JPMorgan trader put on leave — lenders unload hotel loans — SoFi applies for bank charter

Meredith Mazzilli

Jul 11, 2020, 20:30 IST

JPMorgan trader put on leave — lenders unload hotel loans — SoFi applies for bank charter

Getty Images/ Brian Ach

Welcome to Wall Street Insider, where we take you behind the scenes of the finance team's biggest scoops and deep dives from the past week.

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With a travel-industry slump looking like it could stretch on for months or even years, lenders are beginning to sell debt tied to distressed hotel properties. It's a big change in posture for these firms, which had been wary to sell loans at discounts earlier on in the pandemic.

Dan Geiger mapped out this new trickle of deals, and explained why we could see a surge to billions of dollars in sales in the coming months as more lenders seek to cut ties with bad loans within the lodging sector.

Read the full story here:

A growing group of lenders are looking to unload hundreds of millions of dollars of souring hotel loans. Teams hired to sell the portfolios say it's just the beginning of a surge in activity.

We also had a pair of scoopy trader stories on Friday. Here's a roundup in case you missed it:

Dakin Campbell learned that JPMorgan has placed its top US Treasuries trader on leave amid a compliance review of electronic messages. Earlier this year, the bank removed a handful of interest-rates traders — at least two in New York and one in London — from the floor and turned off their Bloomberg terminals while it investigated their behavior.
Alex Morrell reported that Bank of America has poached a top junk-bond trader from Deutsche Bank, leveling up in one of 2020's red-hot trading markets.

Keep reading for a peek inside Goldman Sachs' first in-person board meeting since the pandemic began; a look at the executives who are driving Amex's digital strategy as e-commerce booms; and to learn why SoFi CEO Anthony Noto is so excited about the fintech applying for a national banking charter.

Have a great weekend,

Meredith

SoFi makes another go at starting its own bank

The personal-finance startup SoFi has filed an application for a national bank charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Dan DeFrancesco first reported. Approval would allow the fintech to lend money and accept deposits on its own.

Anthony Noto, SoFi's CEO, highlighted three benefits of a national charter when announcing the application to employees in a company-wide email.

Read the full story here:

SoFi just filed an application for a national banking charter, and CEO Anthony Noto told employees it's a critical strategic step for the $4.3 billion fintech

Wells Fargo shakes up marketing

Wells Fargo is shaking up marketing operations and plans to eliminate its centralized CMO role, Rebecca Ungarino reported. The moves underline the personnel and organizational changes CEO Charlie Scharf has ushered in at Wells Fargo, which he joined last fall after leading Bank of New York Mellon.

Since a sales-practices scandal erupted in late 2016, the bank has gone through two CEOs before Scharf took over last year. In 2017, Wells Fargo unveiled a marketing campaign with the tagline "Building a Better Bank," and a year later released the tagline "Established 1852. Re-established 2018."

Read the full story here:

Wells Fargo's longtime CMO will leave her role as part of a bigger marketing shakeup across the bank

Goldman Sachs restarts in-person board meetings

As Dakin Campbell reports, Goldman Sachs has held its first in-person board meeting since the coronavirus pandemic began. About half of the company's board attended last week's meetings, including Chairman and CEO David Solomon. Other Goldman execs were also in attendance.

Several of the attendees chose not to wear masks inside the meeting room, Dakin learned. Others across Wall Street, including JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, and Citigroup, continue to hold meetings virtually.

Read the full story here:

Inside Goldman Sachs' first in-person board meeting since the pandemic began

Power players leading Amex's digital strategy

The adoption of digital payments has taken off amid the coronavirus pandemic, as consumers look to avoid cash. American Express, both a card network and credit issuer, is riding the digital wave with products like contactless cards, partnerships with players like Venmo, and QR codes to pay.

From fraud monitoring to credit decisioning to exploring new ways to pay, Shannen Balogh took a look at the power players leading Amex's digital push.

Read the full story here:

Meet the 11 American Express execs tasked with helping the card giant keep pace with the e-commerce boom

On the move

Bank of America continues to shake up its dealmaking team that focuses on M&A in the finance sector. After less than a year leading banking M&A at Credit Suisse, Jerry Wiant is packing up again to join the team at Bank of America, where he'll run coverage of banks and specialty finance in the Americas.

One-click checkout startup Fast raised its $20 million Series A from investors including Index Ventures and fintech Stripe in May as it looks to take on Apple Pay to solve pain-points around password management and online checkout.

Join Business Insider reporter Shannen Balogh on Tuesday, July 14 at 1:30 p.m ET when she will speak with Domm Holland, Fast's co-founder and CEO, and Jan Hammer, general partner at Index Venture. They'll discuss how Holland came up with the idea for Fast, how to build a pitch deck, and what it takes to win over investors.