Uncle Sean’s Update – 5/15/26

by | May 15, 2026 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

Happy Friday!!!
 
Sending this a little bit early today (as I hope to play hooky for a few hours this afternoon – but don’t tell my Boss 😊)… Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 5/15/26 (subscribe here for free):
 

 

  • The BLS April CPI Report came in hot again as expected at 3.8% YoY (last month was 3.3%) with Core CPI at 2.8% YoY (last month was 2.6%). 
    • The big item that caught my attention was that wage increases dropped to 3.6% YoY marking the first time CPI inflation has outpaced wage growth since 2023.  This, of course, has pulled the savings rate down to 3.6% (the lowest level since 2022 “rage spending” post-lockdown).
    • 😒 No surprise to anyone who has bought gas or groceries as of late (you know – the two things we can’t do without)… YoY, Energy was up 17.9% and the gasoline index was 28.4% higher; coupled with Food up 3.2%…

 

  • 👀 De Novo watch… 
    • The OCC has granted preliminary conditional approval for Augustus Bank, N.A. (fka Ivy) as a full-service US national bank citing a capital requirement of $52.5M and a tier 1 leverage ratio of no less than 10%.
    • The FDIC has approved Stellantis Bank USA (Utah ILC) citing capital requirement of $150M and leverage ratio of not less than 15%.

 

  • Fiserv (Nasdaq: FISV) comes out with a pair of announcements this week as they hold their 2026 Investor Day presentations (here is a link to their very impressive Investor Day 2026 slide deck):
    • 👉 One of the big takeaway’s (for me anyway as there were many) was Fiserv’s announcement of agentOS: The Operating System for Agentic AI in Banking in conjunction with their strategic collaboration with OpenAI.  Allowing FI’s to deploy agents safely across core, processing, payments, and digital with Fiserv serving as their AI partner.  Additionally, the agentOS Marketplace allows for Fiserv agents, Bank specific agents, and Third-party agents all within the same governed architecture.
      • This additional Fiserv blog regarding AI and their agentOS by Fiserv is a must-read for more info – From Assistance to Action: What Agentic AI Means for Financial Institutions.
        • Initial FI pilot partners include First Internet Bank and Boulder Dam Credit Union (currently running pilots) with Bank OZK, City National Bank, SalemFive, and SouthState all co-developing the next wave of agents, with deployments beginning this summer.  Initial agent partners include Arva AI, Cognext, iTuring.ai, Lumio Solutions, Osfin.ai, Sardine, Sierra, Tracfox, and Trulioo. 🚀
    • Additionally, Fiserv announced a definitive agreement with Bridgeport Partners to form a joint venture encompassing Fiserv’s ATM Managed Services, Cash & Logistics, and MoneyPass businesses. 
      • Upon closing, Bridgeport Partners is expected to assume operational control of the businesses and oversee day-to-day management.

 

  • Uncle Sean giving a virtual fist-bump 👊 to my friends at Linker Finance as the technology foundation layer behind the launch of Always.Bank, the direct digital bank division of 22nd State Banking Company (Uncle Sean loves ❤️ the direct digital bank / brand model).
    • Linker Finance will support “deposit account opening, commercial onboarding, treasury and payments functionality, CRM tools for bankers and back-office teams, and fully branded mobile and online banking experiences. The platform integrates in real time with leading core providers, including CSI, and connects to a broad ecosystem of third-party services for automated KYC/KYB, intelligent fraud detection, money movement, payments and analytics. This modular approach helps community banks deploy faster, reduce operational effort and expand capabilities without requiring a core conversion.”  VERY NICE!!! 👏

 

  • 💥 And check out my friends at equipifi (a BHB Fund company) CONTINUING TO CRUSH IT 🤘 with a pair of announcements this week:
    • Financial Center First Credit Union (charter 68658; total assets $953M) announced the launch of its new BNPL solution to its 60,000 members, powered by equipifi, “becoming the first credit union in Indiana to offer this flexible, in-house payment option directly to members” all within Financial Center’s secure Digital Banking experience.
    • 🎉 equipifi raised $34M in Series B funding round 💰💰💰 to expand equipifi’s reach to a broader base of FI partners and deepening product capabilities to further extend its leadership in the market. The company expects to double its headcount over the next year, with hiring focused on product and engineering roles.
      • BNPL has now become table stakes (um, did you see Klarna’s 1Q26 earnings?) and equipifi provides THE solution for FI’s to white-label installment options (both pre and post-purchase functionality) directly within the institutions own mobile and online platforms – preventing their customers from leaving the bank to an outside third-party.

 

  • PayPal (Nasdaq: PYPL) partners with Anthropic to increase AI fluency for Small Businesses by offering a FREE online course. “The course includes nine lessons featuring videos from AI fluency researchers and small business owners. The interactive, on-demand format allows people to learn at their own pace, with instructions rooted in the 4D AI Fluency framework designed to help people use AI safely and effectively. Upon completion, learners earn a certificate that can be shared with their social networks.” 🤙

 

  • Deluxe (NYS: DLX) announced a partnership with Dollar Bank (FDIC 32245; total assets $12.5B), the largest independent mutual bank in the U.S., to power merchant services capabilities for Dollar Banks business customers.  Big win for the Deluxe Team!!! 🏆

 

  • Intranet Connections announce the broader market availability of IC 3.0, the next evolution of its digital workplace platform designed to support the governance, security, and operational needs of financial institutions, healthcare organizations, government agencies, and other regulated environments.

 

  • Sturgis Bank & Trust Company (FDIC 28593; total assets $1B) selects MANTL (owned by Alkami) to transform its account opening experience for business and retail customers across all physical and digital banking channels.

 

  • 👀 ICYMI…  There have been some interesting research reports lately:
    • The Federal Reserve Bank of New York released their Quarterly Report on Household Debt & Credit and is further supplemented by this Liberty Street Economics deep dive with a couple of interesting points:
      • Student Loan debt remained relatively flat, but the share of student loan balances past due increased to near pre-pandemic levels at just over 10%.  Worth noting is “the average borrower entering default is nearly 40 years old, was not past due on their student loans prior to the pandemic, and is more likely to live in the South.”
      • Regarding this default perspective, “there is uniformly more mass among older borrowers, especially those 50 and older.”
      • Disclaimer – Note that Liberty Street Economics features insights and analysis from New York Fed economists and the views expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the position of the New York Fed or the Federal Reserve System.
    • The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia published a report titled Older Adults and Banking Deserts stating 4.5M older Americans (65 and older) live in banking deserts or are at risk of losing their last remaining branch; and that number has grown 26% since 2019.

 

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

  • Not sure why this popped into my head, but does anyone else remember the show, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjAIt7usK7M) from 1979 – 1981?  One of my favorite shows when I was a kid – loved Twiggy!!!
  • 🤔 Maybe a step in the right direction???  The Senate has adopted a resolution to withhold senators’ pay during government shutdowns.  Unfortunately, the resolution only applies to the Senate (to take place after November’s election)…  But maybe it will catch on with the House. 🤷‍♂️ Now if we could only impose that to all of Congress to balance the budget (dreaming big)…
  • Okay – let’s get to the Dad / Bad Jokes!!!
    • How do you save a dying pirate?  CP-ARRRRR!!! 🤠🏴‍☠️
    • How many boxes of Thin Mints do I need to eat before I start seeing results??? 😅
    • And lastly, some Uncle Sean definitions:
      • Claustrophobia (noun) [klaw-struh–foh-bee-uh]: a disproportionate fear of closed spaces.  Example: I’m going to the liquor store and I’m scared it might be closed. 😬😂
      • Iran (noun) [ahy-ran]: a new treadmill made by Apple. 😉
      • Foreplate (noun) [fawr-pleyt]: When you look up a restaurant’s menu before you go. 🤣

 
 
“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.