Better Markets’ Post

We applaud the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s decision to remove automatic and expedited approval of certain bank mergers today. As we explained in our recent comment letter, this will allow for appropriate scrutiny of all merger applications. We are also encouraged by the OCC and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)’s commitment to hold public hearings on proposed bank mergers. However, the #OCC’s final rule and the #FDIC’s statement of policy still lack specificity in the guidelines that govern decisions on merger applications. Unfortunately, the agencies moved in the wrong direction by codifying broad and vague guidelines rather than defining more specific guidelines to govern the approval of bank merger applications and ultimately protect #MainStreet Americans and businesses. https://lnkd.in/emSPKh_v

🚨 Political #betting poses serious risks to election integrity and public trust. But Kalshi is moving closer to election wagers thanks to a recent court ruling. Our team lays out why this is so dangerous and what's at stake in terms of our #democracy, #gamification, and the proliferation of #gambling. https://lnkd.in/eqC6iD4K

Imagine if elections were decided not by voters, but by people betting on the outcome. Sound far-fetched? A recent court case moved the U.S. dangerously close to allowing betting on elections. It's clear that political event contracts may very well suffer from market manipulation, AI deep fakes, insider trading, and scandals that will inevitably weaken our democratic institutions. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/gPrNiyfQ

Brooke Masters of the Financial Times writes on the race to sell unlisted assets to investors. Our Benjamin Schiffrin explains “Investors need to understand that the private markets don’t have the same degree of transparency, and the whole structure is different." https://lnkd.in/eghpJKG2

CNN’s Piper Hudspeth Blackburn does an excellent laying out the stakes of a court decision allowing Kalshi to offer betting on U.S. elections. https://t.co/4L0hiZ8agI Our Cantrell Dumas explains in the story that the court “missed an opportunity to safeguard both financial markets and democratic processes from undue speculative risk” https://lnkd.in/eTsnPFtX

Thanks to lobbyists and hundreds of million dollars in campaign contributions, Wall Street's voice will always be heard in Washington. We need to make sure that Main Street and the public interest are represented as well. On Substack our team is examining key issues that impact the lives of all Americans. Whether it's making our financial system more stable, protecting consumers from the worst excesses of AI and crypto, or combatting economic racial injustice, we're working to ensure that Main Street has a voice in the future of our economy and country. https://lnkd.in/deAMpGbK

Yesterday a court allowed gambling on elections to move forward despite opposition from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, policymakers, concerned citizens, and dozens of public interest organizations led by Better Markets. Our Cantrell Dumas tells the The Associated Press that the ruling "opens the floodgates to unprecedented gambling on U.S. elections, eroding public trust in both markets and democracy.” https://lnkd.in/eT65p57v

The court got it wrong in Kalshi v. U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission - allowing betting on our elections and endangering our democracy and markets. Learn more in our statement: https://lnkd.in/eTsnPFtX

Important story from Paige Oamek The New Republic on the wave of campaign and lobbying spending by the #crypto industry: “If you thought there was too much money in politics before, you’re in for a rude awakening.” https://lnkd.in/exhMNBxr Dennis Kelleher notes in the piece- “It’s a lawless industry with a business model that is basically ‘catch us if you can’ [with lawsuits], and before you can do that we’ll buy enough politicians to get a special law passed that has the appearance of regulation with the reality of deregulation.”