Globally coordinated watch on crypto sought; FDIC probes Voyager marketing

TOP NEWS IN BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICES

* The U.S. Treasury Department submitted to President Joe Biden a framework for international engagement and interagency approach to address the risks in digital assets. "Uneven regulation, supervision, and compliance across jurisdictions creates opportunities for arbitrage and raises risks to financial stability and the protection of consumers, investors, businesses, and markets," the department said in a press release.

* The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is investigating how Voyager Digital Ltd. marketed itself to customers. The financially troubled cryptocurrency platform publicly said that any U.S. dollars deposited with it are covered by FDIC insurance, given its link with New York-based Metropolitan Commercial Bank, Bloomberg News reported, citing an FDIC spokesperson.

➤ US corporate bankruptcy filings rise in June

U.S. corporate bankruptcies rose in June to their highest monthly total of the year so far, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

➤ Insurers revisit cyber coverage as demand, premiums spike

U.S. insurers are reevaluating their approach to cybersecurity coverage as increasingly common ransomware attacks push premiums higher and ratchet up demand for coverage.

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

BANKING

* Evansville, Ind.-based Fidelity Federal Bancorp, the parent company of United Fidelity Bank FSB, is acquiring all the outstanding stock of Kirksville, Mo.-based Rockhold Bancorp., the parent company of Bank of Kirksville. The transaction is targeted to be completed in the fourth quarter.

* The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals reversed District Court Judge Paul Diamond's "well intentioned" previous decision to have a lawyer-mediator oversee the election of new directors at Philadelphia-based Republic First Bancorp Inc., which is gripped by a leadership battle. A 30-page ruling says the bank's bylaws allow a majority of the directors to fill a vacancy resulting from a director's death, according to a regulatory filing.

* The Federal Reserve Board ordered Easthampton Savings Bank from Massachusetts to pay a $17,000 penalty for alleged violations of the National Flood Insurance Act.

* U.S. senators, led by Democrats Bob Menendez, D-N.J.; Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.; and Jack Reed, D-R.I., in letters urged major banks JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. Truist Financial Corp., Capital One Financial Corp., The PNC Financial Services Group Inc. and U.S. Bank NA to do more for consumers scammed on peer-to-peer payments network Zelle, which the banks co-own.

* Former Federal Reserve Gov. Daniel Tarullo and two Fed economists urged more supervision of the Federal Home Loan Banks, which they said have become "irrelevant" due to changes in the housing finance markets. In a paper posted June 23, the authors said Federal Home Loan Banks' scope and activities have increased dramatically and at times exacerbated risks to financial stability.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

* Toronto-based investment banking firm Origin Merchant Partners is launching a physical presence in the U.S. with the acquisition of Chicago-based investment bank InterOcean Advisors LLC. Origin Merchant Principal Jim Osler said in an interview that the move into the U.S. "seemed natural," considering that Origin Merchant has advised on transactions involving U.S. companies.

* Financial technology firm Percent Technologies and Anzen, a new player in decentralized finance, launched a product that will use capital that cryptocurrency enthusiasts have put in stablecoins to offer Percent investors in high-yield securitizations protection from a default, Bloomberg reported.

POLICY AND REGULATION

* Credit reporting companies and users of credit reports must have a "permissible purpose" for sharing and obtaining such reports to protect the public's data privacy, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau stressed in an advisory.

* The Credit Union National Association in a letter to Jodie Harris, director of the U.S. Treasury Department's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, raised concerns about CDFI designation. The group said credit unions are being awarded the designation only for it to be revoked until they fix perceived deficiencies in the demographics of their board. The association said there is an absence of meaningful guidance from the CDFI Fund as to how credit unions might be able to resolve the deficiencies.

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