Banking & Fintech

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - January 1, 2026 - First Financial Bancorp. (Nasdaq: FFBC) says it is scheduled to close its previously announced acquisition of Chicago-based BankFinancial Corporation today in an all-stock transaction that adds its first retail consumer-focused locations in the Chicago market.

Deal snapshot and strategic intent

The transaction brings BankFinancial's core deposit franchise and branch presence into First Financial's Midwest platform. First Financial said the acquisition adds 18 financial centers in the Chicago area, along with regional and national commercial loan, lease, and deposit lines of business. With the completion of the acquisition, First Financial said it will have $22 billion in assets and will broaden its consumer, commercial, specialty lending, and wealth management offering.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 15, 2025 - HoldCo Asset Management says Comerica shareholders should vote against the proposed merger with Fifth Third at a special meeting scheduled for January 6, 2026, arguing the transaction undervalues Comerica and that rejecting the deal could improve shareholder outcomes with limited downside.

Activist investor challenges deal process and governance safeguards
HoldCo Asset Management, a Florida-based investment firm managing approximately $2.6 billion in regulatory assets under management, said it holds beneficial ownership of approximately 1.6% of Comerica's outstanding common stock and released a presentation titled "Why We Recommend Voting AGAINST The Proposed Merger and Our Litigation Update." The firm's case centers on how the transaction was negotiated and whether the board's process delivered maximum value for shareholders.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 10, 2025 - Hanwha Finance is sharpening its Middle East growth agenda as Chief Global Officer Dong-Won Kim used his opening address at Abu Dhabi Finance Week's Global Markets Summit to position South Korea-UAE financial collaboration as a long-term strategic pillar for both economies and a testbed for next-generation digital capital markets.

Strengthening a Korea-UAE "100-Year Partnership" Through Finance

Speaking in Abu Dhabi, Kim framed financial services as the connective tissue that will turn high-level Korea-UAE diplomacy into investable projects and new cross-border capital flows. He noted that "since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1980, South Korea and the UAE have continuously expanded the scope of cooperation", and stressed that Hanwha Finance intends to help carry forward a "100-year partnership" between the two nations.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 8, 2025 - Canadian fintech Tuhk Inc. is stepping out of stealth with a US$6 million seed round to turn fragmented fraud data into a real-time collaboration fabric between merchants, banks and service providers, as the payments industry wrestles with a cybercrime threat measured in the trillions of dollars.

Fintech Veterans Target a US$10.5 Trillion Cybercrime Problem

Founded in 2025 by veterans from Ethoca and NuData Security, Toronto-based Tuhk is positioning itself as a "real-time data collaboration platform" at the intersection of fraud prevention and payments optimization. The seed financing is led by FINTOP, with strategic participation from Lloyds Banking Group and Capital One Ventures, signalling early alignment from major issuers and card partners.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 4, 2025 - Mavsign, a leading provider of secure offsite contracting and fraud prevention solutions for the automotive finance ecosystem, has strengthened its legal and compliance backbone by engaging Hudson Cook LLP to review and enhance its information security, privacy and customer-facing frameworks. The move underscores how digital contracting platforms are investing ahead of regulatory pressure to give lenders, fintechs and dealers greater confidence in remote identity verification and high-value transactions.

Reinforcing a Compliance-First Offsite Contracting Model

SHERIDAN, WYOMING – October 15, 2025 – Diebold Nixdorf (NYSE: DBD), a global technology leader in connected commerce for banking and retail, has announced two key executive appointments aimed at unifying commercial operations and strengthening administrative efficiency worldwide. Joe Myers will become Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) starting January 1, 2026, while Elizabeth (Lisa) Radigan will assume the newly created role of Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) effective December 1, 2025.

Both appointments reflect Diebold Nixdorf’s continued focus on integrated growth strategies, cross-segment collaboration, and scalable operational models designed to support banks and retailers adapting to rapid digital transformation.

Unifying Sales to Drive Customer-Centric Growth

SHERIDAN, WYOMING – Feb. 15, 2025, BBVA, a global leader in banking innovation, will present its vision for the future of the financial industry at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025 in Barcelona. With a strong emphasis on digital transformation, artificial intelligence (AI), and open banking, BBVA's participation underscores its commitment to leveraging technology to enhance customer experiences and drive industry evolution.

Innovation and Digitization: Cornerstones of BBVA's Strategy

BBVA has firmly positioned technology at the heart of its strategy. With an annual technology investment exceeding €1 billion in Spain alone and €3 billion globally, and approximately 20,000 tech profile employees worldwide. Its dedication is evident in its 57 million mobile customers and the fact that 78 percent of its total sales are conducted through digital channels.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING – Dec. 24, 2024 – In a significant move to enhance online security, France's four major mobile operators – Bouygues Telecom, Free, Orange, and SFR – have announced the launch of two new network APIs designed to combat fraud and protect digital identities. This initiative is part of the global GSMA Open Gateway program, which aims to provide standardized APIs for developers to access mobile network capabilities.

Rising Online Fraud Prompts Action