In a move that highlights the deepening friction between the burgeoning fintech sector and traditional banking regulators, Enova International officially withdrew its applications to the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) this week. The decision marks the termination of a $369 million deal to acquire Grasshopper Bancorp, an acquisition…
By PYMNTS September 14, 2026 Main Facts In a notable shift within the ongoing tech industry legal wars, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence venture xAI and social media platform X have officially moved to drop their high-profile antitrust lawsuit against Apple. According to court filings surfaced by Bloomberg News on Monday, September 14, 2026, the companies…
WASHINGTON — Mortgage rates surged to near-historic highs for the year as a potent mix of stubbornly persistent inflation, geopolitical conflict, and an unexpectedly resilient labor market sent shockwaves through the financial sector. According to market data provided to consumers, the average interest rate on a benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage jumped to 6.98% APR. The…
June 12, 2026 — A recently released federal advisory regarding the banking sector has ignited a firestorm of criticism from consumer advocates and civil rights groups. The guidance, which addresses compliance expectations for financial institutions, is being decried by experts as a thinly veiled mechanism to restrict access to the financial system for immigrant populations…
PROVIDENCE, RI – In a move that highlights the intensifying intersection of corporate finance and social activism, Citizens Bank announced on Friday that it will terminate its long-standing financial relationships with two of the nation’s largest private prison operators, CoreCivic and The GEO Group. Both companies are primary contractors for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement…
By PYMNTS | July 13, 2026 In a move that could reshape the landscape of British financial infrastructure, Mastercard is reportedly exploring the potential sale of Vocalink, its U.K.-based retail payments business. The news, first reported by the Financial Times, comes at a time of heightened scrutiny over the foreign ownership of critical national payment…
By PYMNTS | July 6, 2026 The backbone of Europe’s financial architecture, the European Central Bank’s (ECB) T2 payment system, has found itself under intense scrutiny this week following two separate technical outages within the span of a single seven-day period. These disruptions, occurring on June 29 and again on July 6, have reignited concerns…
WASHINGTON D.C. — In a high-stakes session of the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle converged on a singular, pressing issue: the "Affordability Agenda." The hearing, aimed at addressing the rising cost of living and the financial burdens on American households, quickly transformed into a sharp interrogation of the…
The low-cost aviation sector has long been defined by a complex web of unbundled services, where the base fare is merely the beginning of the transaction. For years, Europe’s largest budget carrier, Ryanair, has sat at the center of this ecosystem, championing a business model that prioritizes extreme efficiency and ancillary revenue. However, a recent…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a pointed escalation of its oversight duties, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a formal call for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to accelerate its internal reforms. The watchdog’s latest communication, a letter addressed to FDIC Chairman Travis Hill, underscores a growing frustration with the pace of change at…
