Daily Brief · August 6, 2026
M&A approvals, charter filings and rule proposals advance
Fed approval advanced Santander-Webster, while rule rewrites and charter activity affected capital, data access and digital assets.
7 stories2-minute read
Transactions and charter entry
Santander-Webster cleared Fed approval; Peoples Bancshares agreed to buy First Peoples Bancorp
The $12.3 billion Santander-Webster transaction received Federal Reserve approval after prior European Central Bank and OCC approvals, eliminating the last regulatory hurdle, and Santander said it expects to close Aug. 20. Peoples Bancshares of TN agreed to buy First Peoples Bancorp; the price was not disclosed, and Peoples Bancshares said it will have $650 million of assets after buying the parent of First Peoples Bank of Tennessee in a deal expected to close late this year or early 2027.
Sources: Banking Dive, American Banker, ABA Banking Journal
Circle opened its OCC trust bank; Zaria and Dakota filed trust-charter applications
Circle National Trust went live on July 24 and is legally in operation after the OCC granted Circle a national trust bank charter for digital-asset custody, including USDC-related custody. Zaria filed for a national trust bank charter to operate only as a trust company for asset-backed loans and securities, excluding deposits, loan origination and digital currency issuance; Dakota applied for a de novo national trust bank charter to issue, redeem and custody stablecoins under OCC oversight.
Source: American Banker
Upstart Bank would move loan originations inside its own charter; Augustus won FDIC launch approval
Upstart expects to move most or all loan originations into the national bank it plans to open in early 2027, pending federal deposit insurance and Federal Reserve holding-company approval, taking work now handled by lender-of-record partner banks. Upstart paid originating banks $11.2 million in premium and trailing fees in the first half of this year; another de novo entrant, Augustus, received FDIC approval to launch a clearing bank with at least $73.66 million of capital funds and a 10% or greater leverage ratio for its first three years after raising $180 million for a U.S. dollar clearing bank buildout.
Sources: American Banker, Banking Dive
Rulemaking and courts
Fed mutual-bank proposal targets capital access and conversions
The Fed proposed amendments to Regulation MM that would expand access to capital, reduce burdens tied to mutual-to-stock conversions, revise post-conversion restrictions and eliminate certain dividend-waiver requirements. The proposal would also clarify that mutual capital instruments may qualify as regulatory capital, with comments due Oct. 5.
Sources: ABA Banking Journal, American Banker
CFPB open-banking rewrite reached White House review
The bureau submitted a revised Section 1033 proposal to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and American Banker reported the nonpublic draft is expected to let banks charge fintechs and other third parties for customer financial-data access. The proposal has not been publicly released, and the report said public release could come within days or weeks.
Source: American Banker
ABA backed Flagstar's Supreme Court bid to preempt California's escrow-interest law under the NBA
ABA filed a coalition amicus brief backing Flagstar and urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Ninth Circuit ruling that California’s interest-on-escrow law is not preempted by the National Bank Act. Bank Reg Blog’s analysis says the Ninth Circuit again held in Flagstar’s case that Lusnak remains good law after Cantero, leaving the escrow-interest requirement intact unless the Supreme Court intervenes.
Sources: ABA Banking Journal, Bank Reg Blog
Rates
Fed Gov. Lisa Cook said rates may rise if needed
Cook voted with the majority to hold rates steady last week but said she is prepared to raise interest rates if necessary. She cited tariffs, oil prices and AI spending as factors still being assessed, after earlier saying the Iran war and AI data-center investment tilted inflation risks toward higher inflation.
Source: American Banker