Happy Friday Jr. Welcome to The Chaos Coordinator! We are Brain Candy's snarky little sister, delivering carefully curated news happening across the industry (that you should probably care about) right to your inbox, with a hefty dose of irreverence.
In this issue, we dive into:
PE's 'New Normal'
Financial Services Taps Into Voice Assistants
Early Paydays for JPM Customers
What is a CBDC?
Tech TikTok - Here to Stay?
What's happening in.....
PE/VC
Is the New Normal...the Old Normal?
We don't get it either. Next question.
Is PE facing a dramatic decline or the financial equivalent of a nice Sunday reset (face mask, candles lit, crippling hangxiety, etc.)? Pitchbook released its Q3 2022 US PE Breakdown this week and reported that US PE deal value topped $819B through Q3, reverting back to "old normal" (pre-pandemic) levels. Following a record breaking 2021, and a busy start to 2022, it appears US PE dealmakers are finally feeling the sting of higher interest rates, with activity in Q3 collectively slowing across M&A, growth equity and recap deals.
Soon, a little voice who lives in your banking app might be able to read all of your terrible spending habits out loud to you. Get excited!
Voice assistants like Alexa and Siri can make phone calls, track packages, and make you and your eight friends reservations for Saturday bottomless brunch - it only makes sense that they can work as banking assistants too. In the past few years, financial institutions have experimented with voice assistants as part of a larger effort by banks to meet customers where they are, according to Tiffani Montez, principal banking analyst, at Insider Intelligence. The focus on digital touch points comes amid a greater wave of online and mobile banking. One example is Bank of America’s virtual assistant, Erica, who has both text and voice capabilities. BofA recently reported that Erica has been used more than 1 billion times by 32 million customers since its release in 2018.
By the end of 2022, 42% of Americans are projected to be monthly voice-assistant users, according to a recent estimate from Insider Intelligence. Read more here.
CAPITAL MARKETS
The Party Starts on Wednesday
Secure Banking customers at JPMorgan Chase can order their negroni sbagliato with prosecco pre-payday, without fear of an overdraft fee.
Whether we care to admit it out loud or not, we have all fallen victim to the humbling experience of an overdraft fee. As a part of JPMorgan Chase's efforts to attract users to a no-overdraft checking account, the bank is leveling up against fintech rivals in the space and offering some customers early access to their payday deposits - essentially getting paid on a Wednesday rather than a Friday. The feature, which accelerates payments including payroll, tax refunds, pensions and government benefits by up to two days, debuts for Secure Banking customers starting this week reports CNBC.
JPMorgan is taking this step as the banking industry faces pressure from regulators on overdraft and other fees. Read more on how banks are responding here.
CRYPTO/BLOCKCHAIN
Is Regulation Finally Coming for Crypto?
Just what the doctor ordered for the US government: another heavily acronymed independent agency.
Just like NYC rats absolutely hated the announcement that the sanitation department was rolling out new trash rules, crypto firms were also in for a rude awakening this week. In light of the recent turmoil in the crypto industry, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen heavily stressed that it is “certainly worth” Congress developing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Yellen acknowleded that "while there are more existing regulations that can be applied to crypto 'than people think,' there are also many “holes that need to be addressed" at the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) annual meeting in Washington D.C. this week. While crypto regulation has been a hot topic at these Washington get togethers (can't say we have much FOMO to be honest), no decision on a US CBDC has been reached yet by the Central Bank or U.S Treasury.
If you, like us, have found yourself to be fan of "A Day In My Life as a 20-Something Working in Tech" TikToks, we have some unfortunate news to share. Big tech bosses are cracking down on employees who are TikToking on the job, with the stars of the show - "tech girlies" - receiving HR warnings and even firings from tech firms as they risk showing too much or revealing things these firms may not want the whole world to see online. Lifestyle vlogging has given rise to a new industry of creators who have made their day to day life a key part of their personal brand. Tech employees have racked up millions of likes and views on these shimmery videos, giving viewers an inside look into the elusive world of working in tech - coffee carts, free meals, nap rooms, the works.
Read more on the messy boundaries around filming at work and what that means for creators here here.
Other Things You Should Care About
In news that makes us nervous this week, social media platforms with, shall we say, flexible morals are the hottest item for super rich men to buy. Kanye West announced a few days ago that he intends to buy Parler, the infamous "free speech" platform. Considering that this move is coming after facing consequences for posting antisemitic rants, we're not feeling great about Kanye getting a less regulated platform. Read more here.
For the very first time, Meta is being forced by regulators to sell a part of its business. The upcoming sale of Giphy is a major defeat in Meta's battle with British antitrust regulators. Read more here.
Mastercard wants you to be able to identify them by sound alone. The financial giant is in the process of rolling out a "10-layer" sonic branding plan which started with one simple melody and will now include a full original album. Read more here.
WORD OF THE WEEK
IT'S GIVING
"It's giving" means that something is cute or "giving." Derived from the phrase, "giving ____ vibes," "it's giving" is used to describe someone or something's look or vibe with a positive ironic connotation. For example, "it's giving low-hanging fruit" means something is giving easily achievable vibes. Try that out in your next board room chat.