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Yesterday President Trump signed what could prove to be his most important executive order to date. The order addresses the so-called “independent agencies” of the Executive Branch–the SEC, the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, and so on. The purpose of the order is to bring these agencies under presidential control. It begins: Section 1. Policy and Purpose. The Constitution vests all executive power in the President and charges him with faithfully executing the laws. That is correct. The first sentence of Article II is: The executive Power shall be vested in a President...

One of the benefits of being a Washington insider, from the president of the United States to the lowliest bureaucrat, is never having to admit your policies are wrong. In the case of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) - the nation's 10th largest - the financial policy chickens of this, and previous administrations, have predictably come home to roost. Record debt, massive new spending, and the failure of regulators to see what was coming contributed to the run on SVB. It didn't help that in 2018 President Donald Trump signed the biggest rollback of Dodd-Frank bank regulations since the global financial...

Friday, The First National Bank of Lindsay was closed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) appointed as receiver. The OCC acted after identifying false and deceptive bank records and other information suggesting fraud that revealed depletion of the bank’s capital. The OCC also found that the bank was in an unsafe or unsound condition to transact business and that the bank’s assets were less than its obligations to its creditors and others.

A new study by Florida Atlantic University believes that 94 separate US banks are facing a significant risk of bank runs. The at risk banks have all reported a 50% or higher ratio of uninsured deposits to total deposits. Basically, they simply do not have the hard currency to shell out in the event of a panic. Banks currently limit cash withdrawals under the pretense of money laundering and security. They will ask all sorts of questions if you even TRY to withdraw your money. They realize we are on the verge of a crisis in banking on a global...

KEY POINTS: * For customers, fintech promised the best of both worlds: The innovation, ease of use and fun of the newest apps combined with the safety of government-backed accounts held at real banks. * The collapse of middleman Synapse has revealed fintech’s promise of safety as a mirage. More than 100,000 Americans with $265 million in deposits have been locked out of their accounts. * The implications of this disaster may be far-reaching. The most popular banking apps in the country, including Block’s Cash App, PayPal and Chime, partner with banks instead of owning them. * CNBC reached out...

For customers, fintech promised the best of both worlds: The innovation, ease of use and fun of the newest apps combined with the safety of government-backed accounts held at real banks...The collapse of middleman Synapse has revealed fintech’s promise of safety as a mirage. More than 100,000 Americans with $265 million in deposits have been locked out of their accounts.

A report in the Daily Mail says that Republicans in Congress are investigating more than ten banks “for colluding with the federal government to spy on Americans after the January 6 protests.” The alleged witch hunt was in search of “‘extremism’ indicators.” You won’t be surprised at all to learn what qualifies as an “extremism indicator.” Fox News reported on January 17: Federal investigators asked banks to search and filter customer transactions by using terms like “MAGA” and “Trump” as part of an investigation into Jan. 6, warning that purchases of “religious texts” could indicate “extremism,” the House Judiciary Committee...

John Eastman, once an attorney for former President Donald Trump, was de-banked twice in the span of several months by two prominent financial institutions, Bank of America and USAA, he told the Daily Caller. His accounts were closed as he faced substantial backlash for his work advising Trump around the time of the 2020 election.

In a major push to seize control of the public’s financial freedom, Canada is radicalizing its banking system by linking citizens’ bank accounts to a tyrannical social credit score.The Canadian banking system will soon be transformed by a so-called “open banking” framework.Proponents are framing this as a more “inclusive” way for banks to easily share information and access user data.However, the move will merge social standings with banking to provide governments and unelected bureaucrats with complete control over our finances.The organization Open Banking Excellence (OBE), a World Bank partner that originated in the UK, boasts that it will incorporate social...

The United States government has been pouring millions of tax dollars into developing AI-powered tools to censor and blacklist dissent voices. This month, the House Judiciary’s Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government Committee revealed that the U.S. government is funding AI censorship technology via the National Science Foundation (NSF) to censor political debate on social media platforms.

16 Republican AGs seek answers from Wells Fargo CEO Charles Scharf... ... debanking ... Wells Fargo is pushing the Biden administration's anti-gun and anti-traditional energy policies and discriminating against customers who don't fall in line with their political beliefs," Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen... As attorney general, it's my job to protect Montanans from discriminatory business practices. I will continue to investigate and fight against any illegal actions that could impact Montana businesses and consumers." ... Wells Fargo unexpectedly closed the business and personal accounts of Bradon Wexler, the owner of Florida-based firearms dealer Wex Gunworks, with a vague explanation...

President Joe Biden’s (D) administration has reportedly admitted what terms were used when federal investigators wanted banks to surveil Americans’ financial transactions after the January 6, 2021, protests. According to Fox News, the outlet obtained a letter wherein the government admitted that “MAGA,” “Trump,” and “Kamala” were among the terms, the news source said Friday.

Barry Sternlicht, a prominent figure in the real estate industry as the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Starwood Capital Group, has sounded the alarm regarding the precarious state of regional and community banks across the United States. His apprehension stems from the challenges faced by these institutions amid the current economic landscape characterized by higher interest rates, increasing vacancies, and inflationary pressures. Sternlicht’s concerns point to a potential wave of bank failures, with implications for the broader financial system.

epublic First Bank, a Pennsylvania-based financial institution, has collapsed, with the FDIC covering customers’ deposits by transferring them to Fulton Bank after an agreement was reached with the federal agency. This is the first major bank collapse this year, following five that occurred in 2023, as the high-interest rate environment destabilized the balance sheets of major financial players. When Silicon Valley Bank (SVB)collapsed in spring 2023, many economists warned that more could follow—and they did. Signature Bank, First Republic Bank, Heartland Tri-State Bank, and Citizens Bank collapsed in the succeeding months, a sign of instability as the Federal Reserve’s monetary...

U.S. Bancorp (USB.N), opens new tab cut its forecast for full-year interest income and reported a 22% fall in first-quarter profit on Wednesday, as higher deposit costs and a larger corpus of rainy-day funds to cover potential defaults continue to weigh on the sector. Shares of U.S. Bancorp fell 4% in morning trading. It was among the top losers on the broader regional banking index (.KRX), opens new tab. Lenders in the U.S. have been offering higher interest rates in recent months to retain deposits as customers are increasingly seeking better returns by placing their money in higher-yielding alternatives. U.S....

-A year after Silicon Valley Bank's failure, less than half of U.S. banks have established borrowing capacity by pledging collateral at the Federal Reserve's emergency lending facility, according to Fed data released on Friday. That's despite a crescendo of calls from financial regulators for banks to make sure they can access the Fed's discount window quickly if trouble arises. But the data also showed some real progress, with an increase in the number of banks signing up and a jump in the amount of total collateral pledged. SVB's inability to access the window in March of last year in the...

As the shadows of economic uncertainty lengthen, the once-solid foundations of commercial real estate markets now tremble under the weight of impending crisis. With banks holding nearly 40% of all CRE debt, the tremors are felt far and wide, signaling a looming catastrophe that could spell disaster for financial institutions worldwide. The warning bells are ringing loud and clear, with UBS flagging the downturn in commercial real estate markets as one of the “top and emerging risks” facing the banking sector. The sharp decline in demand for office space, coupled with soaring borrowing costs, paints a bleak picture for an...

You might have missed it in the headlines, but US Bancorp recently initiated significant job cuts, with areas like talent acquisition and technology taking a hit. But what does this mean for the broader financial landscape? Well, let’s talk about multifamily commercial real estate (CRE) mortgages – a sector that’s been quietly raising red flags. While apartments have held up better than other segments like office and retail, cracks are starting to show, with some eye-popping defaults in recent months.

New York Community Bancorp sent its shares plummeting 26% on Friday after the regional lender said has discovered “material weaknesses” in the ways it tracks loan risks and that its CEO is leaving. The New York-based firm announced late Thursday that CEO Thomas Cangemi would be leaving NYCB — capping off a 27-year tenure at NYCB — and that Alessandro DiNello would take his place, effective immediately. DiNello, NYCB’s executive chairman, had been acting as the bank’s true boss since earlier this month ... One NYCB director, Hanif “Wally” Dahya, said in a Feb. 25 letter that he “did not...