Finance, Banking & Insurance

NEW YORK – October 30, 2026 -- Bravo Property Trust, the direct lending affiliate of HUD lender Bravo Capital, is offering mezzanine loans of $500,000 to $20 million, with terms of up to 36 months, to owners and operators of skilled nursing, assisted living, multifamily and build-to-rent properties nationwide.

Interest-only mezzanine loans fill the gap between senior debt and sponsor equity

Each loan is secured by a pledge of the ownership interests in the property-owning entity rather than by a mortgage. It sits between the senior loan and the sponsor's equity, so owners can buy, recapitalize or reposition properties with less cash in the deal. Payments are interest only.

MINEOLA – October 30, 2026 -- Texas Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: TCBS) agreed to acquire The Banc of San Jacinto County Bancshares, Inc. (SJCB) in an all-cash deal worth $9.5 million, with closing expected in the first quarter of 2027.

SJCB shareholders split a $9.5 million cash pool

Under the merger agreement, SJCB shareholders will receive aggregate cash consideration of $9.5 million. Each outstanding share of SJCB common stock converts into a pro rata portion of that amount at closing. The deal includes SJCB's wholly owned subsidiary, The Bank of San Jacinto County, a Texas non-member bank.

Bismarck – October 30, 2026 -- BNCCORP, INC. (OTCQX: BNCC) reported third-quarter 2026 net income of $3.0 million, or $0.85 per diluted share, up 14.7% from $2.6 million, or $0.74 per share, a year earlier. Excluding ongoing merger charges tied to its pending acquisition by OppFi Inc., net income reached $3.3 million, or $0.94 per diluted share.

BNCCORP lifts return on assets to 1.12% and return on equity to 10.15%

Return on average assets rose to 1.12% from 1.05%, and return on average equity improved to 10.15% from 9.60%. Adjusted for merger charges, the figures were 1.24% and 11.23%. Tangible book value per common share increased to $31.68 from $30.26 at December 31, 2025 and $29.44 a year earlier. The tangible common equity ratio climbed to 10.30% from 9.68% at year-end.

NEW YORK – October 30, 2026 -- Hanwha Investment & Securities, a financial affiliate of Fortune Global 500 company Hanwha, has adopted the Chainlink data standard and Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) as the official oracle and interoperability infrastructure for its global real-world asset (RWA) tokenization platform.

Chainlink supplies pricing and NAV data while CCIP moves assets across chains

Chainlink will provide pricing and net asset value (NAV) data for the assets the platform issues. CCIP will move those assets and their liquidity across public and private blockchains.

Assets can be issued on the chain best suited to their characteristics. A single integration gives them access to more investors and liquidity, with no custom build for each new network.

Oakland – October 30, 2026 -- McKay Brothers is introducing wireless transport services that connect U.S. futures and equity markets with AWS cloud hubs in Columbus, Ohio (us-east-2) and Ashburn, Virginia (us-east-1). The company says each route will offer the lowest commercially available transport latency.

The services let customers carry their own signals and other time-sensitive data between exchanges and the two cloud hubs. Chief Operating Officer Tim Boyle said the routes give firms operating across exchange and cloud environments "equal access to fast, resilient wireless infrastructure."

Quincy Data extends its futures and equities feeds directly to Columbus and Ashburn

McKay's sister company Quincy Data is delivering its market data feeds to the same two cloud hubs. Its futures feeds from Illinois cover key U.S. equity index contracts and commodities, including metals and energies.

Berlin – October 30, 2026 -- Sparkasse is Germany's strongest bank brand with 67 points in the Markenstärke index, one point ahead of ING (66) and two ahead of Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken (65), according to the Markenradar® Banken 2026 from Berlin-based Delphi Research. The study surveyed 4,400 bank users aged 16 to 70, who rated 18 bank brands. Trade Republic is the strongest neobank in fourth place with 52 points.

Sparkasse leads Gen Z with 78 points while ING wins the 30-to-61 bracket

Sparkasse ranks first among the youngest and the oldest generations: clearly in Gen Z at 78 points, narrowly among baby boomers. ING leads among 30- to 61-year-olds.

Established direct banks reach Gen Z much less effectively. ING ranks only fifth in that group, behind Sparkasse, Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken, Revolut and Trade Republic.

European Union – October 30, 2026 -- The European Banking Authority (EBA), an independent EU authority, develops harmonised rules for financial institutions as part of its mandate to safeguard the integrity and robustness of the EU banking sector.

EBA promotes convergence of supervisory practices across the EU

The authority works to support financial stability in the EU by aligning how banks and investment firms are supervised. It also monitors and advises on the impact of financial innovation and the transition to sustainable finance.

EBA monitors risks and vulnerabilities in banks and investment firms

To keep the EU financial system functioning in an orderly way, the EBA analyses risks and vulnerabilities relevant to the regulation of banks and investment firms. It facilitates information sharing among authorities and institutions through supervisory reporting and data disclosure.

SAN FRANCISCO – October 29, 2026 -- Corgi Insurance has secured a three-year deal to insure the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL), covering more than 900 Member Clubs and approximately 37,000 registered players, coaches and officials nationwide.

Golden by Corgi becomes UPSL's official insurance and protection partner from September 30, 2026

Corgi, an AI-native insurance carrier and financial infrastructure company, is delivering the coverage through its Golden program. Coverage applies across all UPSL-sanctioned competitions, including the league's men's, women's and youth divisions.

Golden issues, administers and services coverage for national governing bodies, leagues, teams and events under one roof. Corgi says this integrated model simplifies how organizations obtain coverage, manage risk and handle claims.

European Union – October 29, 2026 -- The Council of the European Union has confirmed Carlo Comporti as the next Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), effective 1 November 2026. ESMA announced the appointment in the latest edition of its Spotlight on Markets newsletter, which covers September and October 2026.

ESMA sets 2027 work programme around simpler, more integrated capital markets

The regulator's 2027 Annual Work Programme lists priorities for stronger, simpler and more integrated EU capital markets. ESMA also introduced a new Union Strategic Supervisory Priority on digital innovation. The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) separately published their joint priorities for 2027.

EU – October 29, 2026 -- The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has recommended limiting the mandatory operating expenditure (OpEx) KPI under the EU Taxonomy to non-capitalised research and development expenditure, according to a Final Report submitted to the European Commission.

ESMA narrows the mandatory OpEx KPI to non-capitalised R&D spending

The report contains ESMA's technical advice on simplifying key performance indicators under the Taxonomy Disclosures Delegated Act. The change would cut the scope of the OpEx metric that companies must report.

ESMA proposes removing the weighted-average KPI from group Taxonomy reporting

ESMA also proposes simpler group-level Taxonomy reporting, including removal of the weighted-average KPI. Further targeted measures aim to make disclosures more proportionate, clearer and easier to use.