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Tennessee banks in deal; CFTC approves Volcker 2.0; SEC fines 2 broker/dealers

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Tennessee banks in deal; CFTC approves Volcker 2.0; SEC fines 2 broker/dealers

Brentwood, Tenn.-based Reliant Bancorp Inc. agreed to acquire Ashland City, Tenn.-based Tennessee Community Bank Holdings Inc., the parent company of Community Bank & Trust, in an approximately 50% stock and 50% cash transaction. Based on Reliant Bancorp's 20-day volume-weighted average closing price per share on Sept. 16 of $23.06, this represents a total transaction value of about $37.2 million. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved a final rule concerning amendments to the Volcker Rule, which prohibits banks from engaging in proprietary trading. In a joint statement, CFTC Chairman Heath Tarbert and Commissioner Brian Quintenz expressed their support of the revisions, saying that these will help banks effectively serve their customers and fuel economic growth "without concern that such activity could implicate the Volcker Rule's prohibitions."

The American Bankers Association is recommending "a full and indefinite delay" of the current expected credit loss, or CECL, accounting standard for all companies. In a comment letter to the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the ABA noted that the CECL project was initially based on the objective of implementing an accounting standard that would reduce the inherent level of procyclicality in the banking system. However, the practical application of CECL would actually increase procyclicality into the banking system. A full delay that will cover all companies will allow regulators to fully evaluate CECL's systemic impacts and allow the FASB to reevaluate investors' needs regarding CECL, the ABA said.

The Securities ad Exchange Commission settled with Stifel Nicolaus & Co. Inc. and BMO Capital Markets Corp. over charges that they provided incomplete and inaccurate securities trading information to the regulator. Stifel Nicolaus & Co. agreed to pay $2.7 million, while BMO Capital Markets agreed to a $2.0 million penalty.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority censured and fined J.P. Morgan Securities LLC $1.1 million for failing to disclose in a timely manner 89 internal reviews or allegations of misconduct by its registered representatives and associated persons over a six-year period. The JPMorgan Chase & Co. unit neither admitted nor denied the charges, but consented to the entry of FINRA's findings.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will meet today to propose the removal of a requirement for banks to set aside billions of dollars in margin when doing derivatives transactions with their own affiliates, sources for Bloomberg News say. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve are also among agencies anticipated to propose the removal of swap margin rule, implemented in 2015, which according to estimates has tied up $39.4 billion.

An extradited Russian hacker, Andrei Tyurin, is expected to plead guilty later in September to claims that he played a big role in stealing financial data of more than 80 million customers of JPMorgan Chase, Bloomberg News reports, citing a court filing. Tyurin will reportedly appear at a plea hearing in the week of Sept. 23. Prosecutors from the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office have reportedly sought to consolidate Tyurin's New York case with one filed in Atlanta, in which he and others were accused of hacking E*TRADE Financial Corp.

Refinitiv data shows that for the first six months of 2019, Morgan Stanley was the top financial adviser in activist campaigns, with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Spotlight Advisors LLC tied for the second place, Reuters reports. Morgan Stanley, which also topped the list for the first half of 2018, had advised on 19 activist campaigns in the first half of 2019, while each of Goldman and Spotlight had 17 campaigns.

In a series of tweets, David Marcus, head of Facebook Inc.'s digital currency project, Libra, defended the project from speculations that it could pose a threat to nations' "monetary sovereignty." "As such there's no new money creation, which will strictly remain the province of sovereign Nations. We also believe strong regulatory oversight preventing the Libra Association from deviating from its full 1:1 backing commitment is desirable," Marcus tweeted.

In other parts of the world

Asia-Pacific: ADB head may quit soon; Moody's downgrades Hong Kong outlook

Europe: StanChart to review 8,000 accounts; UniCredit lines up chairman candidates

Middle East & Africa: StanChart to meet with Dubai regulators; CGD to sell stake in Cape Verde unit

Now featured on S&P Global Market Intelligence

Bank of America still largest US deposit holder, latest FDIC summary data shows: Bank of America extended its lead as the largest U.S. bank by total deposits, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s 2019 Summary of Deposits. Deposits at the Charlotte-based bank increased 2.9% year over year to $1.365 trillion as of June 30.

Stephens looking to cast wider net with bank research coverage: Little Rock, Ark.-based investment bank Stephens is once again taking advantage of the M&A fallout and building up its depository coverage.

Newest Maine credit union hopes to fill gap in state's agricultural lending: Agriculture loan portfolios have decreased among banks in the Northeast over the last three years, and Maine Harvest Federal Credit Union hopes to take advantage by targeting small, local farmers and food producers in Maine, said co-founder, President and CEO Scott Budde.

The day ahead

Early morning futures indicators pointed to a lower opening for the U.S. market.

In Asia, the Hang Seng fell 1.23% to 26,790.24, and the Nikkei 225 gained 0.06% to 22,001.32.

In Europe, around midday, the Euronext 100 was up 0.03% to 1,084.79.

On the macro front

The Redbook Index for retail sales, the industrial production report, the housing market index and the Treasury International Capital report are due out today.

Click here to read about today's financial markets, setting out the factors driving stocks, bonds and currencies around the world ahead of the New York open.

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