Financial Analysis

JPMorgan Chase Bank subsidiary discriminated against conservative customers, US investigation finds. Exterior view of the new JPMorgan Chase global headquarters building at 270 Park Avenue on November 13, 2025 in New York City. ByAARON GLICK OCTOBER 18, 2026 13:35 A JPMorgan Chase Bank subsidiary was found to have discriminated against political conservatives, according to a statement by the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on Wednesday, alongside the release of its supervisory review of nine US banks following accusations that they were "debanking" customers for political or religious reasons. Debanking refers to the limiting or refusal of services to a bank customer, such as closing accounts or refusing loans. While not inherently illegal, debanking becomes controversial when a bank's decisions are based on factors such as politics or religion rather than on an individual's financial or compliance risks. Although not a judicial ruling, the review, conducted under US President Donald Trump's August 2025 executive order, "Guaranteeing Fair Access to Banking for All Americans," aimed to identify and document specific instances the Trump administration would view as violations of the order. The review examined nearly 100,000 complaints between 2020 and 2025 and over 50,000 documents; additionally, it targeted Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo Bank, US Bank, Capital One, PNC Bank, TD Bank, and BMO Bank, which, together with JPMorgan Chase, make up the nine largest banks under OCC supervision. The findings showed multiple discriminatory practices at several banks, with JPMorgan Chase subsidiary WePay Inc. having closed accounts associated with pro-Trump merchandise, such as MAGA hats, which were categorized by the bank as hateful and intolerant. In a September 2021 case, WePay closed a conservative customer's account after the subsidiary flagged items the customer was selling, including a Trump election-victory flag and a shirt describing former US President Joe Biden as illegitimate. In an additional 2021 incident, the subsidiary initially halted payment processing for an event after the organizer's social media posts were found to include descriptions of Biden and former US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci as enemies, though the decision was eventually reversed. Also in 2021, WePay closed a nonprofit's account after discovering its positions on LGBTQ issues, with bank employees describing the "right-wing religious conservative" organization as having "strong anti-LGBTQ rhetoric." WePay shut down following findings, JPMorgan spokesperson says. A JPMorgan spokesperson responded to the findings, telling CBS News that the subsidiary has since been shut down as a result of the revelations. WePay "did not meet our expectations," the spokesperson told CBS. "We identified it, corrected it, and the business no longer operates." The spokesperson emphasized that the bank's policies "prohibit discrimination against customers based on political or religious views." JPMorgan Chase staff were further found to have altered records of customers who were rejected because of their political views, including a case where a senior employee directed the removal of the phrases "right-wing" and "very tasteless, gun-centric videos" from records after a customer was denied commercial services multiple times between 2021 and 2023.

Acorns and Intuit strike deals | exits & deep reads. Oct 18, 2026 Hello Fintech Friends, This week, a couple of household names in fintech announced deals: Intuit agreed to acquire Sequence, which automates billing and revenue management, while Acorns bought financial education community Frich. A consortium led by GTCR and including Elliott Investment Management agreed to take insurance software provider CCC Intelligent Solutions private in a deal valuing the business at $6.1 billion. In public markets, MNT-Halan attracted heavy retail demand for its Egyptian IPO, while India's Paramotor Digital Technology filed updated IPO papers and StockGro's parent approved a fresh share issue for its planned offering. RecargaPay appointed a CFO ahead of a potential U.S. listing, and Evernorth began trading following its SPAC merger. Among financial institutions, Fairfax Financial won an auction for a controlling stake in IDBI Bank for approximately $5.6 billion. Crédit Agricole agreed to buy Germany's IKB, Carlyle agreed to acquire a $7.7 billion loan portfolio from Truist, and LSEG confirmed talks to acquire Octus for approximately $3.5 billion. This week's reads cover JPMorgan Chase blocking outside AI agents from customer accounts, Upgrade's bank charter application and the FCA's crackdown on finfluencers. In TWIF coverage, Mary Ann Azevedo interviewed Vishal Garg about regaining control of Better. "I'm just not good at the politics. I like making stuff that makes people happy. I like making stuff that makes people save money," Garg told TWIF. The interview also covered his plans to reach profitability through AI, cost cuts and the company's mortgage platform business. Plaid makes AI work seamlessly in finance. Reads of the Week IPOs & SPACs - Fintech * MNT-Halan, an Egyptian lending and payments fintech, attracted retail demand of 43.6 times the shares available in its EGP7.84 billion ($147 million) IPO. * Paramotor Digital Technology, an Indian prepaid payments and rewards provider, filed updated draft papers for a ₹10 billion (about $105 million) IPO. * StockGro, an Indian investing and stock advisory platform, approved up to ₹5.36 billion (about $56 million) in new shares for its proposed IPO, alongside a sale by existing shareholders. * RecargaPay, a Brazilian payments fintech, appointed former JPMorgan executive Xavier Ibanez as CFO to prepare for a potential U.S. IPO. * Vaibhav Vyapaar, the Indian operator of digital lending platform LoanFront, closed bidding for its ₹421 million (about $4.4 million) IPO with demand of 3.08 times the shares offered. * Apex Treasury II, a SPAC targeting sectors including fintech and digital assets, filed for a $250 million IPO. * EasyA, a blockchain and AI developer platform, plans a direct listing in the first half of 2027 after receiving an independent $1.1 billion valuation. * Evernorth, a Ripple-backed XRP treasury company, began trading on Nasdaq following its SPAC merger with Armada Acquisition Corp. II, which delivered approximately $300 million in gross cash proceeds. * Airtel Money, an African mobile payments provider, began unconditional trading on the London Stock Exchange following its IPO at a £5.3 billion ($7 billion) valuation. M&A - Fintech * GTCR and Elliott Investment Management agreed to acquire CCC Intelligent Solutions, an insurance software and AI provider, in a $6.1 billion take-private deal. * Intuit agreed to acquire Sequence, a Series A revenue management company that automates the end-to-end quote-to-revenue process for businesses. * Payward, the parent of Kraken, agreed to acquire Saldo Finance Oy, the Finnish holding company that owns Lithuania's Saldo Bank. * Acorns acquired Frich, a financial education community for young Americans with 1.6 million members. * Array acquired Hansa, a platform providing embedded business credit tools and reporting to commercial credit bureaus. * Plus500 agreed to acquire Hedge Capital Markets, a U.S. broker-dealer, ahead of its planned launch of a U.S. trading app. * PayJoy acquired select assets of Finia AI, which developed AI-powered underwriting and financial products for microbusinesses in Mexico. * Mesh acquired Bluvo, a developer of cryptocurrency exchange connectivity technology. * Optimal Blue acquired Usherpa, a marketing automation and borrower engagement platform for mortgage professionals. * intelliflo acquired Mabel Insights, an investment research, portfolio analysis and financial planning platform for advisers. * Financial Information Technologies (Fintech) acquired Ground Signal, adding beverage industry market intelligence and analytics to its payments and business software platform. Hiring in fintech? This Week In Fintech, Inc. want to feature your role. This Week In Fintech, Inc. is launching the TWIF Fintech Job Board - and once a month, its editorial team will handpick and highlight the 10 most compelling, high-impact job openings across the industry in a dedicated roundup. Whether you're making a critical founding hire, tackling tough technical infrastructure, or building zero-to-one, This Week In Fintech, Inc. want to hear about it. M&A - Banks and Financial Institutions * Carlyle agreed to acquire a $7.7 billion portfolio of unsecured personal loans from Truist. * Fairfax Financial won an Indian government auction to buy a 60.72% controlling stake in IDBI Bank for approximately ₹528.78 billion ($5.6 billion). * London Stock Exchange Group confirmed talks to acquire credit intelligence provider Octus from Permira for approximately $3.5 billion. * Crédit Agricole agreed to acquire IKB Deutsche Industriebank, a German lender serving midsize businesses, from Lone Star Funds. * Porch Group and Porch Insurance Reciprocal Exchange agreed to acquire Allied Trust's insurance carrier, managing general agency and captive reinsurance entities for $200 million, subject to adjustments. * AtlasClear Holdings agreed to acquire Ark Financial Services, parent of investment bank Dawson James Securities, for up to $24.5 million, plus an adjustment for excess net capital. * Interra Credit Union completed its acquisition of The Hicksville Bank, adding four branches in Ohio and Indiana. * RBL Bank received regulatory approval to merge Emirates NBD's Indian branches into its operations, effective December 1. * CohnReznick agreed to acquire the Aldrich group of companies, including Aldrich Wealth, which has $8 billion in assets under advisement. * Annex Wealth Management agreed to acquire Marietta Investment Partners, a Milwaukee investment adviser with approximately $765 million in assets under management. * Waverly Advisors acquired MCS Family Wealth Advisors, an Oregon wealth management firm with approximately $151 million in assets under management. * Simplicity Group acquired MAIA Wealth, a Denver-based independent financial advisory firm. * Simplicity Group acquired Chicago-based Zen Wealth Management Group, adding tax expertise to its financial planning services. * Novacore agreed to acquire Diesel Insurance Solutions, a specialist in trucking and cargo coverage across the U.S.-Mexico border.

Goldman Sachs edges out JPMorgan Chase as the better buy for dividend investors, according to a Barchart comparison of the two banks. Goldman has the stronger recent numbers. Its annual sales rose 8.9% to $58.3 billion, and net income climbed 20.3% to $17.2 billion. JPMorgan's sales rose 0.5% to $280.3 billion, while net income slipped 2.4% to $57 billion. Dividends are close. Goldman pays $20 a share a year, a yield of about 2.2%, and JPMorgan pays $6.60, about 2%. Both payout ratios are near 25%. Goldman trades at about 13x forward earnings, against nearly 14x for JPMorgan. Analysts rate both stocks "Moderate Buy," with high targets implying upside of up to 44% for Goldman and 27% for JPMorgan.