27 Jun, 2022
Top US banks cover staff abortion travel; Goldman raising $2B for Celsius assets
TOP NEWS IN BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICES
* Top U.S. banks, which already cover abortion under their medical benefits for U.S. workers, will begin paying travel expenses for their employees' abortions even as the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24 officially overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that gave Americans the constitutional right to the procedure, The Wall Street Journal reported. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. recently said travel expenses of their employees who will have abortions away from home will be covered, and Bank of America Corp. and The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. on June 24 said they would follow suit. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley said the bank will add travel for pregnancy care to its employee benefits package as of July 1, according to a person familiar with the matter. Citigroup is assessing the impact of the Supreme Court's decision while continuing to give its staff equal family planning benefits, the Journal reported, citing a June 24 memo from Citi human resources head Sara Wechter.
* Goldman Sachs is looking to raise $2 billion from investors to acquire the assets of U.K.-based cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network Ltd. at potentially big discounts if Celsius files for bankruptcy, CoinDesk reported, citing unnamed sources. Celsius is under probe by several states over its suspension of customer redemptions to put itself in a better position to honor its withdrawal obligations.
➤ US workers' compensation premiums up 9.3% in Q1 as direct loss ratio improves
U.S. workers' compensation premiums increased by 9.3% year over year in the first quarter, and the industry's direct loss ratio improved by 2.7 percentage points.
➤ US banking-as-a-service providers post stronger profitability metrics than banks
Many banking-as-a-service providers produced first-quarter profitability metrics that were better than the banking industry median for return on average assets, net interest margin and efficiency ratio.
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* Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions Commissioner Greg Gonzales appealed to the Chancery Court for the State of Tennessee to overturn its May 27 decision allowing Memphis, Tenn.-based Orion FCU to acquire Memphis, Tenn.-based Financial Federal Bank, saying the deal is prohibited under the Tennessee Banking Act. Financial Federal Bank is a subsidiary of Financial Fedcorp Inc.
* Some U.S. major banks are now cooperating with the Treasury Department on information-sharing to avert possible cyberattacks on banks in light of increasing global tensions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Bloomberg News reported, citing an interview with Ron O'Hanley, CEO of State Street Corp., one of the largest U.S. money managers and custody banks.
* Arbitrators at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ruled in favor of former Citigroup financial adviser Erin Ann Daly to claim more than $1.4 million from Citigroup Global Markets and other Citi entities in compensatory damages plus interest and attorneys fees. Daly accused the bank of running "boys' club" policies and practices.
POLICY AND REGULATION
* The U.S. House Committee on Financial Services recommends stronger capital and liquidity requirements and oversight, and improved supervision of retail-facing "superbrokers," as it unearthed "troubling" business practices and inadequate risk management, such as in the case of Robinhood Markets Inc. at the height of the meme-stock frenzy in 2021.
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