Finance, Banking & Insurance

KANSAS CITY – October 30, 2026 -- nbkc bank has filed an application with the FDIC to assume the consumer-focused Banking as a Service (BaaS) portfolio of LSBX, the BaaS division of Lincoln Savings Bank, expanding both its BaaS business and its deposit base.

The deal is expected to close in early 2027, subject to regulatory approval. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Deal follows Lincoln Bancorp's merger agreement with Equity Bancshares

The filing comes after a September announcement that Lincoln Savings Bank's parent, Lincoln Bancorp of Reinbeck, Iowa, will merge with and into Equity Bancshares, Inc., based in Wichita, Kan.

nbkc plans to fold the LSBX offering into its own BaaS business and take it to market under the nbkc brand, according to President and CEO Michael Bartkoski. He called the transaction a "natural fit" and said it would strengthen the bank's deposit base.

WASHINGTON – October 30, 2026 -- Fifty-seven percent of U.S. consumers report a negative consequence for merchants that do not accept their preferred payment method, according to the seventh annual Consumer Holiday Spending Study from the Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) and TSG (The Strawhecker Group). The study of 1,099 U.S. consumers, conducted September 8-13, 2026, also found that 44% feel more financially stressed than last year, up from 27% in 2025.

Financial stress and holiday debt rise sharply year over year

Thirty percent of respondents report more debt than two years ago, up from 17%. Thirty-three percent say they usually take on holiday debt or likely will this year, up from 19%.

Concern rose across all eight shopping issues measured, led by inflation at 82%. Concern about gift affordability reached 64% and concern about managing a budget reached 57%, each up 17 percentage points.

HONG KONG – October 30, 2026 -- Nasdaq-listed TROOPS, Inc. (TROO) has signed a term sheet with Young Platform S.p.A. to license a proprietary digital asset exchange platform, a deal that becomes binding on November 1, 2026.

License would cover source code, matching engine and wallet systems

The term sheet sets the principal terms for a future license agreement. TROOPS expects access to Young Platform's source code, matching engine technology, wallet management systems, administrative tools, technical documentation and deployment support. The company says these assets will shorten development timelines for its planned exchange.

The two companies also plan to collaborate on configuration, integration, deployment and future development of the platform. TROOPS intends to launch and operate the exchange together with EFFORCE Group.

ABU DHABI – October 30, 2026 -- Falcon Capital Investments Limited, part of the Falcon Family Office Group, is investing in Pont Capital and will become a strategic shareholder in the London-based energy and natural resources investor.

Pont Capital invests across four energy and resource segments

Pont Capital allocates capital across private and public markets in traditional energy, low-carbon power, sustainable infrastructure and critical minerals. The announcement gave no stake size or transaction value.

Falcon Capital cites electrification, data centres and mineral scarcity as demand drivers

Falcon Capital describes the sector as entering a new supercycle. It points to rising power demand from electrification and the growth of data centres, a renewed premium on energy security, and tightening supply of critical minerals. These pressures, it says, are set to redirect global capital for decades.

PHILADELPHIA – October 30, 2026 -- Future Standard, a global alternative asset manager with $94 billion in assets under management, has signed a multiyear partnership with Villanova Athletics that makes it Premier Partner, Official Jersey Patch Partner and Exclusive Asset Management Sponsor.

Future Standard logo debuts on Villanova basketball jerseys in Rome on November 1

The Future Standard logo will appear on all Villanova varsity uniforms. It debuts on the men's and women's basketball jerseys when Villanova plays Notre Dame at the "Eternal City Tip-Off" in Rome, Italy, on November 1, 2026. Villanova sponsors 24 varsity sports with more than 600 student-athletes.

The firm did not disclose financial terms or the length of the agreement beyond calling it multiyear.

NEW YORK – October 30, 2026 -- Bloomberg raised the Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCOM) target weight for Precious Metals to 19.49% for 2027, the group's second-highest level in the index's history, while Grains fell to a record-low 20.61%.

The index will keep its 25 exchange-traded contracts on physical commodities. The new weights take effect during the January 2027 roll period.

Silver and gold lift Precious Metals to its second-highest weight on record

Silver's weight rose to 4.56%, driving the Precious Metals increase. Gold's weight edged up to 14.93%, just below the index's 15% single-commodity cap, and Gold remains the largest individual component.

Corn, soybeans and wheat each hit record-low weights, pushing Grains to 20.61%

All three commodities reached their lowest target weights in BCOM history. Grains recorded the sharpest structural decline among the commodity groups.

NEW YORK – October 30, 2026 -- Bravo Property Trust, the direct lending affiliate of HUD lender Bravo Capital, is offering mezzanine loans of $500,000 to $20 million, with terms of up to 36 months, to owners and operators of skilled nursing, assisted living, multifamily and build-to-rent properties nationwide.

Interest-only mezzanine loans fill the gap between senior debt and sponsor equity

Each loan is secured by a pledge of the ownership interests in the property-owning entity rather than by a mortgage. It sits between the senior loan and the sponsor's equity, so owners can buy, recapitalize or reposition properties with less cash in the deal. Payments are interest only.

MINEOLA – October 30, 2026 -- Texas Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: TCBS) agreed to acquire The Banc of San Jacinto County Bancshares, Inc. (SJCB) in an all-cash deal worth $9.5 million, with closing expected in the first quarter of 2027.

SJCB shareholders split a $9.5 million cash pool

Under the merger agreement, SJCB shareholders will receive aggregate cash consideration of $9.5 million. Each outstanding share of SJCB common stock converts into a pro rata portion of that amount at closing. The deal includes SJCB's wholly owned subsidiary, The Bank of San Jacinto County, a Texas non-member bank.

Bismarck – October 30, 2026 -- BNCCORP, INC. (OTCQX: BNCC) reported third-quarter 2026 net income of $3.0 million, or $0.85 per diluted share, up 14.7% from $2.6 million, or $0.74 per share, a year earlier. Excluding ongoing merger charges tied to its pending acquisition by OppFi Inc., net income reached $3.3 million, or $0.94 per diluted share.

BNCCORP lifts return on assets to 1.12% and return on equity to 10.15%

Return on average assets rose to 1.12% from 1.05%, and return on average equity improved to 10.15% from 9.60%. Adjusted for merger charges, the figures were 1.24% and 11.23%. Tangible book value per common share increased to $31.68 from $30.26 at December 31, 2025 and $29.44 a year earlier. The tangible common equity ratio climbed to 10.30% from 9.68% at year-end.

NEW YORK – October 30, 2026 -- Hanwha Investment & Securities, a financial affiliate of Fortune Global 500 company Hanwha, has adopted the Chainlink data standard and Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) as the official oracle and interoperability infrastructure for its global real-world asset (RWA) tokenization platform.

Chainlink supplies pricing and NAV data while CCIP moves assets across chains

Chainlink will provide pricing and net asset value (NAV) data for the assets the platform issues. CCIP will move those assets and their liquidity across public and private blockchains.

Assets can be issued on the chain best suited to their characteristics. A single integration gives them access to more investors and liquidity, with no custom build for each new network.