THE feature

WASHINGTON— After months of rhetoric around a proposed 10% credit card interest rate cap and repeated signals of support for the Credit Card Competition Act, President Donald Trump made no mention of either issue during Tuesday night’s State of the Union address — a notable omission for banks and credit unions that had been bracing for potential policy signals.

ATLANTA — The most important signal for financial institutions in Cox Automotive’s 2025 Car Buyer Journey Study may not be about cars at all: two-thirds of buyers now cross-shop new and used vehicles, a historic shift that is reshaping how consumers think about price, financing, and risk — and forcing lenders to rethink how they engage, underwrite, and retain customers.

SAN DIEGO—On the whole, the credit union industry is not known for a huge amount of drama as that is not in line with the member-focused mindset of the industry. However, a planned merger between California Coast Credit Union and San Diego County Credit Union, which would create the fourth-largest credit union in California and the 16th-largest in the U.S., abruptly and loudly came to a screeching halt.

VIENNA, Va. — As Americans exchange roses, chocolates, and promises of love on Valentine’s Day, a far darker form of “romance” is quietly ruining lives: highly organized, AI-powered romance scams that turn affection into exploitation, intimacy into isolation, and trust into financial devastation.