Inside an NYC real-estate heir's shady cryptocoin

Good morning and welcome to Insider Finance. I'm Dan DeFrancesco, and here's what's on the agenda today:

• Bank of America is losing dozens of salespeople in its mortgage unit thanks to a series of changes around job responsibilities, pay structure, and lending standards.
• Real-estate exec Kent Swing has plans for a $6 billion cryptocurrency, but one of his partners is a mining company with a shady past.
• Buy now, pay later giant Klarna is close to wrapping up new funding from SoftBank.
• Google Cloud just rolled out a data exchange for Wall Street in a nod to financial firms evolving data needs.

Programming note: We'll be off on Monday for the holiday, but back in your inbox on Tuesday.

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Bank of America's mortgage bankers are quitting in frustration over call quotas, cross-selling mandates, and a new compensation scheme that shortchanges top producers

Bank of America has lost dozens of salespeople from its mortgage unit, sources say. The exits have come after a series of changes the bank made to job responsibilities, pay structure, and lending standards.

Here's our full exclusive report.

NYC real-estate heir Kent Swig is planning a $6 billion cryptocurrency offering. But the venture is tied to a mining company that has been accused of wrongdoing.

Swig unveiled a new cryptocurrency, called digau, last month. One of the parties involved in the creation of the coin, Apache Mill Tailings, is accused by Nevada authorities of trying to sell securities illegally to fund a purported COVID-19 cure. Read more here.

Europe's most valuable startup Klarna is raising fresh cash from mega-investor SoftBank at a valuation above $40 billion

The buy-now, pay-later startup been in discussions with SoftBank for at least two weeks, and is close to finalizing a fresh capital injection. Here's what we know so far.

Google Cloud joins the data-exchange race on Wall Street with rollout of Datashare. Here's how the new marketplaces are changing the way banks and hedge funds consume info.

Datashare helps financial data providers and consumers - such as banks and hedge funds - connect. More on that here.

Talos, a startup helping financial giants trade crypto, just raised a $40 million Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz as Wall Street wades deeper into digital currencies

Talos, which has nearly 30 employees, will use the funding to hire and grow its liquidity network. Get the full scoop on Talos' new funding.

Rich art collectors curious about snapping up an NFT need to know these 'jaw dropping' tax pitfalls, says a BNY Mellon tax strategist

BNY Mellon tax strategist Jere Doyle warns that NFTs come with surprise tax bills. Here's what you need to know.

Here are 4 York Capital alums starting their own funds after billionaire Jamie Dinan pulled his firm out of the hedge fund game

York Capital mostly got out of the hedge fund game last year, choosing to focus on private equity and debt. But at least four alums are starting their own firms. Here's who is looking to launch.

Odd lots:

Cathie Wood's Bad Spring Is Only a Blip When the Future Is So Magnificent (Bloomberg)

HSBC to Exit Most U.S. Retail Banking (WSJ)

The world's billionaires, CEOs and politicians didn't get to schmooze at Davos this year. Does the elite confab still make sense after the pandemic? (Insider)

Once Fired by JPMorgan Over a Trading Blowup, He's Now the CFO (Bloomberg)

The top 7 law firms advising on marijuana megadeals worth billions (Insider)