Daily Brief · September 15, 2026
Balance-sheet actions, consumer credit and deposit policy
Truist agreed to sell auto loans, Citi outlined return and buyback plans, and a revised stablecoin bill left deposit protections contested.
Balance-sheet execution
Truist agreed to sell $5.5 billion of near-prime auto loans. The Regional Acceptance Corporation loan sale is expected to generate $5.2 billion in net proceeds and supports Truist’s exit from near-prime auto lending. The filing describes an agreement, not a completed sale.
Citigroup expects return on tangible common equity above 11% this year. CFO Gonzalo Luchetti outlined plans for buybacks exceeding the $13 billion completed in 2025 and about $500 million of accelerated investment, including severance and credit-card marketing. He expects Banamex to leave Citi’s balance sheet next year, with an associated $9 billion currency translation adjustment loss.
Card credit and loan funding
American Express filed monthly U.S. card-credit statistics. The September 15 filing covers consumer and small-business card balances, delinquencies and principal net write-offs. It notes that June rates reflected proceeds from sales of previously written-off balances; the available excerpt gives no figures from which to assess a credit trend.
Banks have reentered home-equity loan securitization. KBRA counted 20 home-equity line of credit securitizations so far in 2026, compared with 30 in 2025. Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase have sponsored deals, while HomeTrust Bank has contributed loans, broadening issuance in a market rebuilt by nonbank originators.
Deposit policy and competition
Revised Clarity Act leaves stablecoin-yield deposit protections discretionary. The Senate Republican draft gives the Treasury secretary 18 months after passage to assess whether the stablecoin-interest loophole has substantially harmed banks with less than $10 billion in assets, but does not require the secretary to block yield. Banking groups object that a response after substantial deposit flight would come too late; passage of the revised bill remains uncertain.
Community-bank leaders rate fintechs above big banks as competitors. Bank Director’s 2026 Technology Survey found that 58% cited fintech firms as a top competitive threat, versus 48% citing big banks. Nearly a third said their payments offering was insufficient, identifying a specific service gap alongside the broader competitive concern.