OCC plans changes to bank supervision; Coinbase nearing purchase of Brazil's 2TM

TOP NEWS IN BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICES

* The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency will be making changes to how it oversees community and midsize banks to put a bigger emphasis on regulating financial technology and cryptocurrencies, as well as creating flexibility to account for small-bank consolidations, American Banker reported, citing a memo. The reorganization, which will take effect Oct. 1, also includes designating one deputy comptroller responsible for overseeing "novel banks and technology service providers," according to the report.

* Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc. is about to close its acquisition of Brazil-based 2TM Group, which controls one of Latin America's biggest cryptocurrency brokerages, Mercado Bitcoin Serviços Digitais Ltda., by April, Bloomberg News reported, citing Brazilian newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo. The acquisition of the holding company, which was reportedly valued at about $2.2 billion in its latest series B funding round, would catapult Coinbase to a leading market leader role in the region and would also allow 2TM to speed up its growth into Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Argentina, according to the report.

➤ Losses mount for many Fla. property insurers in 2021

Florida residential property insurers logged higher aggregate net income losses in 2021 than in the prior two years combined.

➤ US banks see 188 net branch closings in February

U.S. banks and thrifts opened 72 branches and permanently closed 260 in February, leaving the total number of active branches at 80,481, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

READ MORE about the market reaction and industry impact of the evolving situation in Russia and Ukraine in our new Issue in Focus.

BANKING

* Providence, R.I.-based Citizens Financial Group Inc. is considering acquiring a wealth manager or even a lender in Florida, following several M&A announcements in 2021, Bloomberg reported, citing an interview with CEO Bruce Van Saun. The company is also preparing to announce a wealth office in Naples, Fla., this week and is looking at increasing its staffing in California and Texas, according to the report. Van Saun previously said wealth management deals would help the company gain more scale, and it that it would remain selective when trying to find targets.

* JPMorgan Chase & Co. is planning to increase staffing in Germany by as much as 25% in 2022, which would boost its Frankfurt headcount to about 700 by December, Bloomberg reported, citing an interview with Senior Country Officer Stefan Povaly. Hiring efforts in Frankfurt currently include asset management, private banking, commercial banking and investment banking, Povaly told the news outlet.

* JPMorgan is also launching a new savings account in the U.K. after the company entered British retail banking in September 2021. The new account will offer a variable interest rate of 1.5%, and deposits will be capped at £250,000. Among other things, customers would not be charged any fees when using their card while traveling.

* The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. sent a request for information to the Federal Register for comments regarding the regulations and policies related to merger transactions, including the merger between an insured depository institution and a noninsured institution, believing that changes in the banking industry and financial system over the past few decades warrant a review of the framework.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

* Buyout companies like Blackstone Inc., The Carlyle Group Inc. and KKR & Co. Inc. have been using strategies to try and minimize the fall of share prices when engaging in block trading in light of regulators' probe of such a business line at Morgan Stanley, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources. KKR, for example, would partner with only one bank early in the sale process to limit the number of people finding out about an imminent deal, according to the report.

POLICY AND REGULATION

* The Credit Union National Association wrote to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau saying the watchdog should carefully examine and regulate buy-now, pay-later companies as the CFPB requests more details on products offered by such companies. CUNA said the growth of buy-now, pay-later products has "outpaced prudent regulatory oversight and could ultimately result in consumer harm."

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