Despite the partial government shutdown and a host of critical challenges facing our nation, the Trump Administration and Congress were preoccupied last week with the question of whether or not sanctions should be lifted on companies that are owned in part by Vladimir Putin confidant Oleg Deripaska.

Banks face some big challenges in the year ahead, according to American Banker, which listed ways technology will change banking in 2019. Some of the steps look pretty basic, which may reflect on the problems with legacy systems, and suggests some of the advantages new banks could enjoy with new technology.

“There’s no reason why the next Google can’t be there in Wyoming.” That statement, attributed to ConsenSys founder Joe Lubin, captures the spirit of possibility that is now in the air throughout the Equality State (Wyoming was the first state in the US to grant women the right to vote).

The explosion of robo-advisers into the marketplace starting early this decade changed the industry. The bevy of easy-to-use, low-cost apps brought millions of new low-dollar retail investors into the market. And it forced the established players to start offering no-fee, digital services themselves.

The promise of fintech is to be nimble, flexible and agile, transforming a traditional, highly regulated industry. However, the federal government shutdown is putting the equivalent of shackles around fintech’s ankles. And while the shutdown may have been temporarily halted on Friday