LoanDepot rolls out 2025 plan; SEC to rescind Trump-era rule on proxy advisers

TOP NEWS IN BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICES

* loanDepot Inc. rolled out a plan to address present and future mortgage market conditions and position itself for sustainable long-term value creation. Called "Vision 2025," the plan has four components, meant to increase focus on purchase transactions while serving increasingly diverse communities across the country; execute previously announced growth-generating initiatives; centralize management of loan originations and loan fulfillment to enhance quality and effectiveness; and aggressively rightsize cost structure, according to a news release.

* The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to rescind this week a Trump-era rule that requires advisers, such as ISS and Glass Lewis, to inform businesses of their voting recommendations when they are sent to shareholders, Financial Times reported, citing sources. The expected repeal is a blow to companies that supported the Trump-era rule, the news outlet noted.

➤ More Asia-Pacific banks to shed insurance units to focus on their core

More banks in Asia-Pacific are expected to shed their capital-heavy insurance businesses to focus on their core as the global economy faces uncertainties.

➤ Citigroup keeps lead in equity REIT common stock offering underwriters in H1

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. continued its run as the lead underwriter of equity real estate investment trusts' common equity offerings through the first half of the year, with six offerings totaling about $943.9 million in deal credit.

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

BANKING

* Citigroup Inc. suspended Jan Skarbek, the U.S. bank's co-head of banking, capital markets and advisory business in the U.K. and Ireland, Bloomberg News reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The suspension comes pending a probe into Skarbek's alleged misconduct toward a female member of staff during a recent staff getaway, according to the report.

* Chicago-based BMO Harris Bank NA is raising the minimum hourly wage for all its branch and customer contact center employees from $18 to $20 beginning Aug. 7, according to a press release. It is the second time the bank has bumped up its staff's base pay in 10 months.

* An outright sale may be the most attractive option for Republic First Bancorp Inc. following the announced resignation of embattled CEO Vernon Hill II, Piper Sandler analyst Frank Schiraldi wrote in a July 8 note.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

* Pershing Square Tontine Holdings Ltd. is returning its investors' money after failing to consummate a merger deal as capital markets recover, Bloomberg News reported, citing a July 11 statement from the blank-check firm's CEO, Bill Ackman. The capital markets' "rapid recovery" has made the conventional initial public offering a strong competitor and a preferred option for high-quality businesses seeking to go public, the report quoted Ackman as saying.

* Global asset managers including BlackRock Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are facing a profit squeeze in China as hurdles pile up, such as rising distribution fees, new entrants, an intensifying war for talent and falling local stock market, Bloomberg reported.

* London-based cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network Ltd. repaid more loans July 11, including about $78.1 million worth of USDC stablecoin to lending platform Aave, to fight insolvency, Bloomberg reported, citing tracker Etherscan.

* Just as sales of digital artworks dwindle amid a lingering fall in the cryptocurrency market, gaming retailer GameStop Corp. on July 11 launched a marketplace for nonfungible tokens, Bloomberg reported. The new service is in line with GameStop's efforts to expand its digital services and products and recover, as gamers are among NFT's biggest enthusiasts, the report said.

POLICY AND REGULATION

* The National Credit Union Administration and other federal financial regulators urged credit unions to take a risk-based approach to assessing individual member risk, according to a press release. The regulators' joint statement neither alters existing legal or regulatory requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering law, nor establishes new supervisory expectations, the release said.

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