A financial reckoning is coming—and we are not prepared. For years, climate scientists have warned us of rising temperatures, extreme weather, and ecological breakdown. Now, the very people who calculate financial risk—actuaries—are sounding the alarm. Their latest report projects a 50% collapse in global GDP within decades. That’s not a recession. That’s economic devastation on a scale we’ve never seen. Entire industries could crumble. Pensions could vanish. Insurance could become unaffordable. The financial foundation of modern life is at risk—and yet, mainstream economic forecasts still assume “business as usual.” Why? According to a new report by the Institute and Faculty…

Until recently, the U.S. banking system has been strong because of sensible bank regulations implemented during the President Obama and Biden administrations. Yet, around the world numerous countries do not have anywhere near as stable banking systems as the U.S. does. Weak banking systems should worry us all, not only because bank implosions hurt ordinary citizens, but also because they often cause sovereigns to default on their government debt. Sovereign defaults, in turn, cause even more problems for citizens such as increases in unemployment, social instability, and in worst cases, can lead residents to turn to crime and even terrorism.…

Chime, the largest digital bank in America, grew its revenue to $1.7 billion in 2024, an increase of roughly 30% from 2023, according to a person familiar with its finances. The San Francisco company wasn’t profitable for the year, but it lost less than $50 million, the person said. That was a significant narrowing from 2023, when it burned about $200 million. Chime has also reached eight million active customers, up from seven million in the first half of 2024, according to another person familiar with its business. Those positive trends all suggest it is on track with its plans…

After four thousand years of bad experiences, you’d think politicians and others would have learned the folly of price controls. Such restrictions lead to shortages, black markets and other destructive consequences. They didn’t save the Roman Empire, and they helped destroy the presidency of Richard Nixon. But like mosquitoes and flies in summertime, price controls are always with us. This episode of What’s Ahead warns of a congressional bill that would impose caps on credit card interest rates, ostensibly to provide relief for debt-ridden Americans, who, thanks in no small part to Joe Biden’s inflation, find themselves under financial stress.…

Senator Elizabeth Warren, the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affair Committee’s top Democrat is convening a forum to investigate the President Donald Trump-Elon Musk attack on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It is thanks to Senator Warren that this important financial regulator even exists. She was instrumental in having the CFPB created as part of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. Since then, this independent agency has returned over $21 billion to Americans wronged by financial institutions and corporations. Yesterday, the Student Borrower Protection Center, Americans for Financial Reform, and the Consumer Federation of America (CFA)…

There’s been a lot of noise recently about tariffs—how they’re used, who they help, and who they hurt. For small business owners, navigating the conversation around tariffs can feel overwhelming. Are they just another tax? Are they good or bad? And more importantly, how do they impact your business? Here’s the reality: tariffs are a tool. Like any tool, they can be used effectively or create unintended consequences. At their simplest, tariffs are taxes on imports or exports. They might aim to protect domestic industries, create leverage in trade negotiations, or level the playing field when another country subsidizes its…

The question I get all the time is will generative AI lead to a vast reduction of bank jobs. It’s easy for bankers to be nervous. Recent Bloomberg Intelligence research estimates that Wall Street banks will eliminate up to 200,000 jobs over the next three to five years due to AI. Meanwhile, a Citigroup report published last year said that more than half (54%) of bank jobs will be displaced. Our own research shows that 67% of working hours in the industry could be transformed by the technology. But what if, instead, gen AI will do just the opposite and…

F or private financial technology companies, last year was a quiet one for fundraising. Fintechs raised $34 billion in 2024, down from $42 billion in 2023 and an all-time high of $144 billion in 2021, reports CB Insights. Yet a large group of young companies, some founded as much as a decade ago, started to hit their stride in 2024, showing impressive innovation and fast growth. On our 2025 Fintech 50 list, 18 of the 50 winners had never before made the cut. The Payments category claimed the most first-timers, with six. DailyPay, led by former marketing executive Stacy Greiner,…

O ver the past decade, few fintech startups have been able to disrupt the insurance business, perhaps due to the hefty sums required to compete in the industry and the worsening effects of extreme weather and climate change. Yet four insurtech companies made impressive progress in 2024, using technology to make insurance work better and faster at lower costs, and claiming spots on our Fintech 50 list for 2025. Home insurer Kin, based in Chicago, made our list for the third straight year. To keep costs and rates low, instead of employing insurance agents, it sells policies digitally and directly…

Americans Struggle with Record Credit Card DebtU.S. credit card debt reached a record $1.17 trillion in the third quarter of 2024, growing from $770 billion in the first quarter of 2021 and the share of active credit card holders making just minimum payments rose to 10.75%, the highest percentage ever in data going back to 2012. [The Guardian] Americans’ Eager Holiday Shopping Didn’t Bring a Surge in DebtThe number of consumers struggling to pay off their credit card bills remains elevated. Delinquencies, particularly on credit cards, remained at high levels during the fourth quarter of 2024, according to the Federal…