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Peaceful and Persistent

Investing in times of crisis: how to keep calm and finish strong - NYC Fintech Women, in partnership with portfolio company MoneyLion and STASH, invite you to a panel discussion on investing during the pandemic on June 9th 5pm EST. Sign Up

Ethereum fundamentals strengthen, price rallies - As transactional activity on the Ethereum blockchain has risen rapidly in recent months, portfolio company TradeBlock analyzes underlying Ethereum activity in comparison to the ether price. Read more

Vestwell brings all-ETF target-date strategies to the 401(k) market - Portfolio company Vestwell, the digital retirement plan recordkeeper, announced the launch of a service offering all-ETF target-date portfolios for the small plan market with ETFs from Franklin Templeton, State Street, and Fidelity. Read more

Western Union bids to buy MoneyGram - The two companies have been rivals for decades but more recently face competition from younger, digital outfits. Both still rely heavily on their vast physical networks, which have been affected by the pandemic. Read more

BlackRock is becoming the new, old Goldman Sachs - As Goldman was in 2008-09, Larry Fink's $7 trillion AUM mutual and exchange-traded fund specialist has become the default source for governments needing advice on the biggest financial questions during the current crisis. Read more

Singapore to assess COVID-19 impact on digital bank bidders - Bidders for 5 Singapore digital bank licenses will have to factor in how the pandemic has impacted their funding and profitability plans, as the central bank kicks off interviews with applicants. Read more

Wall Street relief tops regulator’s agenda after virus response - U.S. bank regulators are poised to resume easing Wall Street rules after spending the past few months carrying out emergency actions to help the economy weather the coronavirus pandemic. Read more

Coronavirus brings Asia's booming online lending sector to juddering halt - The IMF expects Asia to record zero growth for the first time in 60 years, as lockdowns bring service sectors to a halt, exports plunge, and companies and individuals stop spending. One Indian lending CEO said, “Since the lockdown started, demand is down by 90% and lending now is down by 95%.” Read more

Bank of America pledges $1b to fight racial inequality - BAML is donating $1b over the next four years to community programs and small businesses to help address economic and racial inequality that has been exacerbated by the pandemic. Read more

Brazil's Central Bank has requests from 140 institutions to participate in the new PIX instant payments system - The deadline for joining the instant payment system is Jun 1 with launch scheduled for Nov. There will likely be a new opportunity to join the system as of Dec 1. Read more

ESG investing outperforms during COVID-19 selloff - Amid heightened volatility in the first quarter, sustainable companies were able to provide a level of downside protection. Read more

US-Mexico-Canada Agreement – paving way for cross-border fintech sandbox - The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) provides for financial and digital trade regulations that harmonize the treatment of fintech companies. Read more

Monzo to lay off up to 120 employees as the ‘economic situation’ remains challenging - Monzo is waiving the one year cliff for employee vesting schedules. In addition, senior management and the board are taking 25% cuts in salary. Read more

More than half of UK payments in 2019 made by card - Last year, debit cards were used for 17b payments, of which 7b were contactless. The use of credit cards also rose during 2019, up by 7% to 3.3b payments, with 1.3b contactless. Read more

New York, French finance watchdogs open doors for each other’s fintech startups - An agreement between the French ACPR and the NYDFS seeks to further develop New York and France as “innovation hubs for financial services technology” with easing go-to-market hurdles and sharing information. Read more

Aussie Central Bank considers regulating e-payments fees - The Reserve Bank of Australia is considering reducing the cost of electronic payments for merchants and consumers as COVID-19 makes e-banking preferable. Read more

U.K. parents chase refunds on school ‘cashless payments’ - Hundreds of parents have suffered delays getting their money back for canceled school trips after the UK’s largest cashless payments service for schools were inundated with withdrawal requests. Read more