Personal bankruptcy filings rise for third year

Americans continue to struggle financially as personal bankruptcy filings rose for the third straight year in 2025, up nearly 50% since 2022, according to a recent LendingTree study.

“Housing, insurance, groceries and healthcare all remain significantly more expensive than they were a few years ago, leading many households to rely on credit cards to bridge the gap,” said Matt Shulz, LendingTree chief consumer finance analyst. “Given that combination of rising debt and sky-high interest rates, it’s not surprising that more people are turning to bankruptcy for relief.”

Household debt hits record $18.6T as delinquencies remain elevated 

2025 saw 549,577 filings, with an average of 1,489 Americans filing for personal bankruptcy each day, according to the study. Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee had the highest rates, while Alaska, Maine and Vermont had the lowest.

Read more at NewsNationNow

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CFPB Signals It May Revisit Credit Card Late Fee Regulation By John L. Culhane, Jr., Alan S. Kaplinsky, Adam Maarec & Ronald K. Vaske 

Although the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under Acting Director Russell Vought has withdrawn from defending a number of Biden-era regulatory initiatives, the Bureau appears poised to revisit one of the most controversial issues in consumer credit regulation—credit card late fees.

According to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), the CFPB has submitted for interagency review a Request for Information (RFI) regarding “Credit Card Late Fees and Late Payments.” At this point, the document itself has not been publicly released, so it is impossible to know precisely what information the Bureau intends to solicit or what regulatory path it ultimately may pursue. Nevertheless, the submission is noteworthy because an RFI is frequently the first formal step in a rulemaking process.

Background

The CFPB has been examining credit card late fees for several years. In 2022, the Bureau issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking extensive information about late fees, issuer costs, consumer payment behavior, and whether the Regulation Z safe harbor amounts permitted issuers to collect fees that exceeded their actual costs.

Read more at the Consumer Financial Services Group at Ballard Spahr LLP

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Agencies release list of distressed or underserved nonmetropolitan middle-income geographies

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

Federal bank regulatory agencies today released the 2026 list of certain geographies where certain bank activities are eligible for Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) credit.

Under the CRA, the agencies assess a bank's record of meeting the credit needs of its entire community, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent with safe and sound operations. The list released by the agencies includes distressed or underserved nonmetropolitan middle-income geographies where revitalization or stabilization activities are eligible to receive CRA consideration. The designations reflect local economic conditions, including unemployment, poverty, and population changes. Previous years' lists and criteria for designating these areas are available here.

Read Press Release at Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Your Next Capital Raise Starts Here

House Financial Services Committee Advances Federal Earned Wage Access Bill: A Major Step Toward National Regulation By Alan S. Kaplinsky 

The House Financial Services Committee has approved legislation that would establish the first comprehensive federal regulatory framework for earned wage access (EWA) providers, marking a significant development for the rapidly growing industry. The bill now moves to the full House for consideration.

If enacted, the legislation would provide long-sought federal clarity for providers of earned wage access products while also addressing the continuing debate over whether these products should be regulated as loans.

The House Financial Services Committee approved the legislation on July 1, 2026, by a 31-23 party-line vote, with all Republicans supporting the measure and all Democrats opposing it. The partisan split reflects continuing disagreement over whether earned wage access products should be subject primarily to a uniform federal framework or remain subject to state consumer lending laws.

Read more at the Consumer Financial Services Group at Ballard Spahr LLP

Finbond Group

The Vision, Mission, and Core Values of Finbond Group

Our Vision

To be the leading short-term lender in South Africa and North America, improving the quality of life of our clients by offering them access to unique value and solution-based products which, tailored around their unique requirements, empower, develop and uplift them.

Our Core Values

Our core values are the fundamental beliefs and principles that guides our culture, behavior and decision-making.

FINBOND GROUP

Where AI is Delivering Real ROI in Financial Services

Need to Know:

• AI generates measurable ROI across the entire sales and growth lifecycle by improving acquisition, enabling smarter up-sells and cross-sells, and increasing customer lifetime value.
• Service and experience lifecycle operations can see significant cost-to-serve reductions as AI automates routine tasks and assists employees with case resolution.
• Operational workflows become faster and more efficient when AI eliminates much of the manual work, accelerates processes, and reduces operational friction.

Artificial intelligence has long been discussed in financial services, but the industry is now entering a phase where AI is expected to deliver measurable business outcomes. Rising cost-to-serve, increasing competition from fintechs, and growing expectations for digital experiences are pushing financial institutions to prioritize technologies that improve both operational efficiency and customer engagement.

Read more at The Financial Brand

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Top 10: Ways Fintechs are Using AI

From fraud detection to back-office automation and payments optimisation to enhancing credit risk and underwriting, here’s how fintechs are using AI

Despite the challenges that come with using it, AI is fast becoming a core part of fintech strategy. 

Across fraud detection, AML, customer service, credit, payments and compliance, AI is helping firms make faster decisions, reduce manual work and deliver more relevant experiences at scale. 

For many fintechs, there’s clear appeal: better risk control, lower operating costs and a smoother journey for customers. 

10. Fraud

Read more at Fintech Magazine

AI or human? What does the data say?

by Aman Mender

We analyzed over 10,000 AI and human collector calls to find the

perfect combination. Here's what we found.

The year of proliferation for collections AI

Collection agencies are seeing strong results:

• 77% report AI investments met or exceeded expectations
• Voice AI is their primary use case at 44%

Debt buyers are split:

• 51% met expectations
• 38% fell below expectations

And across everyone using conversational AI:

• 89% collect less than 19% of total payments through it
• Nearly 80% collect nothing through AI at all

Read MORE at CORAFONE

Big Banks Are Considering a Deal to Get Around Debit Card Fee Caps. This Fintech Stock is Rising on the News

Key Takeaways

• Fiserv shares rose Tuesday following a report that big banks are considering buying a payment processing network from the company.
• Big banks are weighing a deal that would help them get around a law limiting the fees they can charge on debit card transactions, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Big banks have reportedly been looking to acquire a payments processing network from Fiserv, and the financial technology firm’s stock is getting a boost Tuesday on the news.

Shares of Fiserv (FISV) were up 4% in recent trading after The Wall Street Journal reported late Monday that banks including JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Wells Fargo (WFC) and PNC Financial Services (PNC) have weighed making an offer for a network owned by Fiserv.

Read more at INVESTOPEDIA

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Register today to secure your seat at the premiere event in fintech! LEND360 will focus on innovation, growth, and success in the online lending industry. As our industry continues to evolve amidst a rapidly changing fintech landscape and shifting regulations, LEND360 offers the unparalleled opportunity to stay ahead, learn from the best, and engage with fellow leaders to navigate the future together.

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CFPB releases its Fall 2025 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, within the White House Office of Management and Budget, has released the Fall 2025 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, also called the URA. Published twice a year, the URA outlines federal agencies’ anticipated regulatory and deregulatory activities. While the Fall agenda is typically released by the end of the calendar year or in early January, this edition was delayed, and many of the projected actions may no longer be current.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s agenda is current as of Jan. 13, 2026, and identifies anticipated regulatory actions from January 2026 through November 2026. Several new items have been added, including proposed rulemakings addressing procedures for guidance documents, periodic review of bureau regulations, and contingency calculations for determining the average prime offer rate. The agenda also includes three new pre-rule actions focused on unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts and practices under Sections 1031 and 1036 of the Dodd-Frank Act, ability-to-repay and qualified mortgage requirements, and prepaid accounts under Regulations E and Z.

Read more at ABA Banking Journal

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industry, bringing our expertise to each.

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Payliance is an industry leader in the subprime consumer lending space. We understand the risk you take signing a new customer and can help manage that risk. We also understand the importance of your repeat borrower and will support you in providing a strong lending experience in a competitive market.  With solutions supporting both online and retail lending models along with more than a decade of industry expertise we are not just a payment processor but a partner to our merchants

• Meets State-level Payment Requirements
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Read more at PAYLIANCE

Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2025

May 13, 2026

The report draws from the Board's 13th annual Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking, (SHED), which examines the financial lives of U.S. adults and their families. The survey of nearly 13,000 adults was conducted in October 2025. The report discusses findings related to financial well-being, employment, care work, income, expenses, economic hardships, savings, banking, credit, and housing.

Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2025: Fact Sheet 

The Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2025 report examines the financial lives of U.S. adults and their families. The report, which is available here, draws from the annual Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED) conducted in October 2025. Results from the survey continued to show stability in overall financial well-being. Concerns about price increases eased slightly yet remained the most common financial concern among U.S. adults. Labor market indicators in the survey remained solid, despite some softening. Measures of savings and credit use also held steady.  

Read Press Release at Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

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