U.S. Market Close 5/28/2025

DOW 30  -0.58%  -244.95  42,098.70

S&P 500  -0.56%  -32.99  5,888.55

NASDAQ 100  -0.45%  -98.62  21,318.27

CFPB Reverses Position on Removing Medical Debt From Credit Reports

America’s consumer protection watchdog has switched its position on removing medical debt from credit reports.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) earlier this year finalized a rule that would have kept medical debt from people’s credit history. 

The regulator noted at the time that 15 million Americans would have benefited from the change, wiping $49 billion in debt from their records. 

Then came the change in administration, with the agency not just reversing its position, but also teaming with plaintiffs trying to block the rule, NPR reported Monday (May 26).

In a motion filed at the end of last month, CFPB joined the Consumer Data Industry Association and the Cornerstone Credit Union League to request a judgment “holding unlawful and vacating the Medical Debt Rule because it exceeds the Bureau’s statutory authority.”

Read more at PYMNTS.COM

Administration’s Tax Bill Includes 3.5% Levy on Migrant Remittances

It could soon cost more for migrants in the U.S. to send money back home.

As the Financial Times (FT) reported Sunday (May 25), that’s because the tax bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last week includes a 3.5% tax on remittance transfers by anyone who is not an American citizen or national. 

The U.S., the report added, is the largest originator of remittances in the world, with more than $656 billion sent overseas in 2023, per figures from the World Bank.

Experts told the FT there were several ways the tax could be circumvented. Migrants could ask a friend or family member who is a citizen to send the money, use cryptocurrency, or turn to the black market, such as “mules” who physically transport cash.

Read more at PYMNTS.COM

Borrower Credit Scores Plunge Following Student Loan Delinquencies

Millions of borrowers have reportedly seen their credit scores plummet because of delinquent student loans.

Credit scores fell by more than 100 points for 2.2 million delinquent student loan borrowers, and by at least 150 points for more than 1 million borrowers during the first three months of 2025, the Washington Post reported Sunday (May 25), citing an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. 

A VantageScore analysis of student loan debt from earlier this year projected that 2.3 million borrowers would see their scores fall into “subprime” territory, or below 600, and that 32% of borrowers who were expected to be past due have scores in the prime (661 to 780) or super prime (781 to 850) categories.

The Post report noted that this is the type of credit score decline that accompanies a personal bankruptcy filing. Around 2.4 million of those borrowers once had favorable credit scores and would have qualified for car loans, mortgages, or credit cards before these delinquencies were reported, researchers told the newspaper.

Read more at PYMNTS.COM

Credit unions challenge broken student loan system with revolutionary line of credit approach

Washington, D.C (May 21, 2025) | CU Student Choice, a credit union-owned organization that helps credit unions deliver private student loan solutions, announced expanded access to its flexible education line of credit product.

The announcement comes as student debt continues to weigh heavily on millions of families. Traditional private loans often force students to estimate the full cost of their education upfront, a tough ask given how often financial situations and academic paths change midstream.

Many borrowers end up on online lender marketplaces, dominated by national brands willing to pay big dollars for leads. But Student Choice’s user-friendly CUSelect Finder Tool at StudentChoice.org helps students and families discover line of credit options from credit unions that often go unseen on major comparison sites.

Read more at CUINSIGHT

Have a tax law question?

Our #IRS Interactive Tax Assistant has answers.

Watch this short video to learn more:

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An IRS article on;

What taxpayers should do if they get mail from the IRS.

Jose L. Santiago

Public Affairs Specialist

Tax Outreach, Partnership and Education

Email: jose.l.santiago@irs.gov

Big Banks Explore Interoperable Stablecoin

In a move that could disrupt the crypto and stablecoin landscape, major U.S. banks are exploring the creation of a consortium-backed stablecoin, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The discussions involve some of the nation’s largest financial institutions, including J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo, as well as jointly owned entities such as Early Warning Services, which operates peer-to-peer payment system Zelle, and The Clearing House.

The talks among banks remain at an early, exploratory stage, and any formal decision to move forward would depend heavily on legislative developments surrounding digital assets. The fate of the GENIUS Act, a bill that recently advanced in the Senate, is especially significant.

According to the Journal, and as reported in PYMNTS, the proposed legislation would set a clear regulatory framework for stablecoin issuance by both banks and nonbank entities. While the latest draft includes restrictions aimed at preventing nonfinancial public companies from entering the stablecoin market freely, it stops short of the outright ban that some bank lobbyists had sought.

Read more at PYMNTS.COM

Franchise Insights: Bridging the Gap

How El Vecino Helps Fill Financial Deserts with Culturally Connected Service Models

by Francisco Arellano, Fractional-COO

Across the U.S., the landscape of community financial services is shifting—dramatically. Over 13,000 local financial service providers have closed their doors in recent years, leaving behind what many now refer to as “financial deserts.” These are regions—often home to immigrant and underbanked communities—where traditional banking and essential services are either inaccessible or missing altogether.

El Vecino was built to respond to this reality.

Founded in 2008, El Vecino has grown into a trusted financial and telecom service center serving over 20,000 active customers monthly across four retail locations in New Jersey. With services ranging from money transfers and bill pay to smartphone sales and prepaid mobile plans, our model is designed specifically for the Hispanic immigrant population—culturally, linguistically, and operationally.

We are now expanding through franchise and licensing partnerships designed to bring this model into underserved communities across the country.

Read more at ELVECINO.NET

We advise financial technology companies at the

start-up, product development, and product evolution stages.

Here's Why Walmart Continues to Crush the S&P 500 (and if the Dividend Stock Is a Buy Now)

Key Points

• Walmart has rewarded investors with outsized gains.
• The retail giant is delivering value for consumers in-store and online.
• Even with Walmart’s advantages, the path forward will be challenging.

Last year, Walmart (NYSE: WMT) soared 71.9%, making it one of the best performers in the S&P 500 and the second-best performing component in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (behind only Nvidia).

Walmart is following up on that impressive performance with a 6.7% year-to-date gain at the time of this writing, which is far better than the S&P 500's 2.1% decline.

Here's why investors continue to gravitate toward the retail giant, and whether the dividend stock is a buy now.

Read more at The Motley Fool

The latest trends in auto loan rates and financing for 2025

The average car loan interest rate is 6.35% for new cars and 11.62% for used cars, according to Experian's State of the Automotive Finance Market report from the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2024. If you're thinking about buying a car in the near future, understanding the auto financing market can help you better evaluate your options.

Here are the latest trends for auto loans, including interest rates, lenders, financing and leasing, loan types and more.

Auto Loan Interest Rate Trends

New car loan interest rates are generally lower than used car loan rates, and there are a couple of reasons for that.

Read more at WFTV.COM

10 ways the Trump tax bill could affect your money

The sweeping tax bill passed by the House on Thursday morning is the cornerstone of the Republican Party’s economic agenda, with the potential to influence pocketbook issues like tax rates, overtime, child care and health care.

The legislation calls for boosting defense and border security spending, scaling back social services, and raising the debt ceiling. Given its price tag — the bill would add an estimated $2.4 trillion to the national debt over the next decade — and divisions among the various Republican factions, its fate is far from certain as it heads next to the Senate.

The bill could make a big difference for most Americans’ finances. If it doesn’t become law, expiring tax cuts alone could cost the average household more than $1,000. And that’s before the potential impact on social service programs. Not to mention the massive cost that could balloon the national debt, which already exceeds $36.2 trillion.

Here are 10 ways it could affect your finances:

1. Your tax rate won’t go up

Read more at The Washington Post

Moore (Maryland) allows payday loan bill, other measures to become law without his signature

A bill meant to regulate so-called “earned wage access” loans for the first time in Maryland will become law without the governor’s signature and over the objections of a coalition that strongly opposed it.

House Bill 1294 is one of a handful of bills that Gov. Wes Moore (D) will allow to become law without his signature, including a measure to clarify provisions of a clean-energy building standard and other to increase oversight of the Department of Information Technology. Moore cited beneficial elements for each bill, but also pointed to provisions that were potentially troublesome, leading him to withhold his signature.

The bills are the last gasp of a month in which the governor signed almost 800 bills from the 2025 General Assembly into law and they come a week after he announced vetoes of 23 measures, including his controversial veto of a bill to create a commission to study possible reparations. Lawmakers are expected to override that veto, if not others.

Read more at The Southern Maryland Chronicle

Private Credit Has a Problem: Too Much Money

These lenders are flush with cash, but the lack of buyouts is depressing pricing and activity

Managers of private-lending funds have no shortage of money at their disposal. The question is whether they will have enough good places to put it.

During other recent bouts of volatility and uncertainty, private-credit managers of direct-lending funds—who raise money from investors to lend to relatively risky companies—have seen surges of activity and returns. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, direct-lending activity and investment returns both soared.

So President Trump’s “Liberation Day” trade policies, and the aftershocks and uncertainty for many companies in their wake, seem like they should herald another big moment for private credit.

Read more at WSJ

What the ‘No Tax on Tips’ Bill Means for Workers and Businesses

Millions of American service workers—from bartenders and barbers to delivery drivers and nail techs—are one step closer to keeping their tips tax-free.

In a rare show of bipartisan unity, the Senate has unanimously passed the No Tax on Tips Act, a sweeping proposal that would overhaul how tipped income is taxed in the U.S. If signed into law, the bill would exempt up to $25,000 in tips from federal income taxes.

The bill, a signature campaign promise of President Donald Trump, now moves to the Republican-controlled House, where it enjoys broad support.

“We are one step closer to eliminating taxes on tipped wages for hardworking Americans,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement following the bill’s Senate passage. “Working Americans— from servers, to bartenders, delivery drivers, and everything in between— work hard for every dollar they earn and are the ones who deserve tax relief, not the ultra-rich.”  

Read more at TIME

Buy now, pay later usage for groceries nearly doubles as consumers struggle with food costs

Services like Klarna, PayPal, Affirm and Afterpay have surged in popularity in recent years

More consumers in today's economic environment are financing basic necessities like food through buy now, pay later financing options. 

It's a reality that highlights "how bifurcated the health of the consumer is today," according to Arun Sundaram, vice president and senior equity analyst at CFRA Research.

Today, a growing number of buy now, pay later users are utilizing these short-term loans to purchase groceries. Data from an April LendingTree's report shows that 25% of such users have used the service to buy groceries, up from 14% a year ago. 

"Lower-income households are facing much tougher financial choices than middle- and upper-income families," Sundaram told FOX Business. "When short-term cash flow takes priority over long-term financial stability, it can signal deeper financial stress that may have ripple effects down the road." 

Read more at FOX BUSINESS

Trump’s Eventual CFPB Pick Will Work in White House’s Shadow

Trump’s previous choice to lead CFPB now up for Treasury job

CFPB faces White House control and deep staff, funding cuts

President Donald Trump is mulling his options for a nominee to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau after withdrawing his first pick, but his eventual choice will inherit a hollowed-out agency and a White House eager to kneecap it at every turn.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced May 9 that Jonathan McKernan, Trump’s first choice for full-time CFPB director, would be nominated instead as Treasury’s head of domestic finance.

Among the names being considered for CFPB director are Mark Calabria, an Office of Management and Budget official currently detailed to the CFPB and former director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and acting Comptroller of the Currency Rodney Hood, according to industry and Capitol Hill sources who requested anonymity to discuss the process.

Read more at BLOOMBERLAW.COM

Whether as a standalone store or a kiosk inside your current location/s,

El Vecino provides a turnkey solution with a strong brand, built-in provider network, and all the support you need.

CFPB’s Move to Rescind Rule 1033 Creates Uncertainty in Open Banking

Apparently, the days of Rule 1033 are numbered. In fact, as of Sunday (May 25) they might be down to four, as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) general counsel indicated late Friday that it will petition a U.S. District Court in Kentucky on May 30 to have the rule rescinded.

The action took place as part of a status report from the bureau in its defense regarding a lawsuit filed against it and acting Chairman Russell Vought by several banks and the Bank Policy Institute (BPI). BPI and co-plaintiffs argued that the CFPB lacks the authority to mandate free, comprehensive data-sharing and that the rule risks undermining safer, emerging private-sector open banking efforts. They also raised concerns about the rule’s potential to increase fraud and scams, fail to hold third parties accountable, and allow third parties to profit from systems built by banks.

Read more at PYMNTS.COM

Speed Bump Ahead for Subprime Auto Lenders

Key Takeaways

• The proportion of subprime car loans declined in April, a signal that lending standards tightened even as the number of overall approvals increased.
• Large lenders are cutting their risk by rejecting more subprime applicants in the face of greater delinquencies.
• Average auto payments continue to run high, encouraging more purchasers into 72+ month financ

Automobile sales may still be rolling along, but the road is getting rocky for subprime borrowers. Lenders are pickier about high-risk loans even as overall approvals quietly go up. That leaves those with dubious credit to work harder to get financing.

The Dealertrack Credit Availability Index by Cox Automotive revealed that the number of subprime borrowers approved in April 2025 decreased by 2.8 percentage points from the previous month even as overall automobile loan approvals inched up by 0.2 points.

Read more at BADCREDIT.ORG

The IRS Lost a Third of Tax Auditors Due to DOGE Cuts: How This Could Impact Taxpayers

One of the more controversial (and potentially consequential) aspects of President Donald Trump’s second administration is the formation and implementation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an organization created to eliminate waste and supposed fraud within the federal government. Led by Elon Musk, one of DOGE’s major targets has been the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Per CBS News, one of DOGE’s stated goals is to cut 40% of the IRS workforce. Thus far, via both “deferred resignations” and layoffs, the IRS has lost approximately 11% of its workforce in 2025. Of those IRS agents who are no longer with the agency, some 3,600 are auditors — meaning the IRS has now lost about a third (31%) of its auditors since Trump’s inauguration in January. This major loss of auditors could impact taxpayers in a significant way, such as the one below.

A Perception of Lighter Consequences

Read more at GOBankingRates

Texas Loan Market Report 2025

Texas remains one of the largest markets for personal loans in the U.S. Borrowers continue to seek funds despite higher interest rates. In 2025, clear regional differences define how Texans access and repay personal loans. This report from 1F Cash Advance provides exclusive insight into the Texas consumer credit market and analyzes key trends and lender behavior.

Key Findings

• The average two‑year bank personal loan APR in Texas tracks the U.S. figure at roughly 12.3%, while three‑year credit‑union loans hover near 11%. 
• New consumer‑loan dollars fell 15% in 2023 as higher rates cooled demand, yet lenders still booked $9.2 billion statewide. 
• Personal loan delinquency (60+ days) eased to 3.57% by Q4 2024, down from 3.90% a year earlier. 
• San Antonio ranks first in the nation: one‑third of adults there have a personal loan, with an average balance above $5,100. 

Interest Rates Across Texas in 2025

Read more at TXKTODAY.com

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It’s Time For Banks To Tackle Bill Management



The "subscription economy" has exploded, consumers are struggling to manage their costs, and standalone subscription management tools have boomed. Banks are uniquely positioned to assist their customers with subscription overload, but more institutions need to get in the game.

In today’s digital-first world, subscriptions have quietly taken over our lives. From streaming services and meal kits to fitness apps and cloud storage, consumers now juggle dozens of recurring charges — many of which they barely remember signing up for. The "subscription economy" has not just expanded — it has exploded — and consumers are in dire need of solutions that put them back in the driver’s seat.

Subscription Overload is Now a Crisis

According to recent studies, the average U.S. consumer spends over $270 per month on subscriptions—often without realizing it. Services that once required a one-time purchase now charge monthly or annually. While this model provides convenience and continuous updates, it also introduces financial ambiguity.

Read more at The Financial Brand

Alternate Payments Cleared for Takeoff as Platforms Catch Up With Travelers’ Payment Demands

The travel industry can call to mind pink sand beaches, loyalty points and upgrades. But behind the scenes, the sector is defined by the way people pay.

And there have never been more ways to pay.

“As soon as we think we’ve got it covered, more payment options come out,” Damien Cramer, SVP of Global Travel at Nuvei, told PYMNTS. “That’s the reality of the world that we live in right now.”

At the heart of this disruption is the proliferation of alternative payment methods (APMs), which are reshaping how airlines, booking platforms and global travelers handle transactions. With over 700 APMs globally (and counting), this ever-growing universe of payment mechanisms has come to include digital wallets, real-time bank transfers, QR code payments, loyalty-point transactions and other innovations replacing or augmenting credit cards.

In regions like Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa, for example, APMs aren’t alternatives — they are the norm.

Read more at PYMNTS.COM

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