DBA Digest for December 15, 2023

Sarah Long and ABA Ring the Nasdaq Bell!

DBA President Sarah Long joined with colleagues from the American Bankers Association board to ring Nasdaq Closing Bell, December 14th, to mark the 20th anniversary of the ABA NASDAQ Community Bank Index (ABAQ).

Launched in December 2003, the ABAQ is the most broadly representative stock index for community banks and helps raise awareness of this key segment of the financial services sector among analysts and investors.

“We look forward to celebrating ABAQ’s 20th anniversary by ringing the Nasdaq Closing Bell,” said ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols. “This milestone speaks to the continued health and vitality of our nation’s community banks, and the critical role they play in our economy. The depth and breadth of our banking sector makes us the envy of the world, and community banks play an absolutely essential role in that ecosystem. We want to thank our partners at Nasdaq for their strong support of ABAQ over the years, and we congratulate the more than 250 banks that make up the index on this important achievement.”

Bank of America Private Bank Market Minute

With only three trading weeks left in 2023, momentum has slowed. U.S. Equities managed small gains last week with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite up 0.2% and 0.7%, respectively. The S&P 500 has moved less than 1% in either direction for the past 17 trading days—Its longest stretch since the beginning of August. Oil prices continued their decline, ticking below $70 per barrel for the first time in 5 months. Gold hovered around $2,000 per ounce, while the precious metal finished down 3.5% on the week. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index ended last week at its lowest level since January of 2020. Friday’s employment report revealed 199,000 jobs added in November, aided in part by the return of workers on strike. The unemployment rate surprised consensus at 3.7%, down from 3.9% in October, while the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey reported job openings for October were at their lowest level since March of 2021. Per the University of Michigan, recent talk of cooling inflation appears to be putting consumers in a better mood; preliminary consumer sentiment data for December erased the past four months of declines, driven by 1-year inflation expectations dropping from 4.5% to 3.1%.

Jenifer Jurden is a Cartoonist from Wilmington who has graciously provided her Planet Jurdy cartoons for the DBA Digest. Jurdy® is her other-worldly "Hero of Happyness" whose cartoons bring levity to humans worldwide.

14 Richards, Layton & Finger Lawyers Admitted to the Delaware Bar

Richards, Layton & Finger is pleased to announce that 14 associates of the firm have been admitted to the Delaware bar. The lawyers were admitted to practice in the State of Delaware by the Delaware Supreme Court in a ceremony, December 13th.

“Today represents the culmination of years of hard work and dedication, and we congratulate these talented young lawyers on their outstanding achievement,” said Lisa Schmidt, president of Richards Layton. “We look forward to the contributions I know they’ll make to our firm, our clients, and our community.”

Read the newly admitted attorneys, their law schools, and their areas of practice via the link below.

Morris Nichols Associates Admitted

to Practice in Delaware

Morris Nichols congratulates twelve lawyers associated with the firm who were admitted to practice in Delaware today.

“We extend our heartfelt congratulations to this cohort of emerging attorneys on reaching this significant milestone in their professional journeys,” said IP litigation partner and Morris Nichols recruiting committee chair Michael Flynn. “I’m pleased to welcome them as they join the Delaware bar.”

Read the newly admitted attorneys, and their areas of practice via the link below.

Podcast: The Future of Digital Consumer Payment Applications: CFPB's Proposed Larger Participant Rule

In this special joint episode of Payments Pros and The Consumer Finance Podcast, Carlin McCrory, Keith Barnett, James Kim, and Chris Willis discuss the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) proposed larger participant rule for consumer payments providers.

The rule is designed to supervise general use digital consumer payment applications, defining a market for these applications and subjecting participants to CFPB supervision and examination under the Consumer Financial Protection Act. Proposed on November 7, the rule targets nonbanks that provide general use digital consumer payment applications with an annual volume of at least 5 million consumer payment transactions. The CFPB plans to aggregate transactions among affiliated companies, and any nonbank covered person will be considered a larger participant for two years from the first day of the tax year in which they last met the larger participant test.