Will Varo Bank be the Pin that Pops the Fintech Valuation Bubble?

Every banker has read the sensational headlines of massive funding rounds at almost unfathomable valuations for almost any company with a fintech moniker. They also know the narrative; bankers are greedy and dumb, credit unions are slow and can’t innovate, and morally superior (here again) fintechs are here to disrupt the trillion-dollar financial services industry, … Read more

Texas Deputy Banking Commissioner Purdom to Retire

Kurt Purdom, deputy commissioner at the Texas Department of Banking, has announced his retirement effective August 31. The announcement comes after serving more than 39 years in bank regulatory supervision with the Texas Department of Banking. Purdom has held the position of deputy banking commissioner since November 2018. “Kurt has been part of this agency’s … Read more

FDIC Releases 2020 Community Banking Study

In mid-December, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) released the 2020 Community Banking Study, a new large-scale study on the state of the nation’s community banks. The study finds community banks played a critical role in providing access to credit in several key areas of the U.S. economy, particularly through lending to support commercial real … Read more