Banking & Finance

Private credit has moved from a niche financing option to a significant component of modern capital markets, drawing closer attention from banks, regulators, and investors. The market expanded rapidly after the global financial crisis as tighter banking regulations limited traditional lenders’ willingness to finance highly leveraged companies. Asset managers stepped into the gap, building large pools of capital that now fund corporate borrowers through private debt funds, business development companies, and structured credit vehicles...

A new report from Deloitte highlights how CFOs are reshaping their responsibilities as organizations deal with economic uncertainty and complex growth conditions. The study surveyed 1,326 finance leaders from companies with annual revenues exceeding $1 billion, along with interviews with senior finance executives. The findings show that CFOs are increasingly involved in guiding strategy, evaluating investments, and preparing organizations for acquisitions, divestitures, and new markets...

JPMorgan Chase has appointed Guy Halamish as Chief Operating Officer of its Commercial and Investment Bank (CIB), assigning him direct responsibility for advancing the division’s data and artificial intelligence strategy. The move forms part of a wider organizational overhaul designed to embed AI into core business processes rather than confining it to a standalone technology function...

Standard Chartered PLC has appointed Peter Burrill as its interim Group Chief Financial Officer. He succeeds Diego De Giorgi, who has stepped down from his role as Executive Director and GCFO to pursue an external opportunity. Burrill will be based in London and will report directly to the Group Chief Executive, Bill Winters. The bank stated that an announcement regarding the permanent GCFO appointment will be made in due course, ensuring continuity in financial oversight during the transition period...

The U.S. Federal Reserve said it will keep large bank capital buffers unchanged during the 2026 stress testing cycle as it reviews planned changes to its annual supervisory framework. The central bank confirmed that it will defer any revisions to banks’ stress capital buffers until 2027, giving regulators time to gather and assess public feedback on the models and scenarios used in the tests. The Fed opened these models to outside review after an October 2025 vote, aiming to improve clarity around how it measures banks’ ability to absorb losses during a severe downturn...

Capital One Financial Corporation has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Brex in a stock-and-cash transaction valued at $5.15 billion, expanding its push into business payments and spend management. Brex operates an AI-native finance platform that combines corporate cards, expense automation, and real-time payments, with AI agents designed to streamline workflows and tighten spending controls...

President Donald Trump urged U.S. lawmakers to pass legislation capping credit card interest rates at 10% for one year, arguing the change would lower borrowing costs for consumers. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump pointed to credit card APRs that can exceed 30% and said Congress should act after he previously called on banks to lower rates voluntarily in a social media post earlier this month. Despite the push, the proposal faces a steep path in Congress, where past efforts to impose similar caps have struggled to gain traction...

The OCC has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking titled “National Bank Chartering,” published in the Federal Register on January 12, 2026, that would formalize the standards and procedures it uses to evaluate applications to charter new national banks. The proposal is intended to consolidate and clarify existing OCC practices rather than create a new chartering regime, and it emphasizes transparency around the factors the agency weighs in reviews, including governance, capital, liquidity, risk management, and compliance systems...

Regulators in several major markets are moving to ease bank rules that were tightened after the 2008 financial crisis, with the U.S. taking the most aggressive direction. In the U.S., bank regulators are pursuing changes that could lower how much capital large lenders must hold, including adjustments to leverage rules, the GSIB surcharge applied to the biggest global banks, and revisions to Basel III Endgame requirements. At the same time, the Federal Reserve is revamping its annual stress tests in a way that is expected to reduce required capital set-asides...

Citigroup disclosed that it expects to record an approximately $1.1 billion after-tax loss tied to the planned sale of its remaining Russia business to Renaissance Capital, according to a regulatory filing. The bank plans to classify the remaining operations as held for sale in its fourth-quarter results and anticipates completing the sale of AO Citibank in the first half of 2026. Citi said the estimated loss is driven largely by currency-translation adjustments, and noted the figure could change with FX movements...