U.S. Market Close 12/15/2025

DOW 30  -0.09% -41.49 48,416.56

S&P 500  -0.16% -10.90 6,816.51

NASDAQ 100  -0.51% -129.47 25,067.26

Three in four homeowners eye mortgage alternatives as frustrations with lenders grow

New survey points to rising demand for flexible, no-payment ways to tap home equity

Homeowners who once viewed traditional mortgages and home equity products as the default path to financial flexibility increasingly look elsewhere, according to new survey findings from Boston-based fintech Hometap.

The research points to a widening gap between what borrowers wanted from housing finance and what banks and mortgage lenders currently offer.

The survey of 1,000 US homeowners, conducted in October 2025, found that “traditional lending doesn’t meet every homeowner’s needs today,” as many respondents said products such as mortgages, HELOCs and home equity loans no longer align with their “financial realities or goals.”

“Homeowners are rethinking what financial flexibility really means,” Hometap CEO Jeffrey Glass said.

Read more at MPA News

The Unanticipated Costs and Consequences of Federal Reserve Regulation of Debit Card Interchange Fees

Americans currently use debit cards and credit cards for nearly 82% of their payments and purchases, almost double the share as recently as 2003. In 2022, they used debit cards 98 billion times for payments totaling $4.34 trillion and credit cards 55.3 billion times for payments totaling $5.42 trillion.

The U.S. economy now runs on electronic payments, and every purchase and sale depends on an intricate network that involves not only consumers and merchants, but also the merchants’ banks, the banks that issue the debit and credit cards and maintain their cardholders’ accounts, and network processors such as Visa and MasterCard that intermediate the electronic exchanges.

Merchants bear much of the costs of this payment system through “interchange fees” they pay to the card-issuing banks and network processors. The network processors, working with the card- issuing banks, set the fees for credit card sales using formulas that depend on the value of the sale and the credit lines and rewards provided by the issuing bank. Under the Dodd-Frank Act of 2009, the Federal Reserve caps interchange fees for purchases by debit cards issued by large banks (assets of $10 billion and more) based on a baseline fee of 21 cents, 0.05% of a sale’s value, and a 1-cent charge to cover banks’ fraud prevention operations.

Read more at Progressive Policy Institute

With the Fed’s latest rate cut, these mortgage lenders can fuel your refinance plans

Refinancing at a 0.50% can save you $40,000 over the life of your loan.

If you took out a mortgage between 2022 and 2024, and your rate is higher than you would like — this could be your sign to refinance. 

On Dec. 10, the Federal Reserve announced a Federal Funds Rate cut for the third time in 2025, bringing the benchmark to 0.75 points below its start-of-year level. An annual decline this steep hasn’t happened since 2020. And while this rate cut may not directly lower mortgage rates — which typically move in conjunction with the 10-year Treasury yield instead — they have already dropped significantly this year. 

During the week ending Jan. 2, 2025, the average 30-year fixed rate was 6.91%, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly Private Mortgage Market Survey. As of Dec. 4, it sits at 6.19%. See how much rates have changed over the past five years:

Read more at CNBC

US gets hit with another credit downgrade, agency warns of ‘sustained deterioration’ of finances and ‘weakening’ governance. What you need to know

It wasn’t that long ago that Moody’s knocked America’s sovereign credit rating down a peg — and now, the U.S. is taking another hit to its credit score. This time, it’s Scope Ratings sounding the alarm, warning that Uncle Sam’s financial health is looking shakier by the day.

On Oct. 24, Scope downgraded the U.S. local and foreign currency long-term issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings from AA to AA-. (1)

“Sustained deterioration in public finances and a weakening of governance standards drive the downgrade,” the agency said in a statement.

With “persistently elevated” federal deficits and a rising net interest payment burden, Scope expects the U.S. public debt-to-GDP ratio to reach 140% by 2030 — well above its sovereign peers. The agency pointed to the extension of precious tax cuts and a heavy load of mandatory spending as major factors that will limit budgetary flexibility in the near term.

Read more at MoneyWise

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

Three New Benchmarks Driving Credit Card Retention and LTV

Need to Know

• The battleground for card loyalty has quietly shifted from call center speed to what happens in the split second at the point of sale — and one small failure can permanently change wallet behavior.
• False declines and digital friction now carry real revenue risk, especially for community institutions that can’t afford to lose everyday spend to a competitor’s card.
• Smaller issuers may not win the tech arms race outright — but they can succeed strategically by rethinking service benchmarks, partnerships, and feature priorities.

Credit card service used to be straightforward to benchmark. Issuers focused on answer times, resolution speed, and dispute handling. Those metrics still matter, but they don’t fully represent what keeps cardmembers loyal today.

The average consumer carries four credit cards, making every credit card program a fight for top-of-wallet positioning. So, small details matter more than ever — a single legitimate transaction that’s declined can push a customer to switch cards entirely.

Read more at The Financial Brand

CFPB Signals It Will Issue Interim Open Banking Rule as Funding Lapse Approaches: www.sheppardmullin.com.

Consumer Finance and Fintech Blog

Timely Insights and Updates at the Intersection of Financial Services, Fintech, and Consumer Protection

On December 10, in a federal court filing, the CFPB stated that it plans to issue an interim final rule revising its open banking framework under the Dodd Frank Act’s Section 1033. The disclosure came in a status report filed in the Kentucky federal court litigation challenge over the rule that directed banks to make account data available free of charge for consumer sharing with fintechs.

The filing reiterates that the Bureau expects to have sufficient funds to operate only through the end of the year and intends to proceed directly to an interim rule. 

The filing explains that the CFPB will notify the court shortly after issuing the interim rule and will work with the litigants to determine appropriate next steps in the related litigation. While the filing does not describe the substance or timing of the forthcoming rule, it reflects the Bureau’s intent to complete expedited revisions before a possible lapse in funding.

Read more at Consumer Finance and Fintech Blog 

Customized Payment Processing and

Merchant Service Provider for Your Business EC

Crypto ATM scams prompt lawmakers to take action

Florida lawmakers are eyeing legislation to prevent crypto ATM scams, a growing problem as people nationwide are losing a hefty chunk of change within seconds.

Americans lost nearly $247 million to crypto ATM scams last year, and seniors above age 60 were the most frequent targets, according to the FBI’s 2024 Internet Crime Report.

Lawmakers in Tallahassee, Florida, have proposed a bill that would require crypto ATMs to display clear warnings of possible fraud tactics. State House Bill 505 would also limit transactions for new customers to $2,000 per day and for existing customers to $10,500 per day. It mandates the kiosk operator to provide customers with a receipt and the option of a refund under certain conditions.

Maryland passed legislation this year to require virtual currency kiosk operators to register with the state, post fraud warnings, provide or display transaction receipts and refund fees on fraudulent transactions. AARP, a nonprofit for Americans age 50 and older, worked to help get this legislation passed, as this type of scam largely targets that demographic.

Read more at NEWS NATION

Your 2025 Crystal Ball Predictions Revisited: Was Anybody Actually Right?

Three hundred and thirty-six days ago, we published the 2025 crystal ball predictions from The White Coat Investor readers. Like just about every other year, I figured the majority of them would be wrong. Maybe some people would get lucky, but we know there’s a reason why one of the mantras on this site is about how our crystal balls are always so cloudy.

When I wrote the 2025 crystal ball predictions column that ran on January 12, questions filled the air about how the first year of the second Trump administration would play out, whether an AI bubble would pop (the same question we’ve asked for the past few years), if the stock market and crypto would continue to be in full bull mode, and if the threat of tariffs on US allies would hurt the economy.

Nearly 12 months later, the world has changed dramatically. Just like it does every year.

Since I’m a sucker for history (ancient and recent), let’s, for just a moment, return to the time of January 2025—when people didn’t know what they didn’t know but gave valiant predictions anyway—and figure out if anybody got anything right.

Read more at White Coat Investor

We advise financial technology companies at the

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

Walton family fortune: How America’s richest family manages their wealth

Key Points

• The Waltons, America’s richest family, uses a model pioneered by the Rockefellers to manage their wealth.
• As the Walmart heirs have gotten richer, the Waltons have put their growing wealth in the hands of a network of family offices to make investments and launch foundations.
• At the center of this web is Walmart Enterprises, an under-the-radar investment firm that allows the Waltons to save on some costs and pursue their individual passions.

Walmart stock has soared 25% this year, putting America’s largest retailer on track to a $1 trillion market cap. At the center of the stock windfall is the Walton family, worth $482 billion by Bloomberg’s estimate, and their personal investment firms.

None of the Waltons — the surviving children and grandchildren of late Walmart founder Sam Walton — work directly for the retailer, though one serves on Walmart’s board and an in-law chairs it. But the family still holds a 45% stake in Walmart, and since the start of 2020, the Waltons and their family trust have sold $25.3 billion in Walmart stock, according to Smart Insider.

As America’s richest family has gotten richer, the Waltons have put their growing wealth in the hands of a network of family offices to make investments and launch foundations.

Read more at CNBC

Private credit: 2 things Apollo's Marc Rowan is focused on

As part of Yahoo Finance's exclusive coverage with executives at Apollo Global (APO), Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi sits down with Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan. Rowan has been at the center of the private credit market revolution. In the video above, he shares two things he is focused on right now.

The Fed didn't need to cut rates, Apollo's Marc Rowan says

As part of Yahoo Finance's exclusive coverage with executives at Apollo Global (APO), Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi sits down with Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan to discuss the Federal Reserve's rate cut decision, the rise of private credit markets, and data centers.

Read more at YAHOO FINANCE

Contact Chuck.Sockol@mcrc.biz to discuss your recovery needs

House passes INVEST Act to ease investment standards and boost capital in markets

Key Points

• The House passed the INVEST Act, which backers say could get private markets more capital and investors.
• The package of capital-formation bill passed the House 302 to 123
• Lawmakers say the measure will help more companies go public and increase capital formation for startups.

Private markets could get an influx of capital and investors under legislation approved by the House on Thursday

The package of capital-formation bills, called the INVEST Act, passed the House 302 to 123. Eighty-seven Democrats joined every Republican in the House to support the bill.

The wide-ranging package of legislation would allow more investors access to private markets. Lawmakers say the measure will help more companies go public and increase capital formation for startups.

Read more at CNBC

IRS Says You Made a Tax Return Mistake? A New Law Could Help You Fight Back

Updated taxpayer protections change what the IRS must explain on error notices and how long you have to respond.

For most of us, the only time we want to see an envelope from the IRS is if it contains a tax refund check. So when we see an envelope from the federal tax agency that doesn’t contain money, we get nervous.

Wondering what we did wrong, we tear open the envelope. We pull out a short, cryptic letter that says the IRS had discovered a math error on our return. The letter states that the IRS has corrected the mistake, increasing our tax liability.

That might be a relief if the amount of money involved is nominal, but what if we think the IRS is wrong? How do we fight them? The letter contains no contact information. And nothing in the letter says whether there’s a deadline for us to protest.

Read more at KIPLINGER

Apollo exec says data center debt wave is 'tip of the iceberg'

The AI boom has sparked a construction frenzy — and the scale of financing needed is only just starting to hit the public eye.

"Tip of the iceberg. It's just beginning," John Cortese, head of portfolio management and trading at Apollo Asset Management, told Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid.

He noted companies that have historically been asset-light are "just starting to become asset-heavier businesses."

Instagram parent Meta (META) is one example. The company "tripled the amount of debt outstanding in one month in September," Cortese said.

This massive, sustained borrowing is creating a profound shift in capital markets, turning a public spending story into a private credit lending opportunity.

Read more at YAHOO FINANCE

Financial trades urge Fed to withdraw proposal to lower interchange fee cap

Nine trade organizations representing the financial services industry made their case for the Federal Reserve to withdraw its 2023 proposal to lower the cap on debit card interchange fees.

The Fed proposed revising Regulation II to lower the cap from its current rate of 21 cents and .05 percent of the transaction, plus a one-cent fraud adjustment, to 14.4 cents and .04 percent per transaction and a 1.3 cents fraud-prevention adjustment.

It also proposed to update the cap every other year, linking it to data from the Fed’s biennial survey of large debit card issuers.

The trade advocates provided a series of detailed arguments for why the agency should drop the two-year-old proposal to amend Regulation II, enacted in 2011 to implement the Durbin Amendment, which capped debit card interchange fees paid by merchants to banks with the aim of lowering costs for merchants and consumers.

Read more at Dodd Frank Update

What the data says about immigrants in the U.S.: PEW

After more than 50 years of rapid growth, the nation’s immigrant population is now in decline.

In January 2025, 53.3 million immigrants lived in the United States – the largest number ever recorded. In the ensuing months, however, more immigrants left the country or were deported than arrived. By June, the country’s foreign-born population had shrunk by more than a million people, marking its first decline since the 1960s.

A new Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data finds that, as of June 2025:

• 51.9 million immigrants lived in the U.S.
• 15.4% of all U.S. residents were immigrants, down from a recent historic high of 15.8%.
• 19% of the U.S. labor force were immigrants, down from 20% and by over 750,000 workers since January.

Starting in mid-2024, several policy changes have affected the U.S. immigrant population:

Read more at Pew Research Center

What the data says about food stamps in the U.S.: PEW

Even before large pieces of the federal government shut down in October 2025, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP – sometimes called the food stamp program – was in for some big changes.

The tax, spending and policy bill passed by Congress earlier this year expanded work requirements for SNAP, tightened eligibility rules, imposed new cost-sharing obligations on states and made other changes to the program. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the changes will reduce federal spending on SNAP by $186.7 billion over the next decade.

But the 43-day shutdown created further challenges for the program, which helps nearly 42 million Americans put food on the table. While October benefits were paid in full and on time, November’s payments got caught up in a tangle of lawsuits, conflicting court rulings and short-term, state-level fixes. The law reopening the government funds SNAP through September 2026, the end of the current fiscal year.

Read more at Pew Research Center

Lenders note shift toward used vehicles amid affordability concerns

PNC Bank’s auto originations on pace for 19% YoY rise

Some lenders are seeing an uptick in used-car loans in the wake of rising new vehicle prices.

Huntington Bank has seen used-car loan originations grow relative to new-car loans since 2020, Consumer Finance Director Rich Porrello told Auto Finance News.

“We’re originating [loans for] more used cars than new in a pretty big way,” Porrello said. “That’s a sign of the cost of vehicles going up.”

Huntington’s new-vehicle originations historically made up around half of the bank’s total auto loan originations, Porrello said, noting that new-car loans have made up 35% of Huntington’s auto loans for most of 2025. Huntington focuses on lending vehicles for prime and super prime consumers, so concerns over increasing vehicle prices have not caused the Columbus, Ohio-based lender to shift its underwriting standards, he said.

Read more at Auto Finance News

Economic Outlook: Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

It is great to be in Wilmington, and I want to thank the Delaware Chamber for inviting me to speak today. This is my first time in Delaware since joining the Philly Fed back in July. I have heard a lot about how the Philly Fed has benefited from productive relationships with many of you over the years. I look forward to many years of continued partnership.

Before we jump into the Q&A, I’d like to take a few minutes to describe how I see the economy and what this means for monetary policy. With the end of the year quickly approaching, this is a good time to take stock, looking back at how the economy has evolved over the last year or so and also at what may lie ahead.

Before I begin, let me remind everyone that these are my own views and do not necessarily reflect those of my colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) or in the Federal Reserve System.

Looking Back to Look Forward

The latest data — which are mostly for September — show that core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) inflation was 2.8 percent over the 12 months ending in September. The unemployment rate edged up to 4.4 percent in September, and it looks like growth for 2025 will come in at about 1.7 percent for the year. Looking back a year ago, to September of 2024, at that time the inflation rate was also 2.8 percent, unemployment was 4.1 percent, and growth for 2024 ended up being a healthy 2.4 percent.

Read more at Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

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CFPB Funding Issues Seem to be Coming to a Head: By Alan S. Kaplinsky & John L. Culhane, Jr.

As we have previously reported, a lawsuit was brought early this year by the unions representing CFPB employees against Acting CFPB Director Vought and the CFPB in the DC District Court.

The Court months ago enjoined the CFPB from terminating some 2,400 employees and taking certain other actions in pursuit of Vought’s goal of minimizing the CFPB while the lawsuit is pending.

Vought recently filed a notice with the Court advising Judge Jackson that the CFPB is rapidly running out of funds and is unable to request additional funds because of a written legal opinion given to Vought by the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (“OLC”) that he may not lawfully request any funds from the Federal Reserve Board while there is no “combined earnings of the Federal Reserve System.”

Read more at Ballard Spahr L.L.P.

OCC and FDIC Rescind Interagency Leveraged Lending Guidance

On December 5, 2025, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issued a joint statement (the Statement) rescinding the Interagency Guidance on Leveraged Lending, issued March 2013 (the 2013 Guidance), as well as the Frequently Asked Questions for Implementing March 2013 Interagency Guidance on Leveraged Lending, issued February 2014 (the 2014 FAQs). The Federal Reserve, which co-signed both documents, has not yet indicated whether it will follow suit, but one would expect larger state-chartered banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System (and thus supervised by the Federal Reserve) to lobby the Federal Reserve for equal treatment on this important issue to maintain a level playing field with their national bank and state-chartered, FDIC-supervised bank competitors.

The Statement marks what could be a significant shift in the regulatory landscape for banks engaged in leveraged lending and comes amid the continued prevalence of the private credit market and other non-bank lending.

Read more at Winston & Strawn LLP

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