Uncle Sean’s Update – 6/12/26

​Happy Friday!!!
 
Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 6/12/26 (subscribe here for free):
 

• Pretty sure everyone saw this coming with gas prices remaining elevated…  As expected, the BLS May CPI report came in hot at 4.2% YoY (April was 3.8%) which is the highest annual reading since April 2023.  Core CPI at 2.9% (April was 2.8%) with the energy index up 23.5% (gasoline at 40.5%).  CNBC has a good summary analysis.

 

• 👉👉👉 FinPro, Inc. announced the formation of The Alliance Consortium, LLC, (The Alliance)™ along with as strategic investment by Fiserv into FinPro demonstrating Fiserv’s commitment to The Alliance and community banks as a whole.  The Alliance is a bank‑owned entity designed to provide excess deposit insurance coverage for community banks and their depositors beyond traditional FDIC limits. 💥
  • “In addition to providing excess deposit insurance coverage, The Alliance will offer participating banks access to enhanced risk monitoring and mitigation services, including a free subscription to FinPro’s Scorecard System which is the foundation for the insurance rating risk analytics. In addition, FinPro will be providing five levels of risk mitigation which collectively should reduce the number of bank failures and materially reduce the cost of bank failure resolutions. FinPro is currently in process of getting patent protection on both its unique Scorecard System along with the mitigation process.”
    • OUTSTANDING!!! 🚀

 

• This speech by FDIC Chairman Travis Hill is a must read (the timing and context aligns 💯 perfectly with FinPro’s excess deposit insurance announcement above 👆) – Rethinking Resolution Readiness: Learning from Experience and Sharpening Focus. A few key points:
  • enhanced IDI resolution planning and access to third-party service providers and/or internal systems with the goal of lowering the cost of a bank’s failure
  • expect to continue to build up the DIF and proceed towards the FDIC’s long-term target of 2%
  • plans to further expand abilities to rapidly identify insured versus uninsured deposit accounts in a failure
  • working on a modified procurement process for resolution-related contracts with private sector financial advisors with the goal to “increase competition, reduce timelines, and allow for greater flexibility in the overall process, so that we can contract with top industry participants and reduce overall costs to the DIF.”

 

• Smiley Technologies announced a partnership with SavvyMoney to bring SavvyMoney’s credit awareness, financial education, and personalized opportunities directly to Smiley Technologies bank customers within their digital banking platform, without asking their end customers to go elsewhere or start over. 👍

 

• Vine announced the launch of its new Reporting Dashboard that provides a centralized view of key agricultural and commercial loan portfolio metrics, unifying loan portfolio performance with core banking data, including deposit relationships and liquidity trends, giving institutions the full financial picture of their performance.

 

• Grasshopper Bank (FDIC 59113; total assets $1.5B) announced the launch of Grasshopper Treasury, in partnership with Waldo, to help Grasshopper’s business banking clients optimize idle cash and access treasury portfolios directly through the Bank’s digital platform, with target yields of up to 5% (and same-day withdrawals).

 

• VIVA Finance announced a new partnership with DR Bank (FDIC 58257; total assets $861M) where DR Bank will be a sponsor issuer of loans on VIVA’s employer-based lending platform.

 

• Autobooks, in conjunction with their partnership with Global Payments (NYSE: GPN – formerly WorldPay) adds pay by card to bill pay allowing consumers and small businesses to pay any bill by credit card, including bills owed to billers who do not accept card payments directly.

 

• 👀 Good things happening here as Republic Bank of Chicago (FDIC 19333; total assets $2.5B) partners with Kobalt Labs to modernize its third-party risk and compliance oversight with further expansion into fintech partner diligence and marketing collateral review.
  • Check out Kobalt AI-based TPRM and compliance solutions at https://www.kobaltlabs.com/. 🤙

 

• Square Financial Services (FDIC 59177; total assets $1.8B) announced the launch of Square High Yield Savings paying 3.5% APY to Square sellers that maintain a daily balance of $10K or more in their Square Savings account. Square also announced the upcoming automated sales tax folder, a new feature within Square Savings that automatically sweeps the sales tax collected on eligible card sales into a dedicated folder (helping owners who struggle to keep track of sales taxes collected).

 

• Speaking of high-yield savings…  Klarna announced the launch of Klarna Savings accounts in the U.S. paying 3.28% APY with no minimum and no fees available directly in the Klarna app and held by WebBank (FDIC 34404; total assets $2.6B).

 

• Sponsor Bank flex 💪 as Capital Community Bank (CCBank; FDIC 33823; total assets $1.5B) announced the launch of Quill Bank to serve the fintech banking vertical highlighting a trusted brand backed by the bank’s regulatory, operational, and relationship-banking expertise.
  • Andrew Cusick, Chief Business Development Officer, said, “Innovation without a solid banking backbone can be a liability. Quill Bank exists because fintechs deserve a brand that reflects the institution standing behind them — one with tested experience, real relationships, and know‑how.”
    • Per the PR, “Quill Bank’s launch is effective on June 30, 2026, when the Quill.Bank website will go live. Fintechs interested in learning more about Quill Bank can contact Andrew Cusick at (801) 705-4383 or andrew.cusick@ccbank.com”
      • Oh and I couldn’t help but notice that Limelight Bank (the direct digital bank brand of CCBank) is sporting a nice 3.90% high-yield savings account. Sweet!!! 😉

 

• Members First Credit Union (charter 67153; total assets $206M) selects Mahalo and Correlation for a complete primary tech stack upgrade with Mahalo powering online and mobile alongside Corelation Keystone as new core processor replacing FLEX.

 

• Oof… 😬 The NCUA has filed a lawsuit against the former president and CEO of Jackson Area Federal Credit Union (JAFCU) and her husband, alleging the executive misappropriated at least $95M 😲 from the institution over a period spanning several years, with the funds allegedly going to luxury jewelry, a grand piano, multiple properties, and more than $14 million in credit card charges. 
  • Jackson Area Federal Credit Union (charter 8445 and previously conserved on 5/6/26) filed a revised March call report in May showing $71M in total assets (Dec was $162M) and a Net Loss of -$92M (due to a misc non-interest exp charge of $92M) resulting in a negative equity position of -$77M (Source: FedFis).
    • By the way…  Credit to Mark Treichel who wasn’t the only one with a raised eyebrow when JAFCU was conserved, but he was the only one that I saw with a legitimate deep dive as to why this seemed odd from the get-go. (source: May 7 – https://www.marktreichel.com/post/five-lessons-from-the-jackson-area-federal-credit-union-conservatorship).  Great work, Mark! 👏

 

• Some personnel moves:
  • Yendo announces Kevin Bird as Chief Product Officer and Nizar Rana as Chief Marketing Officer.
  • Synctera welcomes Chris Mayor as CTO.

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Reset (embedded EWA platform for community banks and CU’s) raised $6M in Seed funding with participation from the Bankers Helping Bankers Fund and many others.
  • EDGE Markets (fintech banking solution for emerging verticals such as betting, gaming, and casinos) raised $29.2M in Series A round.
  • Current (fintech banking app for consumers) raised $80M in Series E funding round at a $1.5B valuation stating a third consecutive year of growth exceeding 70%.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• Holy smokes – I hope you were able to watch Game 4 of the NBA Finals this week.  That was a CRAZY game with the Spurs giving up a 29 point lead (the largest in NBA finals history) to lose to the Knicks 106 – 107 in the last second.   ESPN analyst and former NBA All-Star Charles Barkley did not hold back on his criticism of the Spurs performance. 😲 Game 5 is Saturday night in San Antonio.
• 🙏 Welcoming all international visitors to Texas for the World Cup ⚽!  This Austin American Statesman article is fantastic –  Europeans in Texas react to Buc-ee’s! 🤠
  • “Europeans seeing their first Buc ee’s be like: Why does this gas station have its own economy? 😭”
• And here are the obligatory Dad / Bad Jokes to close out this crazy week!!!
  • Running late is my morning workout! 😬🏃‍♂️‍➡️
  • U-Haul has the worst drivers of any moving company!!! 🚚😂
  • Not to brag too much, but…  I can always tell when they use fake dinosaurs in a movie. 🦖😉
  • “Orion’s Belt is a big waist of space.”  Terrible joke – only three stars. 😄
  • And my favorite this week:
    • Wine is Narcan for when you overdose on Microsoft Teams! 🍷🤣

 
 
“The world needs good people – be one of them.”
 
Have a GREAT weekend and please stay safe!  GO SPURS GO!!!! 🏀🏆
 
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.