The regulatory momentum around stablecoins has led to the first tangible piece of successful crypto policy in the U.S., the GENIUS Act which President Trump signed into law. The GENIUS Act gives stablecoins legal legitimacy, so long as they play by traditional financial rules of 1:1 reserve backing, anti-money laundering (AML) compliance, and dual charter options through state or federal regulators. For enterprise users, the evolving landscape signals a new era of trust. It means the digital dollars they’re using to pay contractors in Venezuela or settle trade balances in Nigeria may no longer be Wild West tokens but federally recognized financial instruments by the world’s leading economy. But at the same time, for businesses leveraging stablecoins, whether for global B2B payments, instant invoice payments, or even payroll, the irrevocability of the mechanism, and the new-ness of its end-user experience, could create a new battleground. Instead of routing through correspondent banks or relying on volatile forex pairs, companies can denominate invoices in stablecoins, settle within hours and avoid the friction of legacy payment rails. It’s not about replacing Swift but about skipping it when firms can. Similarily, through USDC or other compliant coins, firms can also pay their employees or contractors in dollar equivalents, settled in minutes, recorded on-chain. Workers are happy when they get paid in a currency that holds value, while employers can benefit from predictability and ease of reconciliation. The dollar now has an internet-native payment rail that is fast, frictionless, and free of middlemen. This groundbreaking technology will buttress the dollar’s status as the global reserve currency, expand access to the dollar economy for billions across the globe.
Regions Bank’s improvements to its digital funnel drove 10% year-to-date growth in digital channel checking; in the wealth management segment in 2Q the bank earned a record nominal interest rate (NIR) during the quarter and grew its total number of wealth management relationships by 8.3%
Regions Financial Corp.’s investments in technology and talent drove 10% year-over-year growth in revenue in the second quarter, bringing the regional bank’s total revenue for the quarter to $1.9 billion. “We are very proud of our second-quarter performance as we continue to reap the benefits of the investments we’ve made across our businesses and the successful execution of our strategic plans,” Regions Financial Corp. Chairman, President and CEO John Turner said. Regions Financial Corp., whose Regions Bank subsidiary serves customers across the South, Midwest and Texas, has seen the benefits of these investments across its businesses. In its corporate business, the bank is using natural language processing and other technologies to screen public filings and evaluate product opportunities for large corporate clients. In its consumer business, Regions Financial reskilled and reallocated bankers to focus on opportunities with small businesses and key customer segments, conducted financial education workshops, and centralized processes to save over 200,000 hours and allow bankers to focus on serving customers. In addition, the bank’s improvements to its digital funnel drove 10% year-to-date growth in digital channel checking. Over the past two years, the bank saw its number of mobile banking active users rise 6%, the number of mobile banking logins gain 14% and the share of customer transactions conducted through digital channels increase from 74% to 78%. In its wealth management business, Regions Financial completed a new cloud-based portal to improve infrastructure for its current and future applications serving this segment, enhanced its advisors’ customer relationship management (CRM) systems and fully launched a social media program on LinkedIn. In the wealth management segment, the bank earned a record nominal interest rate (NIR) during the quarter and grew its total number of wealth management relationships by 8.3% compared to last year. Across the bank’s operations, the efficiencies delivered by technology and normal attrition among the workforce will help to pay for continuing investments in technology, Regions Financial Chief Financial Officer David Turner said. “We just have to continue to look for ways to become more efficient,” Turner said. “We and the industry have to do a better job of leveraging all the new technologies that are coming at us pretty rapidly and let our attrition, which is about 6% to 7% of our workforce every year, help pay for some of this technology.” Looking ahead, Regions Financial will continue to modernize its core technology platforms, Turner said.
KeyBank 2Q25: Client deposits and relationship households were up 2% year-over-year while deposit costs were managed below 2%; Commercial payments-related fees grew high single digits
KeyCorp announced net income from continuing operations attributable to Key common shareholders of $387 million, or $.35 per diluted common share, for the second quarter of 2025. For the first quarter of 2025, net income from continuing operations attributable to Key common shareholders was $370 million, or $.33 per diluted common share. For the second quarter of 2024, KeyCorp reported net income from continuing operations attributable to Key common shareholders of $237 million, or $.25 per diluted common share, or adjusted net income of $241 million, or $.25 per diluted common share(a). Included in the second quarter of 2024 are $4 million, after-tax, of charges related to the FDIC special assessment(b). Chairman and CEO, Chris Gorman said, “Our second quarter results demonstrate continued strong momentum. Revenue was up 21% year-overyear driven by our clearly defined net interest income tailwinds and 10% growth in noninterest income, while expenses grew 7%. Sequentially, net interest income grew 4%. Credit quality continues to trend in a positive direction with overall credit migration improving for the sixth consecutive quarter. Business activity with clients and prospects continues to accelerate. Client deposits and relationship households were up 2% year-over-year while deposit costs were managed below 2%. Period end commercial loans grew $2.1 billion in the second quarter. Assets under management reached a record $64 billion. Investment banking pipelines remain at historically elevated levels. In the second quarter we raised over $30 billion of capital on behalf of our clients. Commercial payments-related fees grew high single digits year-over-year. We continue to make investments in people and technology that will drive future growth for our company. We remain on target to increase our front line bankers – investment bankers, middle market relationship managers, payments advisors, and wealth managers – by 10% in 2025. I am energized by our momentum as we win and take share in the marketplace. I remain confident that we will continue to execute against our compelling organic growth opportunities.”
- Revenue of $1.8 billion, up 21% year-over-year; Significant positive operating leverage on both a total and fee basis year-over-year
- Net interest income up 4% and net interest margin increased 8 bps quarter-over-quarter
- Period-end loans up $1.6 billion quarter-over-quarter; Commercial loans up $3.3 billion or 5% year-to-date
- Net charge-offs declined 8% quarter-over-quarter; Other credit metrics stable to improved
Consumer Bank Summary of Operations (2Q25 vs. 2Q24)
- Key’s Consumer Bank recorded net income attributable to Key of $122 million for the second quarter of 2025, compared to $59 million for the year-ago quarter
- Taxable-equivalent net interest income increased by $153 million, or 29.3%, compared to the second quarter of 2024
- Average loans and leases decreased $3.0 billion, or 7.8%, from the second quarter of 2024, driven by broad-based declines across all loan categories
- Average deposits increased $2.6 billion, or 3.1%, from the second quarter of 2024, driven by growth in money market deposits and demand deposits
- Provision for credit losses increased $22 million compared to the second quarter of 2024, primarily driven by changes in reserve levels due to deterioration in the economic outlook
- Noninterest income increased $1 million from the year-ago quarter, driven by an increase in trust and investment services income, partially offset by a decrease in consumer mortgage income
Commercial Bank Summary of Operations (2Q25 vs. 2Q24)
- Key’s Commercial Bank recorded net income attributable to Key of $349 million for the second quarter of 2025 compared to $206 million for the year-ago quarter
- Taxable-equivalent net interest income increased by $145 million, or 35.3%, compared to the second quarter of 2024
- Average loan and lease balances decreased $161 million, or 0.2%, compared to the second quarter of 2024, driven by a decline in commercial real estate loans and commercial lease financing
- Average deposit balances decreased $1.5 billion compared to the second quarter of 2024, driven by a reduction in higher-cost client balances
- Provision for credit losses decreased $3 million compared to the second quarter of 2024, driven by a lower reserve build as changes in the portfolio mix offset economic deterioration, as well as lower net loan charge-offs
- Noninterest income increased $61 million compared to the second quarter of 2024, primarily driven by an increase in investment banking and debt placement fees and commercial mortgage servicing fees
- Noninterest expense increased $18 million compared to the second quarter of 2024, driven by higher support and overhead expense
Citi’s new retail head of retail banking says simplified strategy distinguishes Citi from larger banks; credits fintechs with pushing traditional banks to reduce complexity
Kate Luft, Citi’s new head of U.S. retail banking, draws inspiration for customer engagement from the airline industry. “I think of it like an airline,” she said. “The more you do with us, the more we recognize you.” Luft led the overhaul of Citi’s U.S. retail strategy last year, simplifying products, consolidating checking accounts, and introducing “relationship tiers” that reward customers with perks like waived fees when they meet balance thresholds. “Really what we did was redefine our products and value [propositions],” she said. “Our mandate was, how do we make it super-simple for our clients?”
JPMorgan reportedly plans to launch crypto-backed loans deepening its commitment to digital assets
JPMorgan is eyeing a major expansion into crypto-backed lending and is considering offering loans secured directly by clients’ cryptocurrency assets—including bitcoin and ether (ETH). With the bullish crypto regulatory environment under the Trump administration, JPMorgan may launch these crypto‑backed loans as soon as next year. Traditionally cautious, JPMorgan already allows clients to borrow against crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs), such as BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). This next phase would deepen its commitment to digital assets, marking a shift under CEO Jamie Dimon’s leadership — who infamously labeled bitcoin a “fraud” eight years ago
Google and partners are launching a “responsible AI sandbox” for banks to test gen AI use cases safely
Banks have been cautiously exploring generative AI, using it internally for call centers, software development, and investment research, but hesitating to deploy it directly to customers due to risks like hallucinations, toxicity, and misinformation. In response, Google, Oliver Wyman, and Corridor Platforms are launching a “responsible AI sandbox” for banks to test gen AI use cases safely. “The idea is, in a three month period, they really get a good sense of exactly what needs to be done for their use case to go live and what governance is needed,” said Manish Gupta, Corridor’s CEO. The sandbox includes bias, accuracy, and stability tests and supports portability. “Tier 1 banks have been using sandboxes with good results – for example, HSBC and JPMorganChase,” said Alenka Grealish of Celent. Consultant Dov Haselkorn added, “It gets them probably three years ahead on the journey… And speed is really of the essence.” He also emphasized data risk: “Data provenance is a major topic in this field… you have to make sure that those controls are in place to make sure that none of our customer data accidentally leaks to third parties.” The sandbox, initially using Google’s Gemini model trained for customer service, lets banks test gen AI with internal or external data. “The industry needs to learn how to control” the adoption of AI, said Oliver Wyman’s Michael Zeltkevic. Oliver Wyman will assist banks in operationalizing the models. Similar efforts are underway in the U.K., where the Financial Conduct Authority’s “Supercharged Sandbox” lets firms safely test AI. “This collaboration will help those that want to test AI ideas but who lack the capabilities to do so,” said FCA’s Jessica Rusu. Karan Jain, CEO of NayaOne, which powers the FCA sandbox, explained, “They brought the data and the AI model into NayaOne, we locked it down, and we provided the GPUs.” Jain noted that sandbox use cases include fraud detection, cybersecurity, code assistance, and compliance, but warned of lagging adoption: “The speed of adoption of technology is 10 times slower than the speed of technology that’s entering the market and the employees want it.”
Major banks taking divergent approaches ranging from token deposits on public blockchain and token services on private blockchain to partnerships with stablecoin issuers for launching stablecoin-based payments
Among major U.S. banks—JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, U.S. Bank, and PNC—several have launched tokenized deposit systems akin to stablecoins within their own ecosystems. Interoperability remains a challenge, prompting analysts to ask if a stablecoin consortium, like Zelle, would make sense. Citi’s Jane Fraser acknowledged potential for collaboration but asserted that Citi’s own live-token service, now operational in four markets, is a “killer app” for programmable, cross-border payments. JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon didn’t respond to the consortium idea, though JPM is part of the Zelle-owning consortium. BofA’s Brian Moynihan favored both solo and joint approaches, noting client demand hasn’t materialized yet, though the bank holds blockchain patents and partners with stablecoin issuers. Citi is exploring its own stablecoin, while JPMorgan’s JPMD token runs on Coinbase’s Base network for institutional fund transfers. U.S. Bank’s CEO Gunjan Kedia said stablecoins aren’t material yet, though they’re ready to pilot. PNC’s CEO William Demchak predicted an industry-led stablecoin would emerge, though he and Kedia expressed skepticism about its near-term impact, especially in domestic payments where demand and cost advantages remain unclear.
Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) and embedded finance platforms driving growth for banks in cross-border transactions and deposit balances amid operational uncertainty, FinTech fragmentation and growing demand for streamlined, data-rich payments
Financial tools once limited to large firms are now accessible to SMBs via APIs and embedded finance. From large lenders like Citi and JPMorgan, to systemically important banks like BNY and Lloyds, as well as major market institutions like Truist, bank executives all stressed to their respective investors the importance of back-office units. Against a backdrop of operational uncertainty, FinTech fragmentation and growing demand for streamlined, data-rich payments, these FIs’ TTS and embedded finance platforms are becoming strategic growth engines. Done right, embedded finance shifts from a buzzword to a reliable infrastructure. Citi’s Services business, for example, posted record second-quarter 2025 revenues of $5.1 billion, up 8% year over year. Market share gains of 40 basis points in TTS were driven by a 7% rise in cross-border transaction value and higher deposit balances. BNY’s Treasury Services offerings were likewise up year-over-year. Nearly two-thirds would switch providers to access embedded finance solutions. For banks, this underscores the opportunity within treasury and payments services. At the same time, innovations like stablecoins are reshaping what treasury management and payments might look like in the future.
The five fintech jobs Gen AI will replace first- entry-level financial analyst, the customer service representative, the compliance analyst, data entry clerk, content marketer
Entry-Level Financial Analyst: Gen AI is automating the analyst bullpen process, enabling AI models to generate discounted cash flow models and draft investment memos before human input. This shift towards “hybrid jobs” involves human expertise directing and verifying AI-driven analysis, with future analysts tasked with querying AI, validating outputs, and adding strategic insight, a shift from data-gatherer to AI-interrogator. The Customer Service Representative: The call center industry is undergoing a significant transformation with AI-powered agents, transforming roles like customer support. Swedish fintech Klarna now employs most of its workforce with Gen AI daily, while remaining human agents become escalation specialists, handling sensitive cases that require genuine empathy, a skill AI has yet to master. The Compliance Analyst: The financial industry faces regulations like AML and KYC, and generating AI can effectively detect patterns and flag suspicious activity. This shift shifts the human from a data-sifter to an AI auditor, emphasizing the importance of human oversight in AI-augmented risk management systems. Human professionals will now design, train, and audit these AI systems. The Data Entry Clerk: The data entry clerk role in fintech is becoming increasingly vulnerable due to advanced AI and optical character recognition (OCR), which can now accurately input data in real time, reducing the time spent on this role. This shift is a clear case of technological replacement, freeing up human capital for critical thinking tasks. The Content Marketer: Fintechs rely on consistent content to engage clients, and generative AI can produce high-quality, SEO-optimized articles, social media copy, and market updates. This shift pushes human marketers up the value chain, forcing them to become strategists managing AI as a tool. Their future lies in crafting creative campaigns and brand voice that AI will amplify.
SMBs are turning to modular, AI-powered no-code tools to build custom finance stack and automate key back-office functions, such as invoice generation, bill reminders, recurring billing, and AI-assisted tax calculators
Small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have been the underserved middle children of enterprise technology for decades, relying on spreadsheets, manual entry, and fragmented services to manage their financial operations. However, a wave of artificial intelligence-powered, no-code tools is transforming the way these businesses handle their back offices, empowering a new generation of citizen developers to build custom finance stacks from the ground up. Solo founders, accountants, and operations managers are turning to AI to automate key back-office functions, such as invoice generation, bill reminders, recurring billing, and AI-assisted tax calculators. This DIY approach allows SMBs to tailor their tools exactly to their needs, rather than being forced into the rigid workflows of traditional software. As a result, companies are planning to increase their investments in software not just for cost savings but also to unlock new revenue streams and accelerate scaling. The finance stack, traditionally the exclusive domain of larger enterprises, is now being reconstructed by SMB owners using modular, AI-enhanced tools. As SMBs grow more confident in their DIY capabilities, some are choosing to opt out of traditional third-party financial services. This is not just about cost savings, but also about control. When businesses own their financial stack, they gain visibility into their operations and the flexibility to adapt quickly compared to peers and competitors reliant on inflexible external vendors. As AI continues to evolve, more sophisticated solutions are expected to emerge, from predictive analytics to real-time financial forecasting, with the scrappy, resourceful SMB owner at the heart of it all.