** Piper Sandler assumes coverage of three tech-forward banks in the U.S. with "overweight" ratings: Customers Bancorp CUBI.N, Pathward Financial CASH.O and The Bancorp TBBK.O

** On CUBI, Piper believes EPS growth is achievable and that the multiple should expand to at least peer levels given its growth profile, adding that headwinds from crypto and NDFI weighting risks are overblown

** The co has developed a 24/7/365 instant payments network called cubiX, whose activity has reached more than $2 trillion and has landed it as the #1 commercial payments network in the U.S.- Piper Sandler

** On CASH, Piper highlights its trusted positioning in helping fintechs navigate the banking ecosystem across payments, deposits, and loan origination as something that should endure medium term

** On TBBK, Piper sees similar fintech positioning as a key strength, helping clients navigate the banking ecosystem across payments, deposits, and loan origination

** TBBK is the #1 US issuer of prepaid cards and has the 6th most debit and prepaid issuer volume - Piper Sandler

(Reporting by Pragyan Kalita in Bengaluru)

((Pragyan.Kalita@thomsonreuters.com;))