AI overseer, observers expect a softer government approach to tech projects and partnerships.

While it's true that the National Credit Union Administration needs the authority to regulate third-party vendors, credit unions themselves have considerable power to force vendors to observe best practices.

Goldman will no longer be a member of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, a decision largely motivated by a need to comply with mandatory reporting guidelines.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council's annual report underscores mounting challenges in commercial real estate, escalating cyber threats, and regulatory gaps in third-party services and stablecoins, urging stronger oversight and legislative action.

Federal Reserve Gov. Michelle Bowman said Friday that regulators — chief among them the Fed itself — need to do more to combat check fraud, particularly the problem of smaller banks not being reimbursed by larger banks whose checks are altered.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has asked a Texas court to halt Comerica Bank's practices.

Net closings rose to the highest quarterly level in nearly three years. As M&A rebounds, banks are also trimming their physical footprints as customer demand for digital services overshadow in-person transactions.

There is a major opportunity out there, especially for community banks, to displace predatory lenders and earn a healthy return at the same time. It's just a question of making the leap.