* Raleigh, N.C.-based First-Citizens Bank & Trust has agreed to acquire Duluth, Ga.-based Community Financial Holding in a cash deal worth $2.3 million. Upon completion, Community Financial unit Gwinnett Community Bank will become part of First-Citizens Bank.
* The merger talks between Moline, Ill.-based Vibrant CU and Westbrook, Maine-based Infinity FCU have been terminated. Infinity FCU President and CEO Elizabeth Hayes said the process shed light on key differences, but that the discussions ended "amicably."
* JPMorgan Chase committed $25 million to Financial Health Network’s Financial Solutions Lab, which will focus on creating fintech tools to help people increase savings and reduce debt.
* Following the delay on WeWork parent The We Co.'s IPO, the Financial Times reports that bankers from JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs had pegged WeWork's valuation above even that of SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son's $47 billion tag on the company amid public investor concerns about the coworking giant.
* Facebook has decided to push back the launch of its cryptocurrency Libra in light of looming regulatory concerns. In June, the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services head called upon the social media giant to cease work on Libra, citing the company's data privacy scandals as a cause of worry.
* Freddie Mac and Los Angeles-based ZestFinance have formed a partnership to help the government-sponsored enterprise test alternative data, which is expected to help better evaluate borrowers. The underwriting software that Freddie Mac has been testing will bring about change in terms of credit evaluation, and in turn help mortgage become more available for certain applicants.
* The Treasury Department's plan to reform Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and help them be removed from conservatorship is seen to help banks keep their share in the mortgage lending market, American Banker reports. Bankers believe that the proposal would lead to greater competition in the secondary mortgage market.
* Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said that the Federal Reserve should lower the benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points. Kashkari added that such a cut would help cushion the economy against slower growth.
* Members of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's top panel, who appeared in front of the House Financial Services Committee yesterday, are divided over whether the regulator needs to develop a uniform framework for corporate America to follow when making environmental, social and governance disclosures. Asset managers, advocacy groups and Democratic lawmakers believe that developing standardized ESG disclosures would provide investors with a clear picture of a company's ESG risks and opportunities.
* During its Tuesday intervention in the repurchase, or repo, market, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York was faced with two-week cash loan demand that was twice as much as what it had offered, The Wall Street Journal reports. The demand indicates that banks could need more cash than what Fed officials had expected.
* The deal between Sandy Spring Bancorp and Revere Bank points at an effect of the current expected credit loss, or CECL, accounting standard, which will drastically change how banks provision for loan losses. The bank would have booked a credit discount of about $20 million under current accounting standards related to certain assets to be acquired. Under CECL, management said, the bank will record credit impacts of $45 million, a 125% increase.
* Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Director Kenneth Blanco in a speech warned about the increased use of "synthetic identities" to commit fraud through the use of information from financial technology data aggregators. Blanco's speech highlighted the need for a more thorough examination by regulators on the use of such aggregators.
* In a statement, U.S. House Committee on Financial Services Chair Maxine Waters said she supports "legislation that deschedules marijuana federally." The legislation known as the Secure And Fair Enforcement Banking Act is expected to be passed in the House of Representatives today, MarketWatch reports.
* The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs is scheduled to hold a hearing to discuss the facilitation of faster payments in the country today at 10 a.m.
* The pending merger between Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and Cambia Health Solutions was put on hold following reports about a traffic accident involving the former's president and CEO, Patrick Conway, The Wall Street Journal reports.
* The New York Department of Financial Services has entered into a consent order under which six U.S.-based life insurers will pay a collective amount of about $1.8 million for leading customers to swap their "more financially favorable" deferred annuities with immediate annuities.
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