THE FINTECH COWBOYS

UNCLE SEAN'S WEEKLY UPDATE

  Happy Friday!!! Holy smokes it’s a BEAUTIFUL day here in East Texas with temps set to hit 79 degrees.  Let’s run through this quickly so I can go outside and play (don’t tell my boss 😁)!!!  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 2/6/26 (subscribe here for free): 👀 ICYMI…  Unfortunately, we had our first bank failure of 2026 late last Friday as the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation closed Metropolitan Capital Bank & Trust in Chicago, IL (FDIC 57488; total assets...

The first bank failure of 2026... ​Summary: On 1/30/26, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation closed Metropolitan Capital Bank & Trust in Chicago, IL (FDIC 57488; total assets $261.1M; total deposits of $212.1M) and appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver.  First Independence Bank (FDIC 20179; total assets $697M as of the 12/31/25 Call Report) agreed to assume substantially all deposits of Metropolitan Capital Bank & Trust. It...

  Happy Friday!!! Hoping everyone has made it through the recent winter storms relatively unscathed 🙏 as we wrap up the first 100 days or so of January 🤠…  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 1/30/26 (subscribe here for free): President Trump nominates Kevin Warsh for Federal Reserve chair to succeed Jerome Powell.  Following Senate confirmation, Warsh will take over in May when current Chairman Powell’s term expires. It’s Fed Week!  As was widely expected in the first FOMC meeting of 2026,...

  Happy Friday!!! As most of us in the US brace for an arctic blast 🥶 with snow and ice accumulations, please make sure to take care of yourselves!!!  Remember the four P’s (people, pets, pipes, and plants) and don’t forget to check on your neighbors – we are all in this together! 🙏  In the interim, here is the Uncle Sean Update for 1/23/26 (subscribe here for free): The BEA released the updated US 3Q2025 GDP of 4.4% which is up from the initial estimate of 4.3% and up from 2Q2025 of...

  Happy Friday!!! WHEW – it was a CRAZY busy week (and I’m running late on this update 😬), so let’s jump right to it!  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 1/16/26 (subscribe here for free): The BLS Dec CPI Report came in fairly bland (which is good by the way) at 0.3% for the month and 2.7% YoY (both in line with expectations).  Core CPI came in 0.2% for the month and 2.6% YoY (both were 0.1 percentage point below expectation).  CNBC has a good summary noting Shelter increases of 0.4% (a...

    Happy Friday!!! Hopefully everyone enjoyed a GREAT holiday season (I know I did, and my bathroom scale confirms it 😬😅) – and welcome to 2026 🎉!!!  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 1/9/26 (subscribe here for free): A virtual fist-bump 👊 to Fiserv for their Bankers Helping Bankers (BHB) sponsorship renewal!!! “Fiserv is more than a sponsor—they’re a force for change in community banking,” said Matthew Smith, CEO of Bankers Helping Bankers. “Their continued support ensures BHB...

  Happy Friday!!! Just a quick PSA to let everyone know this will be the last Uncle Sean Update for two weeks 😲 as I enjoy some family time over the holidays – I’ll be back with a new update on Jan 9th.  Wishing everyone a VERY Merry Christmas 🎅🎄 and a Happy New Year 🎉🙏!!!  But first - here is the Uncle Sean Update for 12/19/25 (subscribe here for free): Hey – we finally got a look at some macroeconomic data (post government shutdown)…  Even though many economists are side-eyeing the...

  ​Happy Friday!!! We made it through another week 🎉!!!  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 12/12/25 (subscribe here for free): It’s Fed Week!!!  As was widely expected, the FOMC voted to lower the fed funds rate by 25 bps to 3.5% - 3.75%.  But a divided Fed is evident with three dissents (Stephen Miran dissented in favor of a larger 50-bps cut, while Jeffrey Schmid and Austan Goolsbee favored no cut); and the current SEP showed 6 participants had estimated no rate cut for the current...

  Happy Friday!!! Back from Turkey Day – we are now full steam ahead into the holiday season!  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 12/5/25 (subscribe here for free): 💥 Shoutout to Coverbase as they become the newest Premier Sponsor of Bankers Helping Bankers (BHB) in support of BHB’s mission to provide free access to reliable data, strategy, and intelligence to help community banks across the country grow, compete, and thrive!!! 🚀 “With AI-native automation, configurable workflows, and...

  Happy Friday!!! We will be pausing the Update next week for the Thanksgiving Holiday. So from our family to yours – I hope you have a wonderful, happy, and blessed Thanksgiving with lots of love, laughter, and full bellies! 🙏🍂🦃 But first - Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 11/21/25 (subscribe here for free) Mr. Warren Buffett pens his final shareholder letter (but will continue with an annual Thanksgiving message). My personal favorite part of the letter is a message for all of us in...