The latest US bank earnings reports have shown high volumes of deposits at all institutions, with the increased balance sheets viewed as a catalyst for Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America to take on more debt through large-scale bond sales. It is thought that JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup may soon follow suit.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has called a meeting of the President's Working Group on Financial Markets, which comprises Yellen and leaders of the Federal Reserve, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, to discuss potential benefits and risks of stablecoins. The meeting has been welcomed by issuers of stablecoins that want clear regulatory standards.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell was subjected to a barrage of questioning from the Senate Banking Committee on the onset of inflation but insisted the Fed will not make any abrupt policy decision or change course in response to it. He did acknowledge that inflation is rising faster than anticipated but reiterated his opinion that it will prove transitory, stating: "We won't have to wait a tremendously long time, I don't think, to know whether our basic understanding of this is right."

The coronavirus pandemic has fueled higher demand for interactive teller machines. More banks are adding ITMs to their lobbies and the market for the technology is predicted to grow 12% a year through 2026.

In an evolving crisis, companies that made decisions quickly and communicated directly set themselves up for success.

Aon's Technology & Communications Industry Practice hosts a monthly roundtable each month to discuss topics that are of primary interest to technology and communication companies. In this session, Scott Takaoka, vice president of the Cyber Solutions Group, and Keeley Sidow, vice president and West Region leader, Cyber Solutions, discuss mitigating ransomware attack vulnerabilities and insurance implications.