THE FINTECH COWBOYS

UNCLE SEAN'S WEEKLY UPDATE

  Happy Friday!!! Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 8/28/26 (subscribe here for free): The BEA released July PCE coming in flat over last month showing an annual 3.7% (June was 3.7%) with Core PCE coming in at 3.3% (June Core PCE was 3.3%). Worth noting that spending on Goods was actually down again (ref Table 2.8.7 - driven mostly by a 2.7% decrease in gas and other energy as well as a 0.9% decrease in furnishings and durable household equipment). The personal savings rate was back up to...

  Fifth bank failure of 2026… On 8/21/26, Tioga-Franklin Savings Bank in Philadelphia (FDIC 33802; total assets $68M; total deposits $67M) was closed by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver.  Second Federal Savings and Loan Association of Philadelphia (FDIC 29627; total assets $46M), to assume all deposits and purchase substantially all assets of Tioga-Franklin Savings Bank. The FDIC...

  Happy Friday!!! Holy smokes – is this heat wave ever going to end 🥵???  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 8/21/26 (subscribe here for free): ICYMI…  The U.S. has officially surpassed $40 Trillion this week with the Congressional Budget Office projecting a 2026 Fiscal deficit of $2.1 Trillion (source - Monthly Budget Review: August 2026 | Congressional Budget Office)… 😢 Fiserv (Nasdaq: FISV) announced that Flagstar Bank, N.A. (FDIC 32541; total assets $87.7B) has selected Finxact from...

  Happy Friday!!! Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 8/14/26 (subscribe here for free): The BLS July CPI report came in fairly benign at 3.4% YoY (June was 3.5%) with Core CPI at 2.5% (June was 2.6%). Although we are all feeling the pain at the gas pump with prices about 25% higher than this time last year, you would have to go back to early 2021 to find a lower reading on Core CPI (before inflation and rates went crazy)… So there’s some good news. 🤙 🎉 Congratulations to Mr. Bob Musso for...

  ​Happy Friday!!! Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 8/7/26 (subscribe here for free): The BLS released the July Jobs Report this morning showing -23K jobs for July (estimate was 88K and June was revised down to 20K), but the unemployment rate dropped to 4.1% (last month was 4.2%) due to the labor force participation rate of 61.4% (last month was 61.5%). The decline in jobs was in large part due to a decrease in government by -53K followed by losses in leisure and hospitality of -40K...

  Happy Friday!!! Hard to believe we are already welcoming the month of August this weekend (although I admit I am done with this Texas heat)!  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 7/31/26 (subscribe here for free): A couple of economic updates: It’s Fed Week!!!  The FOMC voted 9-3 to maintain interest rates at their current range of 3.5% - 3.75%.  The three dissenting votes (Hammack, Kashkari, and Logan – each of which are presidents of Fed Reserve Banks) all preferred a 25 bps increase in...

  Happy Friday!!! Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 7/24/26 (subscribe here for free): A quick fist-bump 👊 to my friends at Acceleron for their SOC 2 certification per their LinkedIn July newsletter, The Exchange - International Payments Newsletter!!! “For community banks and credit unions moving money across borders, that's one more reason to trust the rails: the same controls protecting your wire transactions now meet the industry's highest bar for security and confidentiality.” Be sure...

  Fourth bank failure for 2026 and the second in two weeks… On 7/17/26, Small Business Bank in Lenexa, Kansas (FDIC 25744; total assets $73M; total deposits $69M), was closed by the Kansas Office of the State Bank Commissioner, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver.  The Farmers State Bank of Oakley, Kansas (FDIC 1867; total assets $389M), to assume substantially all deposits and purchase certain assets of Small Business Bank. The FDIC preliminarily...

  Happy Friday!!! Thoughts and prayers 🙏 to all those affected from the record Texas Hill Country flooding this week…  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 7/17/26 (subscribe here for free): 💥 Big news from CSI this week as they continue on their multi-year acquisition trail.  CSI has acquired Qolo, a fintech provider of modern treasury solutions and payments infrastructure, to strengthen and expand CSI’s commercial banking and embedded finance capabilities. 🎉 A quick look at recent CSI...

  The third bank failure of 2026... On 7/10/26, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) closed Kentland Federal Savings and Loan Association of Kentland, IN (FDIC 28722; total assets $3.8M; total deposits $3.7M as of the 3/31/26 call report) and appointed the FDIC as receiver. Kentland Bank of Kentland, In (FDIC 13843; total assets $402M - no affiliation with Kentland Federal Savings and Loan Association) to purchase substantially all assets and assume all deposits of Kentland...