“Why Powell Won’t Say If He Is Staying On The Fed Board”
Jerome Powell’s term as Fed chair ends on May 15, but his term as a Fed governor runs to 2028 and he’s not saying whether he plans to leave in May or stay on. After the FOMC voted Wednesday to hold the fed funds rate steady, Powell dismissed a question about his plans, saying, “I don’t want to get into this.” Conventional wisdom had been that Powell would indeed leave the Fed board in May but that was before the DOJ launched an investigation of his past testimony about a building renovation. “Powell, who turns 73 next week, isn’t looking to extend his career in government—but agreeing to leave in exchange for the investigation going away, even implicitly, would validate the very pressure campaign he has spent the past year avoiding,” the WSJ reported.
Earlier this week, I discussed the DOJ’s investigation into Powell and other Fed developments with Politico’s Victoria Guida on Banking with Interest.
“State Regulators Optimistic About Shift In Bank Supervision”
State supervisors are encouraged by a Fed plan to rely more heavily on state bank exams, which they say could reduce duplication and shorten exam timelines. The revised approach would also focus examiners more squarely on material financial risks, though some warn that greater reliance on states could create gaps or inconsistencies if standards vary.
“How Fintechs Disrupt Deposits To Acquire Primary Banking Relationships”
Fintechs are using payments as a “backdoor” to gradually pull primary relationships away from banks, this article says. It argues that BNPL has gone mainstream and that apps bundling debit, wallets, P2P, and other payment offerings are driving measurable churn at incumbents. The article also outlines ways banks can defend their turf.
“Two CEOs Dish on the State of Banking and M&A”
Neal Arnold, CEO of Sunflower Bank in Dallas, and Rory Ritrievi, CEO of Mid Penn Bancorp in Harrisburg, PA, are upbeat about the M&A outlook, supported by strong credit and a regulatory environment that appears open to deals. They expect more transactions this year and offer practical integration advice, while noting that uncertainty around the relationship between the Fed and Trump administration could weigh on dealmaking activity.
“How Crypto Legislation Has Banks Playing Whac-A-Mole”
Banks are pushing lawmakers to ban “yield-like” rewards on stablecoins, warning that deposits could migrate to crypto platforms offering higher returns. The fight is complicated by a complex network of players that includes issuers, exchanges, and intermediaries, where new workarounds can emerge at different points in the chain just as quickly as rules try to close loopholes.
“Banks Keep Personalizing. Customers Keep Leaving.”
Customers aren’t abandoning banks because they don’t trust them; they leave when experiences feel generic, disjointed across channels, or not meaningfully tailored to their needs. To retain customers, banks should connect data across products and touchpoints so personalization feels genuinely useful, this article says.
“What The Changing Regulatory Landscape Means For Credit”
Deregulation could lead to less frequent and less intensive bank exams, particularly if examiner vacancies persist. However, banks shouldn’t stray too far from safety-and-soundness basics as the regulatory pendulum swings, one expert warns.
In Other News
Big companies keep slashing headcount to unwind pandemic-era hiring, the WSJ examines what a weaker dollar could mean for trade, travel, and investment, and are we heading for another government shutdown? Thanks for reading.