Bank funding and portfolio exits meet payments expansion

Valley National agreed to acquire Bluevine for $340 million. Reports differ on Bluevine’s current deposits: American Banker’s excerpt says $3.1 billion, while Banking Dive reports $2.1 billion. Valley executives describe the deal as a way to fund loan growth more cheaply: Bluevine’s funding cost is 1.44%, versus Valley’s 2.28%. Valley projects 8% earnings accretion in 2028.

Truist agreed to sell $5.5 billion in auto loans. The Regional Acceptance Corporation sale is expected to generate $5.2 billion in net proceeds and support Truist’s exit from near-prime auto lending. Its nonperforming indirect auto loans reached $569 million in the second quarter, about one-third of total nonaccruing assets. Truist had already stopped marine and recreational-vehicle originations; management expects its broader consumer-loan pullback to reduce near-term net interest income but improve longer-run profitability.

InterBank reports five consecutive quarters of elevated pretax returns. Its pretax return on average assets was at least 3.30% in each quarter. The $5.3 billion-asset bank has a low-cost rural deposit base, holds no securities and has a loan portfolio that is more than 90% adjustable-rate, defining a distinct funding and interest-rate profile behind its reported profitability.

Citigroup reportedly plans a Banamex initial public offering. The offering would reportedly raise more than $3 billion; it remains a plan, not a completed divestiture. Citi’s chief financial officer expects Banamex to leave its balance sheet next year, triggering a $9 billion currency-translation adjustment loss.

Citi and Coinbase partner on institutional digital-asset payments. The reported arrangement combines Citi’s banking and merchant-processing infrastructure with Coinbase’s blockchain payment rails, which would allow businesses to accept stablecoins and convert them into traditional currencies. Citi is expanding Token Services to Japan and the UAE; the available reports do not establish commercial terms for the partnership.

American Express expands acceptance beyond 190 million merchant locations. The company says it added approximately 20 million locations this year, and acceptance outside the U.S. has more than doubled over four years. Wider acceptance increases places cardholders can spend; a separate report puts billed business up 9% year over year to $455.8 billion.

Judge Ann Aiken rules CFPB funding halt unlawful. The federal judge found that the administration’s attempt to stop funding violated separation of powers and ordered lawful funding to continue. Two other federal courts have reached similar decisions, limiting the administration’s ability to halt the bureau’s funding under its stated rationale.

OCC limits examiner days at banks. Comptroller Jonathan Gould says the agency has imposed quantitative limits on examiners’ time at banks to concentrate examinations on material financial risks. He did not specify the limits or how they differ by bank, leaving the practical change in supervisory intensity unclear.