President Trump called Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky a "dictator" and accused him of starting the war with Russia, Politico's "Morning Money" published a postmortem on Bidenomics, and don't look up! An asteroid large enough to wipe out an entire city has a 3.1% chance of hitting Earth. Here's what else you might want to read this week:
"Trump Order Tightens White House Grip on Fed, SEC"
President Trump signed an executive order giving Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought control over independent agency budgets, enabling Vought to draft performance standards and management objectives for independent agency heads, and mandating that independent agencies submit for review "significant" regulations to the OMB.
The order could have major implications for financial regulation and supervision by bringing independent agencies under the executive branch. While it could give banks a regulatory reprieve (at least temporarily), it could also lead to longer-term uncertainty and volatility, experts warn.
I discussed the administration's efforts to remake bank regulation with Victoria Guida of Politico and Brendan Pedersen of Punchbowl News on Banking with Interest this week; check out the episode here.
Last Friday, a federal judge ordered the CFPB and its acting director, Russ Vought, to refrain from firing staff for reasons unrelated to job performance or conduct, from deleting any of the agency's data, and from transferring the agency's reserve funds. Regardless, the CFPB has since placed most of its employees on administrative leave.
"Fraud is Growing and Mutating. Cut It Off as Early as Possible."
Incidents of financial fraud are on the rise and becoming more sophisticated. To mitigate the associated risks, experts advise banks to focus on upstream prevention and real-time identity verification.
Execs from Zelle, Truist, and Google discussed strategies to mitigate payments fraud during a recent virtual event; read the highlights here.
"Judge Sides with CFPB in Upholding Small Business Rule"
A federal judge recommended upholding its small business data collection rule, rejecting a challenge by a merchant cash-advance group. In the opinion, the judge wrote that the agency did not exceed its authority, and that the rule was not "arbitrary and capricious."
"Despite DOGE, Trump's Agenda Calls for Adding Trillions of Dollars to U.S. Debt"
While President Trump and Elon Musk claim DOGE's efforts will eventually lead to a balanced budget, economists argue that Trump's policies will substantially add to the deficit absent significant cuts to entitlement benefits (which Trump has promised not to make).
"New Regulatory Leadership to Shake Up Bank Supervision"
Read how incoming Republican leaders at federal banking agencies could reshape bank supervision, the corresponding impact on community and regional banks, and why, at least in the near term, institutions' approach to compliance and risk management shouldn't change.
"Warren, Schiff Ask CFPB to Oust DOGE"
Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, and Adam Schiff, D-CA, demanded that CFPB acting director Russ Vought and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent remove DOGE staff from the CFPB. The senators suggested that Elon Musk plans to gut the agency because it would oversee his new digital wallet, X Money, and that Musk could access CFPB data that would give X an unfair competitive advantage.
"Yes, You Can Compete with the Major Card Issuers. But It Takes Creativity and Focus."
While the credit card market is dominated by a few large issuers, community banks can compete by innovating and playing to their strengths, experts claim.
"Why Bank M&A Is off to a Sluggish Start in 2025"
Bank execs and analysts were optimistic about the deal environment after President Trump was elected, but we've yet to see a meaningful uptick in merger activity. Investment bankers blame concerns related to tariffs, inflation, and Trump's chaotic first month in office.
"Synapse Executive Alerted Accountants Before $100 Million Missing Funds Scandal"
A former senior director in Synapse's finance department, who alerted accountants in 2023 that Synapse was keeping customer funds for itself, testified before a grand jury that is investigating criminal misconduct at the fintech. As much as $96 million of customer funds remain missing.
"Fed Minutes Reveal Little Appetite for Near-Term Rate Cuts"
Strong consumer spending, tariffs, and mass deportations of migrants could conspire to push prices higher, according to Fed officials, who seem to be taking a wait-and-see approach to rate cuts.
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Rob Blackwell
Chief Content Officer and Head of External Affairs
IntraFi
Arlington, VA
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