Huntington National Bank's connected deposits product, built in partnership with payments infrastructure provider Qolo, exemplifies the shift toward augmentation. Deepak Kapoor, Huntington's Head of Payment Products, noted, 'We quickly realized we don't have all the Lego pieces in place to build the card that we want to build, and the ledger and the virtual account provide us with that missing Lego piece that we needed.'
To get the £200 switch bonus, you have to use the free Current Account Switch Service to shut your old bank and open a Club Lloyds account, moving at least three existing direct debits as part of the switch (such as a household bill, phone contract, and so on). Once your new account is open, you have to spend £100 on your debit card within 35 days.
There was a time when banks and fintechs competed mostly on bells and whistles: smoother apps, faster checkout, appealing rewards. But in the world of public markets and quarterly earnings, functionality gives way to fundamentals.
Are banks open on Christmas Eve? Christmas Eve is not a federal holiday, so most banks are open. Some may choose to have reduced hours, so it is a good practice to check with your local branch ahead of time to save you the potential headache. If you missed your window, don't forget that online banking and ATMs can come to the rescue.
Puerto Rico-based Popular Bank is exiting the mortgage business, according to an announcement made last week during the company's third-quarter earnings call. Specifically, as part of our ongoing efforts to improve profitability, we decided to exit the U.S. residential mortgage origination business and to close four underperforming branches in the New York metro area, said Jorge Garcia, Popular's chief financial officer. We will remain focused on areas where we feel we can invest to achieve improved operating leverage.
Global stock markets fell sharply and gold hit a record high after two US regional banks said they had been exposed to millions of dollars of bad loans and alleged fraud. Signs of credit stress rattled markets across Europe and Asia. In London the FTSE 100 fell 1.5%, Germany's Dax fell 2%, the Ibex in Spain was off 0.8% and France's Cac 40 dropped 1.5%, before recovering some ground.
Managing rental property finances remains one of the most time-consuming challenges in real estate investing, with landlords juggling spreadsheets, consumer payment apps like Venmo and Zelle, generic accounting software, and multiple banking accounts. The 14 million individual real estate investors across the United States-who own half of the country's rental supply-face fragmented workflows that drain hours each week from their businesses.
One very positive item for investors when earnings season rolls around every quarter is that the big money center and investment banks are always among the first to report. This year was no different, as all the major financials were released early and, for the most part, all delivered outstanding numbers. As with all sectors, the tariffs are weighing on sentiment and affecting companies' ability to provide forward guidance that they feel comfortable with.
The companies that spent the last decade promising to disrupt banks are now building their foundational systems. Coinbase, once the crypto outsider pitching digital assets as banking's alternative, is powering J.P. Morgan's deposit token experiments. SoFi is routing remittances through Bitcoin's Lightning Network while acting as a regulated bank holding company. Even pure-play digital banks like Chime have shifted focus from pure customer acquisition to deepening existing relationships through credit products and early-pay services.
As families prepare to send their kids off to college or to start their first jobs, it's time to foster the next phase of their financial growth. Start by having an honest conversation about what you're willing to contribute financially. Many parents help their young adult children, often at the expense of their own retirement plans, so it's critical that you have a clear idea of what you can afford.
To compete, follow the rules, and initiate the process of change, banks must abandon outdated training methods and adopt a new, strategic approach to enhancing their employees' skills.
Wells Fargo's adoption of Google Agentspace marks a bold step forward in making banking simpler and smarter—for our customers and employees. By leveraging advanced agentic AI capabilities, we can get answers and insights faster, work more efficiently, and free up time to focus on what matters most: helping people reach their financial goals.
