Reuters writes, "BofA'​s Merrill Lynch settles cash sweep case for $​39 million, must face second lawsuit." The article explains, "Bank of America'​s Merrill Lynch unit will pay $​39 million to settle a class action claiming it paid brokerage customers near-​zero interest rates instead of market rates on idle cash in their retirement accounts. The preliminary settlement was filed late Wednesday in Manhattan federal court and requires approval by US District Judge Valerie Caproni. In a separate case, US District Judge Margaret Garnett in Manhattan ordered Merrill Lynch to face most of a similar proposed class action covering retirement and non-​retirement ⁠​accounts. Her decision was dated Wednesday and made public on Thursday." The piece tells us, "Many large banks and brokerages have been sued for allegedly '​sweeping' customers' cash into accounts that paid low or near-​zero interest instead of market rates, boosting profits. These lawsuits proliferated in 2023 and 2024 when interest rates were rising." It states, "The settlement resolved claims by holders of Merrill Edge online accounts between December 15, 2016 and March 15, 2020 that allegedly paid 0.​05% to 0.​14% while other brokerages paid their customers about 2%. Merrill Lynch denied wrongdoing. It agreed in January 2025 to pay $​25 million to settle cash sweep claims by ⁠​the US Securities and Exchange Commission, without admitting wrongdoing." Reuters adds, "Lawsuits over low-​yielding sweep accounts have had mixed success. In February, ⁠​a third Manhattan federal judge said JPMorgan Chase must face part of one such lawsuit. On September 18, a fourth Manhattan federal judge granted final approval to a $​70 million settlement with Oppenheimer & Co." For more on Brokerage Sweep lawsuits, see these Crane Data News stories: "Reuters on JPMorgan Sweeps Lawsuit (​2/​19/​26), "Central Bank of Ireland on Fund Regulations; Brokerage Sweeps Lawsuits (​8/​5/​24), "Tradeweb Completes ICD Acquisition; AdvisorHub on Wells Sweep Suit (​8/​2/​24), "IN: Ameriprise Sued Over Sweeps" (​7/​31/​24), "Federated Hermes' Donahue, Cunningham Call Hits Sweeps, Flows, Rates" (​7/​29/​24), "Ameriprise, Raymond James Discuss Sweeps Issues on Earnings Call Q&​As" (​7/​26/​24), "Barron'​s Writes on Pressure on Sweeps" (​7/​25/​24), "WSJ, Investment News on Brokerage Deposit, Advisory Sweep Pressures" (​7/​19/​24), "Schwab, BlackRock Q2 Earnings: Cash Migration Slowing, But Continues" (​7/​17/​24) and "Cash of the Titans Part II: Merrill Hit By Lawsuit Over Brokerage Sweeps (​9/​3/​19).

A press release, "Capitolis to Acquire eSecLending in $​200 Million All-​Cash Transaction, Expanding Its Financial Resource Management Solutions and Client Base to Include Largest Asset Owners," states, "Capitolis, the financial technology company, ... announced an agreement to acquire eSecLending for $​200 million in an all-​cash transaction. eSecLending is a leading independent securities lending business working with many of the world'​s largest asset owners, including pension funds, insurance companies, and asset managers, to lend securities to major global banks. Over its 26-​year history, eSecLending has built an extensive network of institutional investor relationships and a robust ecosystem that includes every major bank and prime broker, supporting its clients' securities financing transactions and fueling significant growth in recent years." It continues, "The acquisition extends the Capitolis platform, adding securities lending as a complementary capability to its existing financial resource optimization solutions. Together, the combined offering provides a differentiated set of capabilities for banks and institutional investors, helping them unlock greater efficiency, optimize resources, and access new opportunities across securities lending, repo, and financing markets. The acquisition also expands Capitolis' reach to eSecLending’​s established network of institutional asset owners while adding the infrastructure, expertise, and scale to accelerate innovation and support future growth." The release quotes Capitolis President Okan Pekin, "​We'​ve known the eSecLending team for years and have already been partnering to introduce new solutions to the market. We'​ve seen firsthand the strength of their client relationships, the quality of their business, and the deep expertise of their team. Bringing eSecLending and Capitolis together expands our network and enhances our offering with securities lending capabilities that naturally complement our existing set of solutions." CEO Gil Mandelzis adds, "This is a transformational acquisition for Capitolis. We have been enjoying exceptional organic growth over the past few years across our existing business lines, and eSecLending adds a highly complementary new business that aligns closely with our clients' evolving needs. We are thrilled to welcome Craig, the eSecLending team, and their clients to the Capitolis network as we broaden our offering and accelerate our growth."

A press release titled, "State Street Galaxy Onchain Liquidity Sweep Fund Goes Live on Stellar," tells us, "The State Street Galaxy Onchain Liquidity Sweep Fund (​SWEEP) is now live on the Stellar network. Issued by State Street Investment Management, the asset management arm of State Street Corporation (​STT), and tokenized by Galaxy, SWEEP represents a new option for eligible investors seeking a liquid, onchain cash management solution. SWEEP is a tokenized private liquidity fund designed to enable 24/​7 onchain cash management via stablecoin, subject to availability of stablecoin in the fund'​s portfolio. Eligible investors can subscribe and redeem in certain stablecoins, subject to availability from the fund'​s portfolio, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, instead of waiting on banking hours and settlement windows. On Stellar, the fund is issued through a Stellar smart contract, pairing programmable asset logic with the network’​s native issuer controls for authorization, freeze, and clawback." Denelle Dixon, CEO and Executive Director of the Stellar Development Foundation, comments, "Cash management only moves onchain where the infrastructure has already proven it works. Stellar has run in production for more than a decade at 99.​99% uptime, and SWEEP now puts one of the world'​s largest money market fund issuers on the Stellar network." The release adds, "SWEEP on Stellar runs on an open institutional stack. Galaxy provides the tokenization technology and distribution, Anchorage provides digital asset custody, Chainlink supports fund pricing and reserve data, NAV Consulting serves as transfer agent, and State Street Bank and Trust Company holds the fund'​s securities. Each function is handled by a specialized provider on a neutral public network, with no single vendor owning the rails. SWEEP is a private placement available to Qualified Purchasers that meet certain eligibility criteria and minimum investment amounts."

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