Capital markets

Centana Growth Partners has raised $250 million for investment in what it describes as financial services startups with innovations that can be turned into real products.

Wells Fargo, which is expanding its investment banking unit, has hired Mike Mayo to oversee U.S. large-cap bank research.

As long as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac exist, they must have adequate capital so taxpayers will never again be compelled to help them meet their financial obligations.

Many companies in the payments industry see B-to-B transactions as ripe for modernization, and Mastercard is no exception. Its recent participation in a $300 million funding round in AvidXchange enables a new approach to this market.

Citizens Financial is going out of market to find midsize businesses in need of credit or advisory services in uncertain times. It is a good example of the resiliency that regional banks are showing amid softer loan demand, Washington gridlock and still-low interest rates.

Dan Morehead’s Pantera Capital Management, which calls itself the first U.S. bitcoin investment firm, is buying other digital coins.

Merchant acquirers are racing to sell "integrated payments," or a one-stop shop for transaction processing and myriad other services that stores can tie to the point of sale. But small to medium sized businesses are not often the targets for these efforts.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and Comptroller Scott Stringer are pushing to prevent the city from hiring Wells Fargo to lead bond sales or handle other banking business until it improves its track record of lending in poor communities.

Canada's big banks are pursuing wholesale banking, capital markets and select M&A opportunities across the border to hedge against a slowing mortgage market and other economic concerns on the home front.

Murphy Capital Management in Gladstone, N.J., focuses on high-net-worth individuals, businesses and nonprofits.