Uncle Sean’s Update – 5/1/26

by | May 1, 2026 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

Happy Friday!!!
 
Welcome to May (wait, already?)!!!  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 5/1/26 (subscribe here for free – all the cool kids are doing it 😊):
 

  • 💥 This week brings a bombshell announcement in the BaaS Sponsor Bank space as Coastal Community Bank (CCB; FDIC 34403; total assets $5.7B) has entered into a non-binding term sheet with Evolve Bank & Trust (FDIC 1299; total assets $1.2B) to acquire the assets and deposits of Evolve’s diverse set of banking-as-a-service programs.  Here is the CCB 8-K filing.
    • Recall where the embattled Evolve Bank & Trust has been under a Federal Reserve enforcement action related to deficiencies in the risk management of its fintech program; and was completely enthralled in unsuccessful ledger reconciliation efforts of missing funds related to the Synapse middleware bankruptcy saga to which the CFPB is now set to pay $46M to Synapse victims.

 

  • It’s Fed Week!!!  The FOMC (as expected) again voted to keep interest rates at their current range of 3.5% – 3.75% noting “developments in the Middle East are contributing to a high level of uncertainty about the economic outlook.”  Although rates didn’t change, that’s not to say it was uneventful…  Here are some key takeaways that caught my attention:
    • The decision was far from unanimous with an 8-4 vote.  Dissenters were also split with Miran voting to lower rates by ¼ point; and Hammack, Kashkari, and Logan who supported maintaining the current rates, but not in favor of the easing bias within the statement.
      • Looks like incoming Chairman Warsh will lead a diverse panel in a challenging economic time. 
    • After his term as Chair ends on May 15, Chairman Powell to stay on as governor for “a period of time, to be determined.” Transcript of Chair Powell’s Press Conference – April 29, 2026
    • The Implementation Note issued April 29, 2026 notes continued rebalancing of holdings from longer dated securities to shorter dated Treasury Bills (3 years or less).
    • You can watch the Press Conference video here (53 minutes) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR2yFg–1jY

 

  • 👀 De Novo watch… This week, Mercury receives conditional OCC approval to establish Mercury Bank, N.A. 👏
    • Mercury first announced its intent to pursue a national bank charter in December 2025. The application was submitted alongside an application for federal deposit insurance with the FDIC. Later, Mercury Technologies, Inc. will separately file an application with the Federal Reserve to become a bank holding company. Mercury Bank, N.A. will be headquartered in Utah.

 

  • And of course some economic data this week:
    • The BEA announced the first estimate of 1Q2026 GDP came in at 2.0% (4Q2025 was 0.5%) noting a significant surge in business spending on equipment (specifically information processing equipment and computers) and intellectual property products (software), which was heavily driven by the ongoing AI data center build-out.
    • Meanwhile inflation has started to pick up lead by energy costs (hello gasoline 😬)…  March 2026 PCE came in at 3.5% YoY (prior month was 2.8%) while Core PCE increased to 3.2% (prior month was 3.0%) – all well above the Fed target of 2%.

 

 

  • While on the topic of acquisitions… OppFi Inc. (NYSE: OPFI) to acquire BNC National Bank (FDIC 57197; total assets $1.1B) in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $130M.

 

  • And more acquisition updates…  Barclays Bank Delaware (FDIC 57203; total assets $46.6B) completes its acquisition of Best Egg, the direct-to-consumer personal loan origination platform (initial acquisition announcement was 10/28/25).  The acquired business will continue to operate under the “Best Egg” brand and managed by Barclays US Consumer Bank.

 

  • Qolo announced an expanded partnership with KeyBank (FDIC 17534; total assets $186B) with the launch of Key Virtual Card (KeyVC) powered by Quolo, a new virtual commercial card program that helps businesses more easily manage and track payments directly within Key’s Virtual Account Management platform (KeyVAM).

 

  • On the fraud side:
    • FedNOW is announcing a network intelligence API enabling users to access receiver account-level data seen over the instant payment network when they receive a transaction request.  The data obtained from the API integration is meant to complement a financial institution’s existing data that’s already collected as part of its risk assessment process. The API will be part of the Federal Reserve Financial Service fraud and risk mitigation tools.
    • Q2 (NYSE: QTWO) announced User Activity Monitoring and Restricted Entitlements Mode – two new capabilities that combine AI-enabled detection with real-time response, helping financial institutions detect and stop account takeover fraud.

 

 

  • More headlines focused on SME business banking 🔥…  BMO (specifically BMO Bank N.A. here in the US; FDIC 16571) announced the national U.S. rollout of its simplified Online Banking for Business (OLBB) platform.  The new platform is available through BMO’s BusinessWorks U.S. pricing bundle, a turnkey banking solution that is designed with simplification and ease of understanding for SMEs, Emerging Middle Market, and business banking clients.

 

  • FIS (NYSE: FIS) and a consortium of leading US financial institutions to build their own digital tokenized money network.  Dubbed  Project Keystone – a bank-owned and bank-administered network for digital money to be built on regulated deposits. 

 

  • Credit One Bank (FDIC 25620; total assets $2.2B) partners with Bright Money to embed Credit One Bank credit card offering enabling over 1 million Bright Money users with access to personalized credit card solutions.

 

  • The new Aven Bitcoin Visa Card (credit card issued by Coastal Community Bank) will offer a bitcoin-backed line of credit up to $1 million 💰 featuring fixed-rate, fixed-term loans of up to 10 years at a 7.99% APR.

 

 

  • 👀 Walmart’s OnePay has partnered with Tempo (blockchain) to focus on stablecoin infrastructure development to power OnePay stablecoin payouts and instant account funding for OnePay’s banking product.

 

  • Notable FinTech funding for the week:
    • Kashable (employer sponsored employee financial wellness program) raised $60M in Series C funding round stating that valuation “had tripled since its January 2024 Series B raise.”
    • Doc2Doc (financial services platform for healthcare providers) closed a credit facility of up to $150M to expand Doc2Doc’s loan origination capacity, improve its cost of funds, and accelerate profitable growth.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

  • 👉 Another PSA to remind everyone that next week is National Small Business Week (May 3 through May 9) – definitely check out this FREE virtual summit by our friends at the SBA – Virtual summit | U.S. Small Business Administration. 🤙
  • Here they are – the Dad / Bad Jokes for the week!!!
    • I found myself face down in the gutter once…  I just didn’t expect everyone to keep bowling! 🤠
    • At work they call me “The Computer” not because I’m smart, but because I go to sleep if left unattended for 15 minutes!!! 😄😴
    • 🙏 An ancient philosopher once said, “One does not simply become a master of karate.  First, you must accidentally walk into a spider web at night!” 😲😅
    • Don’t kick your kids out at 18.  Let them live at home but charge them $600/month.  Take that rent and put it into an account that you don’t tell them about.  Then when they finally move out, go buy that Porsche you’ve always wanted!!!! 😂🤣
      • Be sure to follow Uncle Sean for more financial planning advice! 😉

 
 
“The world needs good people – be one of them.”
 
Have a GREAT weekend and please stay safe!
 
Uncle Sean
 
Sometimes known as Sean Mayo – contact me directly for scope and pricing of custom reports / analysis projects at smayo@fedfis.com | 214-604-6961 – or you can contact FedFis Sales Team at 512-960-0911 | info@fedfis.com #FedFisHasTheData FedFis
 
FedFis, LLC disclaimer – The views and opinions of Uncle Sean are of his own and may not necessarily represent the views, endorsements, and/or opinions of FedFis, LLC and its affiliates – we all know he’s a little bit different; but that’s why we love him.