Latest banking news, Feb. 10, 2023

Inflation to spike Super Bowl game spending by 31%: Survey

Tiffany Hagler-Geard/Bloomberg

U.S. consumers will spend an average of $115 on game-related expenses for this Sunday's Super Bowl LVII, a 31% increase over last year that's likely propelled by inflation, Lending Tree said in a press release. At the top of the scale are six-figure earners who will spend an average of $246 on Super Bowl activities, and millennials who will spend about $176. Seventy-seven percent of consumers will watch this year's game, compared to 72% who watched last year. Nearly 40% of consumers will wager on the game, up from 30% last year, potentially reflecting the expansion of state-approved sports betting. About 60% of millennials betting on this year's Super Bowl will use apps or websites, and 37% plan to bet $100 or more, according to the survey, which Lending Tree conducted online with Qualtrics between Jan. 19 and Jan. 23, 2023. —Kate Fitzgerald

Openpay closes

Adobe Stock

Australian buy now/pay later operator Openpay — which helped pioneer the fast-growing online lending industry a decade ago — has gone into receivership and frozen access for new users, Dow Jones reports. The move effectively ends hopes for Opy, the company's U.S.-based BNPL arm, which launched in the U.S. in October 2021. Opy suspended operations last fall as its Australian parent struggled to raise capital to fund loans. Openpay stopped funding new consumer purchases in Australia, as its shares were suspended from trading on the country's stock exchange. —Kate Fitzgerald

Silicon Valley Bank promotes Hebela, Hower to new leadership roles

Silicon Valley Bank headquarters in Santa Clara.

Silicon Valley Bank has promoted two of its executives into new roles. The banking subsidiary of SVB Financial Group announced this week that Ashraf Hebela, who most recently was the head of startup banking, will now oversee the bank's technology and health care banking segment for North America. Hebela succeeds Dave Sabow, who was named CEO of Silicon Valley Bank UK and head of EMEA, pending regulatory approval, in December. Hebela joined Silicon Valley Bank in 2009 and has held several jobs including chief of staff for SVB CEO Greg Becker. Meanwhile, Lewis Hower will take over as head of startup banking. Hower, who joined SVB in 2018, was most recently managing director of that division, the company said. —Allissa Kline

Chief commercial officer of Goldman Sachs asset management to exit

Goldman Sachs signage is displayed at the company's booth on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Goldman Sachs' Luke Sarsfield is leaving the New York bank's asset and wealth management division, where he is chief commercial officer. Sarsfield, who is on the bank's management committee, has been at Goldman Sachs since 1999 and became partner in 2010. Sarsfield's previous roles include global co-head of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, global chief operating officer of the investment banking division and co-head of the Americas health care group. In a memo, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said Sarsfield has shown an "unwavering commitment to excellence in execution." The bank said Sarsfield will leave in the coming months. —Polo Rocha

Mastercard adds tech for gamers

Gabby Jones/Bloomberg

Mastercard and Xsolla, a company that allows video game developers to monetize their work, have entered a partnership to build new payment products for gamers. The companies will collaborate on new checkout experiences, access to incentives and the reaction of in-game currency gifting. Mastercard contends video game payment technology has not kept up with innovation, citing internal card network research that found 40% of consumers say they require help to buy in-game currency and more than 30% saying it takes too many steps to make online gaming purchases. Thirty percent also say gifting should be more efficient. The partnership's first product will allow Mastercard cardholders to use Pay with Points for in-game purchases on Xsolla's Pay Station portal. Mastercard will also contribute security technology to upgrade Xsolla's fraud detection and in-app controls. The collaboration fits with Mastercard's goal to diversify its client and products by focusing on services beyond payment processing. —John Adams

Sam Bankman-Fried settles bail dispute with U.S. over encrypted apps

FTX Co-Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Appears In Court

Sam Bankman-Fried on Jan. 3.

Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg

Sam Bankman-Fried has settled a dispute with federal prosecutors over his use of encrypted messaging apps and communications with former FTX employees. The FTX founder, who is facing fraud charges over the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange, agreed not to use encrypted messaging apps like Signal as part of his revised bail conditions, but he will be allowed to send normal texts and also make Zoom and Facetime calls. He will also be allowed to use WhatsApp but only if he downloads monitoring technology on his phone. The new conditions were detailed in a letter filed by Bankman-Fried's defense attorney, Mark S. Cohen, on Monday. Cohen also said the parties had reached an agreement on a specific set of former FTX employees that Bankman-Fried would not contact. Prosecutors had previously sought to bar all contact, raising the possibility that Bankman-Fried might engage in witness tampering. — Ava Benny-Morrison, Bloomberg News

Potential buyers circle embattled Singapore crypto lender Hodlnaut and its claims against FTX

FTXs Bahamas Empire Found a Home at the Local Margaritaville

Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg

Potential buyers are inquiring about purchasing the struggling crypto lender Hodlnaut and its claims against the bankrupt digital-asset exchange FTX. "Various parties who are interested in acquiring" Singapore-based Hodlnaut's crypto platform and FTX claims have contacted the interim judicial managers overseeing the company after it sought protection from creditors, according to an affidavit seen by Bloomberg News. The judicial managers are in the process of signing nondisclosure agreements with the potential investors, the document shows. The affidavit indicates that as of Dec. 9 Hodlnaut Group owed a combined $160.3 million, or 62% of outstanding debt, to Algorand Foundation, Samtrade Custodian, S.A.M. Fintech and Jean-Marc Tremeaux. Hodlnaut didn't immediately reply to a request for comment. Hodlnaut, which also has operations in Hong Kong, halted withdrawals in August amid last year's crypto rout — one of many lenders to hit the buffers. FTX accounted for about 72% of the digital assets the platform deployed on centralized exchanges, with an estimated market value of S$18.5 million ($14 million), according to a November filing. Last month, key Hodlnaut creditors rejected a proposed restructuring plan and said they preferred to liquidate the company. — Suvashree Ghosh, Bloomberg News