American Banker’s Post

ACNB Corp. in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, said Wednesday it agreed to acquire Traditions Bancorp in an all-stock transaction valued at $73.5 million — another deal that points to an upswing in community bank mergers this year. The $2.5 billion-asset ACNB said in a press release that its bid for the $859 million-asset Traditions is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2025. After closing, Traditions’ shareholders would also receive a quarterly cash dividend equal to about 23 cents a share. https://lnkd.in/e-s2yduS

During this live American Banker and Mitek event, we'll share highlights from our recent survey of banking professionals, delve into what you can learn from the findings, and explore what the future fraud forecast may look like. https://bit.ly/4cNJnkc

Suni Harford, former president of UBS Asset Management discusses her 40-year career, her post-work plans, and her new role as chair of the Bob Woodruff Foundation.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reversed itself, declaring that earned wage access programs, which conduct no underwriting and charge no interest, are loans. This is a disservice to the industry and consumers, writes Phil Goldfeder, of the American Fintech Council, in American Banker’s BankThink. https://bit.ly/3zWnpNt

McKinsey & Company research underscores why the mobile app is a crucial tool for cross-selling and relationship deepening: 68% of touchpoints that bank customers have today are with the mobile app, rather than branches, contact centers, ATMs or online banking. More than 40% of credit card and personal loan sales, which are typical cross-sell products, happen in digital channels, a number that is steadily increasing. Javelin Strategy & Research does the same: In a May survey to more than 10,000 consumers, Javelin asked respondents why they don't turn to their primary bank instead of nonbank companies for some typical banking activities. Twenty-two percent said they didn't even consider their primary bank; 23% said they weren't sure if their primary bank offered this.

Lawmakers say banks aren't doing enough for Zelle fraud victims; FTC probes JPMorgan Chase, MasterCard over consumer data privacy; Capital One's profits fall sharply after Walmart charges; Visa's CEO swipes at interchange settlement dismissal; financial firms tell Congress why they need AI; and more in today's newsletter.

One example of how FIs benefit from AI: Great Lakes Credit Union deployed a voice-enabled virtual assistant, Olive, in 2023. Olive handles 60% of inbound calls during business hours and 75% after business hours. As a result, the Bannockburn, Illinois-based credit union's call center agents have transitioned from transactional support roles to more consultative and advisory roles, with higher pay grades and better career path. https://lnkd.in/d2yVT35D

Visa pushes banks to offer payments in the Middle East; Block alters its Cash strategy and more in our weekly global payments news roundup.