Weekly Notes, 032.
August 13, 2025
👋 Readers, this is 32 straight weeks of Weekly Notes!
Home base this week in the beautiful mountain west ⛰️ state of Utah…travel blog on pause…to the notes!
Headlines this week include the issue of debanking, which, oddly enough, impacts even the most powerful person on the planet (POTUS). There is a wealth of commentary, along with numerous developments in sanctions and foreign policy movements centered on Russia, China, and Iran.
Below, you’ll find directly sourced links to information that I’ve been consuming since last week and using to get smarter on issues of interest.
I hope these weekly notes are useful, and I appreciate any feedback you have.
Interesting issues and news across the US economic and national security landscape.
Analysis: Trump is working towards deals with China (on trade) and Russia (Ukraine). Targeting of Cartels, Iranian networks, and other problematic actors continues to be the focus of the US Treasury’s OFAC shop. Venture firm, a16z, is all-in on “American Dynamism,” putting national defense, security, and economic prosperity front and center in the world of private/venture capital and a tight alignment between Silicon Valley, Defense Tech, and the US Government.
If you follow the White House action, Treasury activities, and where both public and private markets are moving, you begin to see the impact of American leadership in a dynamic global landscape.
Here are six (6) links sourced directly from the White House, the US Department of the Treasury, and a16z.
Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Continues the Suspension of the Heightened Tariffs on China
Treasury Sanctions Additional Members and Associate of Narco-Terrorist Cartel del Noreste
Treasury Targets Iranian Network Evading Sanctions and Enabling Oppression
Investing Capital to Defend the Nation
Interesting issues and news across finance, technology, risk, regulation, and financial crime.
Analysis: If you have worked in banking (or specifically in risk and compliance), you are familiar with how customers might come and go depending on their perceived level of risk, associated business activities, and, unfortunately, less often, their actual conduct related to how they deposit, transfer, or withdraw their money. Oftentimes, you might not even see them come and go because you don’t let them in in the first place. Starting with an EO, and echoing support across Congress, Federal Banking Agencies, and many others, the fair banking issue is being sorted (and we will see how it goes from here)…
Enforcement investigations continue (albeit lately at the state level), but that is not stopping some from pursuing bank charters (see Paxos sequence below).
Here are seven (7) links sourced directly from the White House, Congressional committees, regulators, media, and market-leading companies.
Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Guarantees Fair Banking for All Americans
Chairman Hill Statement on President Trump’s Executive Order to Help Prevent Debanking
Comptroller Gould Issues Statement on Executive Order “Guaranteeing Fair Banking For All Americans”
Paxos to Pursue National Trust Charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Perplexity offers to buy Google’s Chrome browser for $34.5 billion
Interesting reports.
Federated Foundation Models (FFMs): The Collaborative Response to Financial Crime by Rick Hamilton
Interesting charts of the week.
