U.S. Market Close 03/02/2026

DOW 30  -0.15% -73.14  48,904.78

S&P 500  +0.04% +2.74  6,881.62

NASDAQ 100  +0.13% +32.57  24,992.60

CLOSED TRANSACTIONS

• 1. Specialty Finance Company. $50 million Senior Credit Facility
• 2. Small Business Finance Company $25 million Senior Credit Facility
• 3. Consumer Installment Lender. $240 million Forward Flow Agreement
• 4. Cambridge Wilkinson Investment Bank Closes Sale of $80MM+ Consumer Loan Portfolio

Banks Face Money Laundering Crisis Amid Instability

Financial institutions struggle to detect crime in global supply chains as criminals use AI while banks rely on manual compliance processes

Financial institutions are losing ground in the fight against trade-based money laundering as criminals exploit geopolitical instability and technological advantages that legacy compliance systems cannot match.

A World Economic Forum report reveals that while illicit funds flowing through global trade networks have reached US$5.5tn annually, the fintech infrastructure designed to detect these crimes remains fragmented and reactive.

The scale of the challenge facing financial services technology is substantial. According to the report, global money laundering represents between 2% and 5% of worldwide gross domestic product (GDP). In Europe alone, approximately US$750bn in illicit funds passed through the financial system in 2024, despite 75% of European compliance decision-makers reporting that regulatory requirements had intensified markedly during the same period.

Read more at FINTECH MAGAZINE

The Rise of Digital Banking: Why Financial Literacy Is More Important than Ever

Overview:

• Financial literacy is crucial in the digital age, where online banking has become the norm. A study by Pew Research showed that only about 54% of Americans felt knowledgeable about personal finances, such as debt management, saving, or investing. Financial literacy includes budgeting, debt management, savings, investing, and emergency planning. It's important to choose the right financial institution, diversify investments, understand credit, and get life insurance. Digital banking has its challenges, such as online crime, but security measures can be taken to ensure a secure financial future.

Thanks to the rise in financial technology, going to the bank no longer means standing in line at Bank of America or Wells Fargo, but is as simple as clicking on an app on your phone. With this online convenience comes an even greater need for financial literacy to manage funds, avoid scams, and adjust savings and investment strategies.

To show how the banking game has changed, some are digital only and may use AI-driven chatbots for customer service. Whether totally online or operating as a hybrid with brick-and-mortar establishments, digital banking also allows customers to automate savings, operate card controls, and transfer money seamlessly to others. In addition to traditional banks, there are alternative payment solutions like PayPal, Wise, and Revolut to consider.

Read more at The Dallas Weekly

Small Businesses Ask Court to Rein in Debit Card Processing Fees

The following information was released by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB):

Amicus brief challenges the legality of debit interchange fee cap

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Feb. 23, 2026) NFIB filed an amicus brief in the case Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. The case involves debit card processing fees and the Federal Reserve Board's authority to include additional costs when calculating the debit interchange fee cap.

"In recent years, card payments have become the default for most Americans. Small business merchants have no choice but to accept debit cards as a form of payment in order to provide for their customers' needs," said Beth Milito, Vice President and Executive Director of NFIB's Small Business Legal Center. "The district court correctly determined that the Federal Reserve considered improper costs in setting the interchange fee amount. Small businesses are hopeful that the court of appeals agrees and rebuffs the attempt by banks to continue charging unreasonably high interchange fees."

Read more at INSURANCE NEWS NET

Consumer Finance State Roundup - February 2026: by Alston & Bird

The latest edition of the Consumer Finance State Roundup highlights recently enacted measures of potential interest from two states:

New Jersey

Effective immediately upon approval by Governor Phil Murphy on January 12, Assembly Bill 4841 amends the Law Against Discrimination to prohibit discrimination based upon “source of lawful income used for rental or mortgage payments,” among other bases. The measure – which focuses principally on discriminatory practices relating to the sale, rental, lease, assignment, or sublease of real property – defines “source of lawful income” as any source of income lawfully obtained or any source of rental or mortgage payment lawfully obtained including, but not limited to, any federal, State, or local public assistance or housing assistance voucher or funds, including Section 8 housing choice vouchers, temporary rental assistance programs or State rental assistance programs; rental assistance funds provided by a nonprofit organization; federal, State, or local benefits, including disability benefits and veterans’ benefits; court-ordered payments, including, but not limited to, child support, alimony, or damages; and any form of lawful currency tendered, without regard to whether the currency is tendered in the form of cash, check, money order, or other lawful means.

Read more at JD Supra, LLC

New York Proposes Sweeping Licensing and Consumer Protection Regime for BNPL Lenders: By Matthew Berns, Jason Cover, Mark Furletti, Stefanie Jackman, Chris Willis, Taylor Gess & Jeremy Sairsingh

On February 23, the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) issued a proposed new Part 423 to Title 3 of the NYCRR to implement New York Banking Law Article 14‑B for Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) lenders. The proposal would move BNPL firmly into New York’s credit system, imposing licensing, supervision, disclosure, data privacy, and underwriting requirements on both interest‑free and interest‑bearing BNPL products offered to New York consumers. If adopted, the rule would take effect 180 days after the notice of adoption is published in the State Register, with a short transitional period for existing BNPL providers. DFS is accepting pre-proposal comments through March 5, 2026, after which the proposed rule will be published in the New York state register for a formal 60-day comment period.

Key Points

• Who Is Covered; Product Scope
• “BNPL lenders” include both originators and acquirers of BNPL loans offered in New York to New York consumers, including platform operators that connect consumers to BNPL credit.
• Covers closed‑end consumer credit for the purchase of goods or services (other than motor vehicles), including both “zero‑interest” and interest‑bearing BNPL loans.

Read more at Troutman Pepper Locke

Coming for Your Credit Card from Left and Right: CATO

The strange new alliance between democratic socialists and nationalist populists isn’t a sign of political healing. It’s a sign that people have lost their grip on basic economics.

For months, the two men traded the harshest of insults. Mamdani was a “communist” and “radical left lunatic”; Trump a “fascist” and “despot.” Yet with New York’s mayoral election over and cameras clicking, the insults were on hold. The men praised each other as “rational” and “productive.” Trump even joked that Mamdani might “surprise some conservative people.”

Give them points for collegiality, just don’t be surprised. Trump and Mamdani are only the latest example of the Right and the Left converging on economic issues. One likes price floors, the other likes rent control. They’re both waging the same “war on prices,” as the Cato Institute’s Ryan Bourne calls it. And this war enjoys rising bipartisan support.

Take legislation introduced earlier this year by what would have once been an unlikely duo: Sens. Josh Hawley (R‑Mo.) and Bernie Sanders (I‑Vt.). Their “10 Percent Credit Card Interest Rate Cap Act” — also reflecting a Trump idea from the 2024 campaign — sounds compassionate. Who enjoys paying 25% interest?

Read more at CATO.ORG

Have a tax law question?

Our #IRS Interactive Tax Assistant has answers.

Watch this short video to learn more:

https://youtu.be/y6HkaBkdKdU

Jose L. Santiago

Public Affairs Specialist

Tax Outreach, Partnership and Education

Email: jose.l.santiago@irs.gov

Are Baby Boomers wealthier than previous generations of older adults? PEW RESEARCH CENTER

As the oldest Baby Boomers turn 80 this year, many people are taking stock of how this generation has impacted American life.

One fact is clear: They’ve accumulated more wealth ($85 trillion by some accounts) than previous generations of older Americans.

In 2022, the typical (median) household headed by a Baby Boomer had a net worth of $432,200. That year, Baby Boomers were 58 to 76 years old. By comparison, the median wealth of 58- to 76-year-olds in 2001 (who were mostly members of the Silent Generation) was $335,900. In 1983, the typical wealth of households headed by someone in this age range (mostly members of the Greatest Generation) was $185,300. All numbers are in 2024 dollars.

But there’s more to the story. Baby Boomers’ wealth is not equally distributed. As is the case for other age groups, Boomers’ wealth is concentrated in a relatively small share of households.

Read more at Pew Research Center

3 charts highlight the affordability issues Americans worry about most

President Trump gave his 2026 State of the Union address on Tuesday evening, during which he addressed, among other topics, the economy — an urgent topic of concern for millions of Americans who say they're worried about everything from the price of food to spiraling health care costs.

The president touted his work during his first year back in office, saying, "inflation is plummeting, incomes are rising fast, the roaring economy is roaring like never before."

By conventional metrics, the economy looks resilient. Unemployment remains low at 4.3%; inflation is cooling; and GDP is expanding, with the U.S. largely shrugging off the impact of tariffs that economists feared could trigger a recession. Consumers — whose spending keeps the economy humming — also report feeling more confident of late amid a burst in January job creation. 

Read more at CBS NEWS

Populus Financial Group, Inc. donates 850 books to

Davis Elementary School in Irving, Texas.

DALLAS (Feb. 24, 2026) – Populus Financial Group, Inc. (Populus), through its ACE Community Fund, donated 850 new books to the students at Davis Elementary School as part of its Populus Book Day initiative.

During the event, Populus employees assisted Davis Elementary School students in selecting a book of their choice at the annual Scholastic Book Fair.

Here's how Americans say they plan to use their bigger tax refunds this year

Tax refunds are shaping up to be supersized in 2026, thanks to the "big, beautiful bill" signed into law last summer by President Trump. And many Americans already have plans for how to use that money, according to new findings from Bank of America Global Research

The most common use of tax refunds — often the biggest check of the year for many households — is paying down debt, the research found.

About 36% of respondents to a Bank of America survey this month said they plan to use their IRS refund to pare their debt. Roughly 10% said they would make a major purchase or cover everyday expenses, while about 13% expect to put the money toward savings.

Household debt in the U.S. has hit new records in recent months, with Americans leaning more on credit cards for everyday expenses and taking out larger loans amid rising car and home prices. Despite the higher balances, this year's plans echo prior years, when paying down debt was also a priority, Matt Schulz, chief consumer finance analyst at LendingTree, told CBS News.

Read more at CBS NEWS

The Fed’s Defenses of Interest on Reserves Are Flawed: CATO

The interest on reserves (IOR) framework, adopted by the Fed in the aftermath of the 2008 recession, is among the most dangerous of its “unconventional” modern monetary policy tools. Under this framework, the Fed pays billions of dollars to large banks to keep their deposits with the Fed. These deposits could have otherwise been used to fund capital investment in the private economy, and the Fed’s interest payments reduce the money it remits to the US Treasury. This framework also allows politicians to funnel mass spending programs through the Fed’s balance sheet without a proper appropriations process.

We have criticized the policy in-depth elsewhere, but this blog analyzes three of the ways the Fed defends its IOR framework, each of which ranges from obfuscating the truth to being demonstrably false.

1. The Fed claims that eliminating IOR would not save taxpayers any money. On its monetary policy FAQs webpage, the Fed defends this assertion in two ways.

Read more at CATO.ORG

What It Means To Be A Bank Is Rapidly Changing

Seven Key Takeaways From FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile, Trump Admin Floats Requiring Banks To Collect Citizenship Info, Binance Facilitated $1.7Bn in Iranian Transactions, Stripe’s Annual Letter

I was working from Mexico City last week, and, I have to say, I missed my timezone arbitrage. Working from seven hours ahead of the U.S. east coast lets me spend all morning on focused work, before my inbox and phone start blowing up. Being one hour behind has been… different. Being in Mexico City did allow me to swing by the Stablecon Roadshow on Wednesday — congrats to Nik Milanović and team on a great event!

Mitchell Troyanovsky, Matt Harpe and the entire Basis team also deserve congratulations on announcing they have raised a $100 million round that values the company at a $1.15 billion. The round was led by Accel with participation from GV and former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein. I’m proud to have been an early investor and supporter in the company, and seeing the caliber of the team and its execution is inspiring.

Read more at FINTECH BUSINESS WEEKLY

Why Fintechs and Crypto Companies Want US Bank Charters

I treat “getting a charter” as buying a different physics model for your business. It is not branding. It is permissioning, funding, and durable control over dependencies.

Fintechs pursue charters for three hard reasons: (1) cheaper and stickier funding via insured deposits rather than wholesale lines and securitizations, (2) federal preemption and single-regulator operating posture instead of state-by-state licensing and sponsor-bank fragility, and (3) direct or more durable access to payment rails and network roles that are otherwise rented through partners.

Crypto companies pursue charters, especially national trust bank variants, to sit inside the regulated custody and settlement perimeter: fiduciary custody, qualified custodian posture, reserve management for stablecoins, and in some cases stablecoin issuance under the post-2025 federal stablecoin framework.

Read more at FINEXTRA

Key facts about the U.S. Black population: PEW RESEARCH CENTER

The number of Black people living in the United States reached a new high of 49.2 million in 2024. That’s up 36% since 2000, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of government data. This group is diverse, with an increasing number who say they are of two or more races.

Here are key facts about the nation’s Black population. This analysis includes three main groups: Americans who say their race is only Black and they are not Hispanic; those who say Black is one of two or more races in their identity and they are not Hispanic; and those who say they are Black alone or with other races and are also Hispanic or Latino.

1. The Black population in the U.S. has grown from 36.2 million in 2000 to 49.2 million in 2024. Notably, the number of Black people who are multiracial and not Hispanic has increased 295%, and the number who say they are Black and Hispanic has risen by 232%. This increase in racial diversity among Black Americans reflects broader growth in the number of multiracial Americans.

The arrival of immigrants from Africa, the Caribbean and elsewhere has also contributed to Black population growth.

Read more at Pew Research Center

Treasury Department terminates union contracts for IRS and Bureau of the Fiscal Service workers

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department has terminated its collective bargaining agreement with unionized workers employed at the Internal Revenue Service, the agency said Friday, in an escalation of President Donald Trump’s push to exert more control over the federal workforce.

The union contract for the Bureau of the Fiscal Service was also terminated this week, according to two people familiar with the decision. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the media.

Workers at the IRS and the fiscal service bureau, which processes payments for the government, are represented by the National Treasury Employees Union. They were informed by agency leadership that Treasury terminated their collective bargaining agreements, using an executive order President Donald Trump signed last March as the authority for the terminations.

In a letter to IRS workers Friday, viewed by The Associated Press, IRS Chief Human Capital Officer Alex Kweskin told employees the move “deepens our commitment of operating as one IRS, a collaborative team focused on serving American taxpayers.”

Read more at TMJ4

Customized Payment Processing and

Merchant Service Provider for Your Business EC

Americans Face Rising Costs in the 'Annoyance Economy'—Experts Explain the Hidden Expenses

Key Takeaways

• A new study argues that the "Annoyance Economy" costs American families at least $165 billion annually in junk fees, spam calls, and other things that waste time and money.
• The researchers claim that companies intentionally make subscription cancellations difficult, increasing their revenue by over 200%.
• Complex health insurance paperwork and poor customer service contribute significantly to consumer frustration and financial losses.

You call your insurance company about a nixed claim, get routed through a phone tree, wait 40 minutes, explain your problem to a chatbot that can't help, then start over with a human agent who asks for the same information. By the time you hang up, you've burned an hour on what should've been a two-minute fix—and you might have to call again.

Now multiply that frustration across most U.S. households every year and you get what Stanford economist Neale Mahoney and Groundwork Collaborative policy fellow Chad Maisel call the "Annoyance Economy."

Read more at INVESTOPEDIA

Investing in the Shadows: FinTech Growth and Mortgage Market Dynamics: FEDERAL RESERVE

Abstract: The adoption of new technologies is widely viewed as a key driver of the rapid growth of nonbanks in the U.S. mortgage market after the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). This paper studies technology investment by mortgage lenders and its implications for post-GFC market structure. Using a new dataset on lender-level technology investment merged with loan origination records and balance-sheet information, we document that technology-related human capital investment has risen over time, driven disproportionately by banks and larger lenders, and that such investment predicts higher subsequent productivity. We then estimate lenders’ investment responses to two major shocks: the expansion of FinTech lending and monetary policy-driven demand shocks. Our instrumental-variable estimates suggest that banks increase technology investment in response to FinTech growth, whereas nonbanks respond weakly or even negatively; in contrast, nonbanks respond more strongly to positive demand shocks. To quantify the relative contributions of these shocks to changes in market structure, we build a heterogeneous-firm model consistent with the empirical evidence.

Read more at Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

Senators Introduce American Lending Fairness Act to Clarify DIDMCA Opt-Out Authority: by A.J. S. Dhaliwal, Mehul N. Madia, Maxwell Earp-Thomas

On February 12, Senator Bernie Moreno introduced the American Lending Fairness Act of 2026, legislation that would amend the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the Federal Credit Union Act to clarify the scope of federal interest rate exportation for state-chartered banks and credit unions.

The bill would revise the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the Federal Credit Union Act to provide that, if a state elects to opt out of federal interest rate preemption, that decision would apply only to loans made by institutions chartered by that state. As drafted, a state could continue to regulate the rates charged by its own state-chartered institutions, but it could not extend those caps to loans made by out-of-state, state-chartered banks or credit unions relying on federal authority.

The legislation also repeals Section 525 of the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 (DIDMCA), and specifies that the new amendments would govern the legal effect of prior state opt-outs adopted under that provision.

Read more at Sheppard

About 1 in 5 U.S. workers now use AI in their job, up since last year: PEW

As the abilities of artificial intelligence (AI) tools advance rapidly, a growing share of Americans say they are using the technology in their jobs.

Today, 21% of U.S. workers say at least some of their work is done with AI, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in September. That share is up from 16% roughly a year ago.

Most American workers (65%) still say they don’t use AI much or at all in their job.

The small share of those who say all or most of their work is done with AI is unchanged from 2024 (2%). But the share who say some of their work is done with AI increased from 14% to 19%.

Read more at Pew Research Center

ATTN: Texas CAB Licensing Update – Transition to NMLS

The Texas Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner (OCCC) has officially shut down Credit Access Business (CAB) functionality in the ALECS system as part of the transition to the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System & Registry (NMLS).

CABs will begin the official transition process Monday, March 16.

For now, you can go here to access licensing documents and guidance on the NMLS transition: https://occc.texas.gov/industry/cab/licensing-forms/ 

A few important operational notes for the industry:

• If you were in the process of preparing a new CAB license application in ALECS but had not yet submitted it, those applications appear to have been deleted.

• If you currently have a CAB license application already under review, you will still be able to continue working through that application within ALECS.

• No new CAB license activity will be accepted in ALECS going forward.

Beginning March 16, all new CAB applicants will need to complete the entire licensing process through NMLS.

For existing CAB licensees, the transition application process will require several steps:

• Creation of an NMLS company account

• Creation of individual NMLS accounts for owners, control persons, and other required individuals

• Addition of branch locations (if applicable)

• Assignment of branch managers

Each of these steps involves its own process of data entry, document uploads, and attestations to properly link all company, individual, and branch records within NMLS.

Another notable change: OCCC reporting will no longer occur through ALECS. At this time it has not yet been announced what system will ultimately handle CAB annual and quarterly reporting going forward.

For many of us who have worked in Texas consumer lending for years, ALECS has been a simple — if sometimes quirky — system. We learned its nuances, its shortcuts, and its occasional roadblocks.

Now we begin working inside NMLS… which of course has its own set of complexities.

CAB Consulting assisted many Regulated Lenders with this same transition last Summer and has already begun working with Texas CABs to get ready for this process. Reach out for more information see below for contact.

Best,

Michael Brown

Principal: CAB Consulting

Email: Michael@CreditAccessBusiness.com

Direct: 214-293-8676

www.CreditAccessBusiness.com

Owner: Star of Texas Financial Solutions

www.StarOfTexasFinancial.com

Against a Two-for-One Offer of Price Controls on Food and Credit Cards: CATO

Jared Bernstein, former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under Joe Biden, has resurfaced with a new affordability wheeze: cap the price of groceries, with grocers compensated by price controls on credit card swipe fees.

Bernstein’s proposal, issued by the Center for American Progress (CAP), is to corral big grocery chains and their suppliers into a two-year “voluntary” price freeze on 24 staples—eggs, ground beef, canned tuna, milk, and the like—hoping that wages will “catch up” while the shock of high prices for shoppers after the recent inflation gradually fades.

Bernstein acknowledges that grocers might pass their revenue losses along to workers and suppliers. To guard against this, he recommends insulating grocers from losses and encouraging their participation in the price-cap plan, with promises of tariff relief and drastic reductions in the credit card swipe fees that grocers pay to Visa and Mastercard.

Read more at CATO.ORG

Court says the IRS can continue to share immigrants' taxpayer data with ICE

WASHINGTON -- A Washington, D.C., federal court on Tuesday rejected a request from an immigrant rights group to temporarily block the IRS from sharing certain taxpayer data that could make it easier to identify and deport people who are in the U.S. illegally.

A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit declined to issue a preliminary injunction for the immigrants' rights group, Centro de Trabajadores Unidos, and other nonprofits that are suing the federal government over the data-sharing agreement signed last April by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

The agreement allows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to submit names and addresses of immigrants inside the U.S. illegally to the IRS for cross-verification against tax records.

Read more at ABC7

Understanding Debanking: Evaluating Governmental, Operational, Political, and Religious Financial Account Closures: CATO

This study examines the growing phenomenon of debanking—the sudden and often unexplained closure of individuals’ or organizations’ financial accounts. While media and political narratives often attribute these closures to political or religious discrimination, this study finds that the majority of debanking cases stem from governmental pressure. To identify this cause more accurately, the study distinguishes between four forms of debanking—governmental, operational, political, and religious—evaluating each form in turn. Based on public evidence, governmental debanking appears to be the most significant issue. Congress can correct this issue by reforming the Bank Secrecy Act, repealing confidentiality laws, and permanently ending reputational risk regulation. Doing so would reduce the incentives to debank, expose how widespread debanking has become, and cut out the tools that the government has used to pressure banks and other financial institutions.

Read more at CATO.ORG

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How religious is your state? PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Comparing states on key measures of religiousness

Pew Research Center’s 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study was designed to paint a statistical portrait of religion in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

How religious is your state? Select a state below to see where it ranks on some key measures of religion.

When comparing states, it’s important to keep in mind that some differences may not be statistically significant, due to the survey’s margins of error.

#1. Mississippi

Read more at Pew Research Center

How Government Debt Raises Your Borrowing Costs and Makes Life Unaffordable: CATO

The interest on a typical 30-year mortgage costs $500 more per month than it did in 2019. Credit card rates have climbed to record highs. From auto loans to business financing, borrowing costs have surged across the board since the pandemic. Understandably, many Americans are frustrated by rising borrowing costs and sticker shock, even as wage gains have outpaced inflation since early 2023. Today, affordability, inflation, and deficits consistently rank among the top priorities for voters. If politicians want to make life more affordable and bring down interest rates, they should focus on reducing spending and government intervention, not increasing it.

Federal Borrowing Raises Interest Costs for Consumers and Business Owners

When the federal government runs a deficit, it must borrow to cover the gap between spending and tax revenue. This deficit spending and the borrowing needed to finance it impact the overall economy.

Read more at CATO.ORG