Finance, Banking & Insurance

Alternative Data Spend Confidence Hits 3-Year High, Neudata Finds

London – September 20, 2026 -- Confidence in alternative data budgets has reached its highest level in three years, with 97% of data buyers expecting spend to increase or hold steady over the next 12 months, according to Neudata's new report, The Future of Alternative and Market Data 2026.

Budget optimism climbs to a record high among data buyers

The figure is up from 89% last year, marking the strongest confidence Neudata has recorded since launching the survey three years ago. The report draws on 191 responses from data providers and buyers globally, the firm's largest sample to date, spanning quant, multi-strategy, discretionary and macro funds as well as AI research labs. Sixty percent of buyer respondents manage over $1 billion in assets.

Verapath, GenTrust Launch VIRA to Unify Wealth Management Stack

New York – September 20, 2026 -- Verapath and GenTrust have formed a joint venture and launched VIRA, an AI-native wealth management platform designed to replace the patchwork of CRM, portfolio accounting, performance reporting, rebalancing and tax-loss harvesting tools that registered investment advisors (RIAs) currently run in parallel.

VIRA merges five separate wealth-stack functions into a single system of record

Advisory firms typically operate a CRM, portfolio accounting system, performance reporting tool, rebalancer, tax-loss harvesting engine and data warehouse as disconnected point solutions, each with its own data model and vendor relationship. VIRA consolidates these into one platform, eliminating duplicated data entry and the manual reconciliation work that currently absorbs operations staff.

ActBlue Forensic Review Finds 99.99% of $990M in Donations U.S.-Verified

Boston – September 20, 2026 -- ActBlue said an independent forensic review of its 2023 contribution data found that 99.99% of nearly $990 million in political donations came from donors who provided a U.S. address or a valid U.S. passport number, directly rebutting Congressional Republican claims that the platform facilitated illegal foreign contributions.

Forensic audit shows foreign-address donations were rare and screened

Only 0.13% of all 2023 contribution dollars came from Americans living abroad, with 99.87% originating from donors listing domestic addresses, according to the review. ActBlue said its compliance policy required any donor entering a foreign address to supply a U.S. passport number before a contribution could be submitted, regardless of payment method.

Haymaker Acquisition Corp V Prices $250M SPAC IPO on NYSE

New York – September 20, 2026 -- Haymaker Acquisition Corp V priced an initial public offering of 25,000,000 units at $10.00 per unit, raising $250 million for its blank-check vehicle ahead of NYSE trading under ticker "HYACU" starting September 20, 2026.

Units begin trading on NYSE as offering nears close

Each unit comprises one Class A ordinary share and one-third of one redeemable warrant, with each whole warrant exercisable at $11.50 per share. The offering is expected to close on September 20, 2026, subject to customary conditions. An amount equal to $10.00 per unit will be deposited into a trust account upon closing.

equipifi Wins Best of Show at FinovateFall 2026 for BNPL Platform

Scottsdale – September 20, 2026 -- equipifi, a Buy Now, Pay Later infrastructure provider for banks and credit unions, was named a Best of Show winner at FinovateFall 2026, standing out among eight winners selected from 72 companies that demoed live on stage.

Finovate audience votes equipifi among eight standout demos from 72 fintechs

The award was determined by a vote of banking executives, investors, and industry press attending the event. equipifi founder and CEO Bryce Deeney presented the demo, walking through how account holders discover personalized purchasing power, shop, and complete payments entirely within their bank's digital app.

Lake Ridge Bank CCO Pete Graven Retires After 42 Years

Madison, Wis. – September 19, 2026 -- Lake Ridge Bank Chief Credit Officer Pete Graven will retire on Sept. 18 after nearly 42 years in banking, including more than 20 years at the institution.

Casey McClyman Steps In as Chief Credit Officer After Coordinated Succession

Graven spent the last several months mentoring incoming Chief Credit Officer Casey McClyman as part of a planned leadership transition. McClyman returned to Lake Ridge Bank in July after a three-year stint as Senior Vice President-Chief Credit Officer at Farmers Savings Bank. He previously spent nearly 20 years at Lake Ridge Bank, including the last 10 years as Senior Vice President-Business Relationship Manager on the Business Banking Team.

Nelnet Adds Apple, H.I.G. Capital Executives to 10-Member Board

Lincoln, Neb. – September 19, 2026 -- Nelnet, Inc. (NYSE: NNI) has appointed Angie Klein and Ed Pallesen to its board of directors, expanding the panel to 10 members.

Apple executive Klein joins after nearly 25 years at Verizon

Klein currently serves as head of U.S. consumer channels for Apple, overseeing sales and distribution partnerships with retailers including Best Buy, Amazon, Walmart, Target and Costco. She spent nearly 25 years at Verizon, holding roles as chief content officer, senior vice president of growth marketing, and inaugural president of Verizon Value, where she led a multi-brand prepaid portfolio serving millions of customers. Klein will sit on Nelnet's Nominating and Corporate Governance, People Development and Compensation, and Compliance committees.

KeyCorp Raises Prime Lending Rate to 7.00% Effective Sept. 17

Cleveland – September 19, 2026 -- KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) and its banking affiliates have raised their prime lending rate to 7.00 percent from 6.75 percent, a 25-basis-point increase effective Sept. 17, 2026.

KeyCorp lifts benchmark rate by 25 basis points starting Sept. 17

The rate hike applies across KeyCorp's banking affiliates and takes effect immediately following the announcement date. KeyCorp operates as one of the largest bank-based financial services companies in the United States, holding approximately $191 billion in assets as of June 30, 2026.

Old Republic Backs Red Cross Disaster Responder Program

Chicago – – September 19, 2026 -- Old Republic International Corporation (NYSE: ORI) has entered a national charitable partnership with the American Red Cross through its Disaster Responder Program, committing advance funding to strengthen the humanitarian organization's emergency-response capacity.

Red Cross handles 60,000 disasters annually across the US

The American Red Cross responds to roughly 60,000 disaster events each year nationwide, delivering shelter, meals, emotional support, relief supplies and recovery resources to affected families. The Disaster Responder Program pools advance contributions from corporate members to fund the personnel, infrastructure, supply chains, technology and training the Red Cross needs to mobilize quickly when disasters strike.

CCI Insurance Rebrands CompCorrect as RiskCorrect, Opens Platform to New Clients

St. Petersburg, Fla. – September 19, 2026 -- CCI Insurance, a Higginbotham Partner, has rebranded its proprietary CompCorrect platform as RiskCorrect and opened it as a standalone offering to companies outside its existing client base facing complex risk profiles and significant claims exposure.

Platform expands beyond workers' compensation origins since 2020 launch

Since launching in 2020, the technology has grown from a workers' compensation claims-management tool into a broader system linking incidents, safety activity, root-cause analysis, corrective action and underwriting strategy in a continuous risk cycle. Tobin Robeck, Higginbotham | CCI Managing Director and Regional Sales Director who co-founded the platform, said RiskCorrect now helps companies identify loss drivers, connect claims and incidents, and demonstrate that corrective changes are working.