ABA Banking Journal Podcast

John Maxfield has spent 16 studying banking leadership and performance, first at The Motley Fool, then at Bank Director magazine and more recently on his own, creating videos and visuals to tell the story of community banks in new and creative ways (including with drones).

On this episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, Maxfield discusses:

"Leadership is a skill you have to develop and maintain over time," says Velera Wilson. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, leadership keynote speaker Wilson discusses key practices of leadership development for both current and future bank leaders. Among other topics, she covers:

Wilson will keynote the Emerging Leaders Program at ABA's Annual Convention, Oct. 25-27 in Salt Lake city.

As the nation marks the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — returning for its ninth season — brings you conversations with two financial industry professionals to help illuminate the impact 9/11 had on bankers, the financial system and the whole nation.

ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols was a senior Treasury Department official on 9/11, and he recounts being sent to a secure bunker in the White House complex with Vice President Dick Cheney and other top officials. At Treasury, Nichols had a front-row seat to how the financial system was rewired in the months after 9/11 to stop flows of funds to terrorists and their sponsors.

Beth Chunn, a regular contributor to the ABA Banking Journal, was working for Morgan Stanley in the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Building on her article in the latest issue of the Banking Journal, Chunn recounts what it was like to be in the World Trade Center that day, to evacuate from the building and from Manhattan.

The ability to pay college athletes has led to dramatic upheaval in banking college sports. Revenue-sharing with athletes has required big increases in spending that colleges may not have been counting on, just to be competitive. Meanwhile, the revenue shares and name, image and likeness marketing is putting big money in the hands of athletes who need extra support to handle it. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Q2 Software — Charles Frazier, head of the entertainment and sports banking unit at City National Bank, talks about how his team supports both colleges and athletes amid these changes. He also discusses athletes' need for holistic financial and business advice, the need for financial literacy and the growing need of college athletics programs for balance sheet solutions to help them stay competitive.

Virtually all banks engage in strategic planning, but how do they ensure the strategic plan actually drives performance and doesn't just get left in a binder on the shelf? On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Q2 Software — Exchange Bank's Kevin Bender discusses tactics for making strategic planning a process that engages employees and board members in the future of the bank, drives prioritization of scarce resources and identifies each bank's biggest opportunities.

Bender will join Joseph Cady to discuss six components for every bank's strategic plan at the ABA Annual Convention, Oct. 25-27 in Salt Lake City. Early-bird registration ends on July 31.

What kind of difference can a single ratio make? In a new ABA DataBank essay, ABA's Patrick Mitchell and Brittany Kleinpaste discuss the FDIC's 2% Designated Reserve Ratio target for the Deposit Insurance Fund. This target — established by statute but set at the FDIC's discretion — is a level higher than the DIF's Minimum Reserve Ratio of 1.35%, and it has been 2% since it was first established in 2010.

On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Q2 Software — Mitchell and Kleinpaste discuss the simulations that were used to set the ratio 16 years ago and why it might be time for the FDIC to revisit them. Incorporating data going back to the savings and loan crisis, the simulation is not based on the most current data. It also relied on banks' provisioning data amid the post-financial crisis fallout without taking into account the lower ultimate cost of bank failures. Ultimately, an up-to-date simulation incorporating more current data may allow the FDIC to meet its goals of covering the industry with a different ratio.

On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Q2 Software — ABA economist Dan Brown discusses the recent release of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data for 2025. He examines several trends, including the varying composition of bank mortgage loans in different regions, where banks face the stiffest nonbank competition in the mortgage market, a recent rebound in refinancings and a growing generation gap in homebuying activity.

To mark the 250th anniversary of Independence Day this week, this classic replay episode of the ABA Banking Journal — sponsored by Q2 Software — explores the role of banking and finance in the American Revolution and the founding era. John Steele Gordon is an acclaimed economic historian whose books include Hamilton's Blessing, The Great Game and An Empire of Wealth; he is also the ABA Banking Journal's "From the Vault" columnist. In this episode, Gordon discusses:

Adam Metz, the newly appointed president and CEO of Central Pennsylvania-based Orrstown Bank, joins the ABA Banking Journal Podcast to discuss the bank's strategy and growth, its dedicated innovation group, how the bank is using AI and the bank's client-focused talent strategy.

On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, ABA's Heather Trew breaks down recent news about the president's executive order on illegal immigration and the financial system and the advisory from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the OCC, the FDIC and others on red flags associated with illegal immigration. Trew covers:

On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by Nexcess — Texas banker Ryan Coaxum joins the show to discuss how he was welcomed into the banking community as an employee, and how he tries to bring that same feeling of welcome to the people he serves in his job as head of community development and external affairs at Moody Bank.

"You want to feel wanted, you want to feel like what you are doing, no matter what scale you're on, that it is important to them. And that's what I'm trying to get out, specifically in communities that are underserved or underbanked," says Coaxum. He discusses what the community development function looks like at Moody Bank, including its participation in the Bank On program and its Palm Pathways mortgage program.

Coaxum, a past winner of the ABA Emerging Leader Award and current chair of ABA's Emerging Leaders Council, also talks about how being involved in ABA as an emerging leader has boosted his career and helped him dive into advocacy on behalf of the industry.

This episode is presented by Nexcess.

In an environment with higher-yielding options, how can banks compete for effectively for deposits? On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by Nexcess — Marc Womack, who leads the U.S. consumer deposits franchise at TD Bank, discusses his approach to maximizing data, customizing deposit offerings, developing valuable product bundles and using both physical and digital touchpoints to meet consumer needs.

"There is a lot of money in movement and people are looking to optimize yield, but they're balancing that with their overall financial goals and are not just making the exclusive decision to go with an institution just because they have the highest yield," Womack says. "That may be the only product or service that they actually offer that customer needs at that particular point in time, and they may have other needs that are broader than that one particular product or service."

As a community bank president and past chair of the Ohio Bankers League, Jenny Saunders has been part of many conversations with top policymakers on bank issues. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by Nexcess — Saunders, who recently retired as president of FCBank, discusses how she discussed stablecoin and cryptocurrency issues with members of Congress.

"If there's something that you don't necessarily agree with, then what's the solution?" Saunders encourages bankers to think through how to describe alternatives, as well as unintentional consequences of particular approaches — and to find common ground on issues like fraud where bankers can find common ground across the policy community.

Saunders also discusses her experience leading in banks of all sizes, career advice for bankers and what the bank policy landscape looks like from the Buckeye State.

This episode is presented by Nexcess.

Over the past two decades, Pennsylvania-based F.N.B. Corporation has grown its assets from roughly $5.4 billion to $50 billion, grown its net operating income by a similar ratio and more than doubled its retail footprint. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by Nexcess — Chairman, President and CEO Vincent Delie discusses his approach to growing the franchise and how F.N.B. is investing in its employees' capabilities.

Among other topics, Delie discusses:

This episode is presented by Nexcess:

On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — a crossover episode with the ABA Fraudcast — ABA's Rob Nichols and Paul Benda provide several updates on ABA's work to reduce the incidence and cost of fraud for bank customers. Among other topics, they highlight:

Several factors — the growth of the U.S. economy and asset prices, generational transitions and changing values — are reshaping the wealth management and financial advice sectors. More individuals and families are falling into the high-net-worth (investable assets of over $3 million) and ultra-high-net-worth (assets of over $30 million) than ever before. How are banks positioned to capitalize on this evolving marketplace? On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, ABA's Mark Benskin — a veteran of the wealth management sector with experience at several banks — discusses:

In recent years, credit union business lending and the number of credit unions that exceed the statutory cap on member business lending have shot up sharply. What risks do these trends pose to safety and soundness and financial stability? On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, ABA's Dan Brown and John Vermillion discuss their recent research on the subject. Not only does outsized credit union commercial activity steers these not-for-profit cooperatives away from their statutory mission, it also increases their exposure to an asset class where they — and their regulator — have traditionally lacked experience and expertise.

Sponsor banking, or banking as a service, is a unique opportunity for banks — but it requires strategy, discipline and a laser focus on risk. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, Amanda Swoverland, president of Hatch Bank, discusses her bank's strategy in BaaS. Among other topics, Swoverland talks about:

On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, Rob Nichols offers his top takeaways from the ABA Washington Summit — including industry unity on stablecoin regulation, credit card policy challenges, federal preemption, and bipartisan legislation on fraud. Nichols also previews his upcoming travel to Vienna for the United Nations' Global Fraud Summit.

Major tech platforms make billions of dollars from scammers who advertise on their sites, according to reporting from Reuters, and there's not much incentive for them to change their practices — yet. Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) have introduced the SCAM Act, which would take steps to tackle these scams. ABA strongly supports the SCAM Act, and on this crossover episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast and ABA Fraudcast, Paul Benda discusses:

From one location in Wilmington, North Carolina, Live Oak Bank is the nation's largest Small Business Administration lender and a leading partner in developing technology for community banks. With an uncertain economic and business environment, two top executives from Live Oak Bank joined the ABA Banking Journal Podcast to discuss:

If Texas were an independent country, its economy would rank as the world's eighth-largest. "France is the seventh largest economy in the world and I don't think it'll take as much time at all to catch them," laughs Texas Bankers Association Chairman Ron Butler. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, Butler — who is also vice chairman and chief administrative officer of $14 billion-asset, Abilene-based First Financial Bank — talks about:

The discontinuation of penny production in 2025 caused operational challenges for banks when the regional Federal Reserve banks said they would stop accepting pennies for deposit at coin terminals -- accelerating the circulation shortage that's posing challenges for retailers. Today, the Fed reversed that decision, resuming deposits effective Jan. 14. On the latest episode of the podcast, ABA payments expert Steve Kenneally walks through the Fed's decision, the operational challenges the penny phaseout poses to retailers and banks, ABA's regulatory and legislative advocacy for improvements to the handling of coinage reform and ABA resources for banks, frontline staff and consumers.

The Philippines is a fast-growing economy, but it lags its peers in the unbanked rate, with more than four in 10 Filipinos unbanked, according to McKinsey. Many Filipinos use nonbank-provided ewallets, but bank penetration is on the rise since 2020, when the central bank approved a new license type for digital banking, helping the Philippines' traditional banks meet the mobile-first needs of Filipinos. In this episode, Russell Hernandez of UnionDigital Bank provides a unique look into the Philippine banking sector. He also discusses how his mobile-first digital bank tackles account takeover attempts and other frauds through layers of mobile-based and biometric authentication.

The bank consolidation logjam broke in 2025, with several banks, including large regionals, inking major deals amid an accelerated pace for approvals. While that may reflect both pent-up deal flow and a rush to get transactions done in a favorable environment, on the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, Paul Davis notes that the rush is forcing everyone in the market to pay attention and be ready. Davis discusses how these factors, as well as the underlying forces driving consolidation, the capital markets environment and credit conditions will shape the mergers and acquisitions outlook throughout 2026.

Jon Sisk and Matt Lujano's banks couldn't be more different at first appearance — Sisk is a top executive at a community bank in Santa Cruz, California, near the beating heart of America's tech ecosystem, and Lujano leads a bank primarily based in a rural area of western Iowa where farming is dominant. But they share a positive outlook on the role of tech in community banking. As chair and vice chair, respectively, of ABA's Community Bankers Council, they reflected on what it means to be a tech-forward community bank in a podcast following the committee's recent D.C. meeting. Among other topics, they discuss:

Stay tuned for more conversations on tech-forward community banking within the ABA Banking Journal Podcast channel.

Blend's Intelligent Origination — an AI-powered orchestration layer embedded in Blend's platform that reduces the cost of loan origination, improves speed and accuracy, and redefines how lenders and borrowers experience the lending process.

The Erie Canal — one of the biggest milestones of American history — celebrated the bicentennial of its completion this week. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, acclaimed economic historian and Banking Journal columnist John Steele Gordon and editor-in-chief Evan Sparks discuss the canal's development and construction, the involvement of the Savings Bank of New York in financing it, how it transformed New York and the Midwest, and how the canal created future demand for mass transport of goods by other means, helping fuel the republic's development as a commercial powerhouse.

PNC Bank is the nation's eighth-largest bank by assets and the sixth-largest by deposits, but it ranks fourth in the number of physical branches. In a time when many banks are streamlining their in-person service locations, why has PNC doubled down on branches? On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, PNC executive Jeff Martinez explores:

With equipment repair costs up 40% over the past few years, how farmers deploy expensive agricultural machinery is of top concern for ag bankers. With equipment increasingly complex and often software driven, many equipment manufacturers have limited the ability of operators to repair their equipment without voiding warranties — leading to delays and lost harvests as farmers wait for service amid a shortage.

While this trend has led to a "right to repair" movement in many states, the issue of equipment costs and lost revenue during breakdowns remains a factor in lending decisions, says Pat Kussman, president and CEO of Regional Missouri Bank and chairman of the Missouri Bankers Association. "There are many things that are eroding at our cash flow for our farmers," he notes, "not just input costs, but land rent costs and equipment repair costs."

Kussman also discusses the state of the used equipment market, how farmers are using drones to manage crops less invasively and the growing role of artificial intelligence tools in functions like disease identification

This episode is presented by Agri-Access.

Banks have been using natural language processing and machine learning applications for years in managing their anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act obligations. But how does the growing adoption of generative AI tools affect how BSA and fraud professionals protect their banks? On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by Agri-Access — former FDIC official Lisa Arquette shares a regulator's-eye view of generative AI in the BSA world and how regulators have been approaching the technology for their own work.

Joined by ABA SVP Heather Trew, Arquette also discusses:

Register for the ABA Financial Crimes Enforcement Conference, Oct. 14-16 in Arlington, Virginia.

In the wake of the summer's Genius Act, many banks and nonbanks have announced new stablecoin initiatives. Another digital asset — tokenized deposits — may meet needs similar to stablecoins, but the two asset types have significantly different features based on their underlying designs. On this episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, ABA experts Brooke Ybarra and Yikai Wang discuss:

Princess Castleberry began her career in risk management in financial services, and the biggest risk she sees today is that "leaders are in a capacity crisis." Work experience, education and professional networks are undermined by this lack of capacity driven by emotional triggers, she says, which are in turn compounded by a massive wave of societal, economic and technological change.

Now an instructional design expert and leadership speaker, Castleberry discusses how leaders can understand and manage triggers to enhance their capacity to lead with empathy. Castleberry will also be discussing these and other topics — including how to reduce "conflict waste" — at the ABA Annual Convention next month in Charlotte.

The rapid evolution of the financial services marketplace means the market for banking as a service is also evolving rapidly. From artificial intelligence to other new technologies to regulatory expectations, how is the partner bank sector shifting? On the season premiere of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, Pathward Bank CEO Brett Pharr talks about the Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based partner bank's strategy. Among other things, Pharr discusses:

The U.S. is experiencing a massive demographic shift driven by the aging Baby Boom generation, declining birth rates and shifts in immigration trends. What effect will aging have on the banking outlook? In the season finale of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, ABA economist JP Rothenberg discusses how America's aging population:

Alongside the commercial and consumer markets, institutional banking is one of three strategic pillars of $70 billion-asset UMB Bank. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, UMB's Phil Mason discusses:

What does the future hold for bank risk and compliance professionals? On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, Krysti Cunningham of Security National Bank in Omaha, Nebraska — and winner of the 2025 Distinguished Service Award for Risk and Compliance — discusses:

Following the enactment of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, hear from ABA experts on how key ABA-supported provisions on tax policy, rural real estate and health savings accounts in the budget reconciliation law will affect banks. Experts also discuss what to expect next in terms of implementation.

ABA's new online platform to provide members with free access to the Treasury Check Verification System is now live. On a special joint episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast and ABA Fraudcast — presented by Intrafi's Banking with Interest podcast — ABA anti-fraud experts Paul Benda and Hannah Ibberson discuss the platform and how banks can put it to use. Among other topics, Benda and Ibberson discuss:

Amid tariff-related volatility, how are small and midsize businesses and the banks that serve them faring? On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by Intrafi's Banking with Interest podcast — John Buran, the president and CEO of Queens-based Flushing Financial discusses how tariff and trade policy-related volatility has compounded commercial client uncertainty based on interest rates over recent months and why uncertainty has slowed loan growth and investment.

However, Buran also notes that lending has improved in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, "possibly associated with the Fed keeping rates stable since the middle of the middle of last year. So I think that has helped somewhat. Banks are staying very close to their customers . . . so that they can come out the on other side in a favorable position."

Buran also discusses opportunities for community banks to gain market share in the New York City metro area real estate market and the potential for regulatory change under newly confirmed Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman.

Jim Ryan has led Old National Bank through a massive wave of growth — through major mergers and organic growth, the Evansville, Indiana-based bank has reached $70 billion in assets and a footprint that extends from Minnesota to Tennessee. The bank has grown by 250% since Ryan moved into the CEO role in 2019. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by Intrafi's Banking with Interest podcast — Ryan discusses:

Ryan also discusses the experience of leading Old National through the devastating mass shooting at a Louisville, Kentucky, bank branch in 2023 — a tragedy that claimed the lives of 5 victims, all of them bank employees. "We always felt like we were a family, but that definition of family was completely reinforced," he says. "After you go through a tragedy like that, it takes a lot of love, it takes a lot of support, and it takes a lot of care."

So-called "First Amendment auditors" have long filmed themselves trying to provoke police and other public officials into stopping them from recording in public settings. Now, some auditors are targeting banks, filming for hours outside bank branches and seeking to goad bank employees into calling law enforcement. The latest episode — presented by Intrafi's Banking with Interest podcast — features tips from bankers and security professionals on how to handle a First Amendment auditor at a bank location while protecting bank employees and customers.

As independently owned and operated small businesses, fast-food restaurant franchisees have unique business needs. They have mobile and often part-time workforces, complex inventory management and the constant challenge of managing both a small business and being the face of a major brand. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Bix2x — Wendell Bontrager talks about how Sonata Bank is working with this unique market segment.

For example, "we can come in at fractional costs to provide them things like telehealth, mobile phone insurance, pet insurance, in a way that is free to the employee but is done and sold through the franchisee," says Bontrager. He outlines Sonata's business of lending to "quick-service" restaurants, as they're often called in the trade, paired with employee benefits, treasury management and a software-as-a-service platform for QSRs.

Bontrager also talks about the health of the Nashville, Tennessee, market where Sonata's community bank franchise is headquartered and how the organization has been able to capture talent with hybrid and remote workplace offerings.

Government-guaranteed lending requires special expertise and back-office functionality that grows increasingly expensive for smaller banks. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Bix2x — Chris Hurn and Jeremy Gilpin of Community Bankshares, a bank holding company in La Grange, Georgia, discuss how they are tackling that challenge.

"To start one of these departments is very expensive for a lot of rural banks and credit unions," says Gilpin, "It's very prohibitive to enter the market space if you are a rural bank or even in an urban market where you do you know, maybe 5, 10, 20 of these loans a year."

Hurn and Gilpin are part of a team that has built Community Bankshares, parent of Community Bank and Trust of West Georgia, into a network of Small Business Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture lending subsidiaries that work on a nationwide basis. They developed a model that allows the "the holding company [to] serve as a source of strength for the bank, not just the other way around, which is typical," says Gilpin. Gilpin and Hurn discuss the company's role as a white label lender, referral lender, participation partner or servicer for smaller banks that want to connect their clients to guaranteed loans and the strength of the bank model for supporting these businesses and agricultural enterprises.

Quantum computing is an entirely new way of processing information, and it has the power to solve extremely difficult computational problems much more quickly than binary computers. As the technology continues to advance, the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Intrafi's Banking with Interest — explores how payments and banking might be affected by the technology. Among other topics, the episode addresses:

This episode is presented by Intrafi's Banking with Interest.

The payment by the Federal Reserve of interest on bank reserves may sound like an abstruse matter of economic theory, but these payments are critical to bank operations and the Fed's conduct of monetary policy. In the latest episode — sponsored by Intrafi's Banking with Interest — ABA's Jeff Huther discusses why proposals to end or reduce interest on reserves are misguided. Among other things, Huther discusses:

Read more in Huther's ABA DataBank post.

ABA's Washington Summit just wrapped up, and this episode — sponsored by Intrafi's Banking with Interest — features a main stage conversation with Travis Hill, acting chairman of the FDIC. In this episode, Hill discusses:

April is Financial Literacy Month, a time when bankers think creatively about how to engage young people on topics of financial wellness. Citi's Michelle A. Thornhill and Roads to Success's Bashan Fernandez for a discussion of Citi's approach to making financial knowledge fun and engaging. In this episode — sponsored by Intrafi's Banking with Interest — they discuss several innovative approaches, including:

In the wake of this week's significant executive order directing the Treasury to eliminate the use of paper checks for federal government disbursements (and payments to the U.S. government), ABA's Steve Kenneally joins the podcast for a conversation on what's next for the payments system. In this episode — sponsored by nCino — Kenneally discusses:

Legislators and regulators are strongly focused on policy related to payment stablecoins, most recently with the passage of the Genius Act in the Senate Banking Committee. On this episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by nCino — ABA's Brooke Ybarra and Kirsten Sutton discuss the current policy and technology landscape on stablecoins. Among other topics, they talk about:

The big story of check fraud is not only its vast cost to the country and to individual victims, but simply the remarkable rate at which it is increasing. On this episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by nCino — we bring you a conversation from the ABA Fraudcast with ABA's Paul Benda and Caitlin Piasecki of the United States Postal Inspection Service the enormous scale and challenge of addressing mail theft, a common venue for criminals to access paper checks.

Piasecki describes how the internet serves as a perfect sharing and recruiting platform for criminals aiming to get their hands on as many paper checks as possible. Encrypted platforms are where criminal organizations in New Jersey can easily connect with those operating in Los Angeles, she notes. "We have seen a huge influx in the complex nature these investigations have taken, where previously it was a local group in a local area," she says.

A century ago, in March 1925, Charles G. Dawes was sworn in as vice president of the United States. Being elected vice president of the United States — as Dawes was, alongside Calvin Coolidge, in a landslide — is usually a career pinnacle for an American politician, but Dawes' vice presidency turned out to be more of a footnote in his eventful life. In the second part of this two-part podcast series — presented by nCino — Dawes biographer Annette Dunlap explores Dawes' service as head of logistics for the American Expeditionary Force in World War I (an organizational feat never before pulled off in American military history), his work in international diplomacy during the 1920s, his vice presidency under Calvin Coolidge and how he engineered a bailout for his troubled bank in the throes of the Great Depression.

A century ago, in March 1925, Charles G. Dawes was sworn in as vice president of the United States. Being elected vice president of the United States — as Dawes was, alongside Calvin Coolidge, in a landslide — is usually a career pinnacle for an American politician, but Dawes' vice presidency turned out to be more of a footnote in his eventful life. In the first part of this two-part podcast series — presented by R&T Deposit Solutions — Dawes biographer Annette Dunlap walks listeners through Dawes' early life, his big ideas in banking and his service as comptroller of the currency, and how he built up Chicago as a regional banking center. At this centennial moment, and in this 150th anniversary year for ABA, it's worth reflecting on the fascinating and complex life of Charley Dawes.

In rural southeastern New Mexico, bank CEO and varsity bowling coach Ken Clayton often takes his team on 500-mile one-day roundtrips for bowling tournaments. For Clayton, that commitment to going the distance is also what community banking is about. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by R&T Deposit Solutions — Clayton discusses what makes community banks like his tick.

And as chair of ABA's Government Relations Council, he also talks about ABA's legislative and regulatory priorities for the year ahead, including tax reform and Subchapter S, regulatory challenges like the Section 1071 final rule, the SAFER Banking Act, credit card interchange policy and more. For Clayton's 22-employee bank, policy challenges hit home in a challenging way since he and his CFO also share duties as the bank's compliance officers. "As a banker, don't just sit at home and say, 'Gee, I wish this was different,'" Clayton says. "Get involved. It's very rewarding, not to mention that it helps your customer and it helps your community."

Clayton also discusses his own career journey in banking, his home community of Artesia and his approach to developing leaders within his bank.

A recent article in the New York Times — "Love and Money: Why Sharing Accounts Is Good for Your Relationship" — explores scholarly evidence for the benefits of couples' combining their bank accounts. The article features the insights of Indiana University marketing professor Jenny Olson, who appeared in 2023 on the ABA Banking Journal Podcast. For a special Valentine's Day episode, we bring back that classic podcast episode — sponsored by R&T Deposit Solutions — in which Olson discusses her research on joint accounts and couples' well-being.

Olson and her colleagues randomly assigned new couples to one of three conditions for a two-year period: using only separate accounts, using a joint account only or to a third group that received no instructions about the kind of accounts to use. Couples in the no-instruction group and the separate account group saw declines in relationship quality during the experiment, couples with joint accounts were "buffered" against the declines otherwise expected, she says.

"Because we randomly assigned couples, we can take better steps toward understanding causality," Olson says. "Our results really do suggest that having a joint bank account improves relationship quality." While every couple's financial needs are unique and separate accounts may be what's needed in many situations, Olson discusses implications of the research for how bankers and wealth managers approach financial planning conversations with clients.

This episode is presented by R&T Deposit Solutions.

On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by R&T Deposit Solutions — ABA's Jeff Huther and Sharon Whitaker rebut a false narrative about how banks are managing commercial real estate credit risk. Expanding on a rebuttal to a New York Fed paper, they explore why measures of distress and undercapitalization used by the New York Fed and some in the media are inconsistent with common definitions and ignore bank-borrower relationships, accounting principles and valuation techniques.

"We're now almost three years past the last shock to the sector, and people have had a lot of time to kind of think through how to deal with this and what the implications are for credit risk," says Huther. "We're in a situation where " extending and pretending" is just not the right way to describe the condition and market."

Today's episode features a crossover from ABA's brand new podcast series: ABA Fraudcast: Cyber and Fraud with Paul Benda. Community banks can be targets of large-scale fraud, just like larger banks. On the inaugural episode of the ABA Fraudcast, former ABA Chair Dan Robb, president and CEO of Jonesburg State Bank in Missouri, describes the recent targeting of his bank by fraudsters who texted thousands of residents of his community, seeking access to customer accounts. What followed for Robb and his team were fast lessons on all the areas his bank was prepared for, and a few challenges that were surprising. "We are no longer dealing with a mom-and-pop criminal," says ABA's Paul Benda, Fraudcast host. "This is institutional crime."

To find the ABA Fraudcast, visit aba.com/fraudcast or look for it in your favorite podcast app.

From AI and crypto to complex regulatory challenges and increasingly diverse markets, bank executives face increasingly complex strategic decisions — and so do bank boards as they set and oversee the strategic direction for their banks. And yet, the average age of bank directors is 76, and many do not have expertise in these critical challenges affecting banks.

On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, veteran bank board members and executives Jenn Docherty and Virginia Varela discuss how bank boards can position their banks for success in a challenging environment. They discuss the importance of sourcing diverse expertise and how board members can start and lead difficult conversations about where their banks need to go, creating space for new ideas and giving management more flexibility — and more incentives — to innovate.

Docherty and Varela will discuss these topics and more at the ABA Conference for Community Bankers, Feb. 16-18 in Phoenix.

In this holiday bonus episode — sponsored by TransUnion — host Evan Sparks digs into the Banking Journal archives to learn more about the "Christmas Club" savings vehicle, and what this financial product says about human psychology and behavioral economics.

This episode is presented by TransUnion.

"Well, your money's in Joe's house, that's right next to yours. And in the Kennedy House, and Mrs. Macklin's house, and, and a hundred others. Why, you're lending them the money to build, and then, they're going to pay it back to you as best they can."

Seventy-eight years ago, George Bailey memorably explained the operation of a mutual savings and loan to a national audience in It's a Wonderful Life. But while today's bankers understand mutuality, do today's potential clients? On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by TransUnion — bank leaders Gregg Tewksbury and Lori Dufficy discuss a new campaign, Mutuals Matter, that aims to educate consumers about mutual bank ownership. Among other things, they talk about:

This episode is presented by TransUnion.

The rarely used Congressional Review Act provides an opportunity for Congress and the president to overturn regulatory rulemakings — and the GOP trifecta in 2025 will bring new regulations up for review. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by TransUnion — ABA experts Kirsten Sutton and Ginny O'Neill break down details about CRA that bankers need to know:

This episode is presented by TransUnion.

Saved by the bell? Millions of American businesses faced a January 1 deadline to register their beneficial owners with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network — until a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction yesterday stopping FinCEN from enforcing the deadline. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by TransUnion — ABA experts Heather Trew and Jonathan Blum discuss:

This episode is presented by TransUnion.

Advertising jingles: corny or clever? "Imagine the repetition over years in a community that hears it regularly," says Clark Hook of Financial Marketing Solutions. "It's whether you love or hate jingles, you cannot deny the power of that mnemonic device to put attribution to the things you're putting into the world."

On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Agri-Access — we take a look at bank jingles past and present. Expert bank marketers discuss:

Read Craig Colgan's recentarticle on bank jingles.

Middle market businesses don't get the attention of the Fortune 500 or the love that small businesses get from policymakers, but these firms are still critical to the economy — accounting for a third of private-sector GDP and employing up to 50 million Americans. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Agri-Access — KeyBank commercial bank president Ken Gavrity discusses the outlook for the middle market, defined as businesses with annual revenues of $10 million to $1 billion. Among other topics, Gavrity discusses:

This episode is presented by Agri-Access.

The Republican sweep of the presidency and Congress, with extremely narrow control of the House, sets up tax policy as a major issue in 2025. With many provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expiring at the end of next year and tax policy changes able to be passed on a simple-majority basis through budget reconciliation, bankers can expect to see tax policy front and center. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Agri-Access — ABA VP Joey Connor discusses what to expect from the tax policy debate in 2025, including:

With commodity prices falling and producer expenses rising, it's a difficult moment for America's agricultural economy. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Agri-Access — Dakota Mac loan production officer Caleb Hopkins discusses strategies ag lenders are using to support their clients through this cycle. As chair of ABA's Agricultural and Rural Bankers Committee, Hopkins also provides a preview of the upcoming ABA Agricultural Bankers Conference.

This episode is presented by Agri-Access.

John Asbury didn't need a new job in 2016, but when he saw an opportunity build something lost in the 1990s — what he calls "the great Virginia regional bank" — he took it. Eight years later, Richmond-based Atlantic Union Bank has more than tripled in size and is on track to reach nearly $40 billion in assets after completion of an announced acquisition of Sandy Spring Bank. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Alkami — AUB CEO Asbury talks about the transformation of the bank. He also discusses his agenda as the newly elected chair of the American Bankers Association, including advocating to remove arbitrary asset thresholds that distort banks' strategic growth plans, his approach to leadership development at the bank and his commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.

Crypto investment scams cost Americans billions of dollars. The scammers start small with confidence or romance scams and gradually work their way up to demanding ever larger "investments." On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Alkami — officials from the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission break down how these scams work, typologies and red flags bankers should look out for and how banks can build proactive partnerships with law enforcement. They also discuss a new educational infographic on these scams produced jointly by the ABA Foundation and several government agencies.

How do community banks balance the need for cutting-edge technology and the human touch? On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Alkami — Pamela Montpelier of Ballston Spa National Bank talks about how a laser-like focus on customer experience can help drive growth. Among other topics, Montpelier discusses the use of AI-based tools to improve decision-making and help bank employees replace manual processes with time spent engaging clients. She also talks about her experience working with a variety of banks as a service provider executive, prior to which she was the youngest female bank CEO in Massachusetts.

As president and CEO of $50 billion-plus BOK Financial, Stacy Kymes spends time thinking about the role of regional banks in the U.S. economy. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Alkami — Kymes talks about how BOK Financial finds unique niches and meets the credit and capital market needs in its core mid-America markets. Among other topics, Kymes discusses:

Miami is often described as the northernmost city in Latin America, or sometimes as Latin America's business capital. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Alkami — Banesco USA President and CEO Cali Garcia-Velez discusses how he and his team are growing a Latin American banking franchise in South Florida and Puerto Rico. Among other topics, Garcia-Velez discusses:

Most bankers dread the thought of a core conversion, but once that decision is made, the process can open up new opportunities for strategic growth. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Alkami — Webster Five CIO Kate Megraw discusses her bank's conversion and what she learned. Among other topics, Megraw explains:

Megraw will join fellow Core Platforms Committee members to discuss conversions at the ABA Annual Convention, Oct. 27-29 in New York City.

As chief corporate responsibility officer for Webster Bank, Marissa Weidner works across the bank's footprints and business lines to help advance the bank's goals of financial empowerment. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Alkami — Weidner discusses the many dimensions of how this takes shape at the northeastern regional bank. Among other topics, she explores:

Weidner also discusses her career journey — including experience in economic development, bank human resources and bank merger integration — that led her to her current role.

This episode is presented by Alkami.

Fraud is front and center for America's banks, and on the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Alkami — ABA's Paul Benda and Peter Cook discuss several recent initiatives taken by ABA to help banks tackle fraud from a variety of fronts.

Earlier this week, VersaBank closed on its purchase of Stearns Bank Holdingford N.A., giving the Canadian point-of-sale lender a point of entry into the U.S. market. On the season eight premiere of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Alkami — VersaBank founder and CEO David Taylor discusses the bank's growth plans in the United States.

Taylor also explores his career history in banking, the story of VersaBank as the first new bank to receive a license in Canada in 18 years, how the bank developed a deposit broker network in Canada, VersaBank's point-of-sale lending strategy (and how it can acquire loans without any equity from the finance company), and VersaBank's talent and culture.

This episode is presented by Alkami.

Consumers everywhere see and hear credit union marketing campaigns, from PenFed's ubiquitous jingle to big stadium and Super Bowl sponsorship deals. In fact, according to a new ABA DataBank post from ABA's Dan Brown and Robert Flock, credit unions spend more than double what comparable banks do on marketing as a percentage of net income.

But why do credit unions, which serve members from defined fields of membership, spend so much? On the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, Brown and Flock break down the legislative and regulatory history of fields of membership and how the average credit union has more than doubled its "potential membership" since new rules were finalized in 2015, using their taxpayer subsidy to fuel growth via marketing rather than lower rates and costs for their members.

At the midpoint of the year, what's the M&A outlook like for community banks? On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, ABA Banking Journal Contributing Editor Paul Davis discusses what he's seeing with mergers and acquisitions and what to expect for the remainder of 2024.

Davis, the founder of the Bank Slate newsletter, also discusses what he's hearing from banks about succession planning and talent and talks about budget forecasting, an area the Bank Slate is surveying bankers on for 2025.

On this episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, ABA economist Jeff Huther discusses recent dynamics with the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, the "world's most important number." Huther delves into topics in his his new ABA DataBank essay, exploring how quantitative tightening has pushed SOFR toward the upper end of the Federal Open Market Committee's rate target range, the effects of monetary policy mechanisms like the Overnight Reverse Repo Facility, and how banks and other SOFR users can manage volatility that may emerge in the rate.

To mark Independence Day this week, this classic replay episode of the ABA Banking Journal explores the role of banking and finance in the American Revolution and the founding era. John Steele Gordon is an acclaimed economic historian whose books include Hamilton's Blessing, The Great Game and An Empire of Wealth; he is also the ABA Banking Journal's "From the Vault" columnist. In this episode, Gordon discusses:

"We're seeing banks that have never been scrutinized before for redlining and being told that they have risk that they have not before and risk in ways that they've never really viewed it before," says Andrea Mitchell. "We're in some new territory, and I think it's important for CEOs to understand what their compliance officers and legal departments are seeing on the ground."

In the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Alkami — Andrea Mitchell, a top fair lending attorney, reviews the latest trends in redlining enforcement. She reviews cases brought by the Justice Department, the importance of screening programs, planning for entering new markets, the role of peer analyses in managing redlining risk and the effects of redlining enforcement on M&A activity.

Mitchell also discusses the intersection of DOJ enforcement and prudential supervision, noting that "if your regulator thinks you're doing very well, even in in terms of minority market lending, and is relying on your CRA rating, there's nothing that prevents HUD or DOJ or other agencies from scrutinizing you."

Brent Beardall thinks bankers need to be more comfortable with risk. "We're not out there taking crazy risk, but my point is don't be afraid to fail," says the president and CEO of WaFd Bank, based in tech-focused Seattle. "If you're going to fail: fail quickly, fail small. That's the two requirements I have, because if you're not failing, you're not trying hard enough."

In the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Alkami — Beardall discusses technology experiments that didn't work, and those that did. He discusses the bank's tech lab subsidiary Archway Software and its combined voice- and phone-based authentication for wire transfers.

Beardall discusses WaFd's commercial real estate portfolio, which he notes is majority "stabilized multifamily, which is the safest asset class that we or any bank can make." Office buildings — the most distressed CRE asset class — account for just 4% of WaFd's portfolio, Beardall says, noting that CRE is a big and diverse sector beyond the office headlines.

Finally, Beardall talks about his remarkable personal story of surviving a deadly plane crash in early 2023. "You're flying on a jet airplane to go to the Rose Bowl, and all of a sudden you go from being pretty good to fighting for your life and you realize just how vulnerable you are and how precious life is because it can change in a heartbeat," he says. "People that I competed with, bankers that I would compete with, they set it all aside and said, "Let's focus on helping each other.' We have a lot more in common than we have in terms of differences, and let's give equal weight to what we have in common and work together for the collective good."

"I need people who understand technology and the business more than I need people who understand compliance," says Greg Imm, who recently retired as chief compliance officer at M&T Bank. "I can teach them compliance. I cannot teach them technology. We are paying much more attention on what is going on in technology that never existed five, six years ago."

The latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Alkami — features part two of a two-part conversation with Imm and David Kelly, retiring chief risk officer at Denver-based FirstBank. At ABA's Risk and Compliance Conference in Seattle, Kelly was awarded the Distinguished Service Award for Risk, and Imm was honored with the Distinguished Service Award for Compliance.

In part two, Kelly and Imm discuss the role of technology in the compliance and risk disciplines, how they hire and coach talent, and their involvement with ABA and other professional development providers over their careers.

This episode is presented by Alkami.

In a time of heightened regulatory risk and business challenges, "that's where the risk professionals become very important," says David Kelly, CERP, who recently retired as chief risk officer at Denver-based FirstBank. "Those relationships across business lines, because the risk will flow across those business lines, and getting stakeholders together to have those conversations."

The latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Alkami — features part one of a two-part conversation with Kelly and Greg Imm, the retired chief compliance officer at M&T Bank and Fifth Third Bank. At ABA's Risk and Compliance Conference in Seattle, Kelly was awarded the Distinguished Service Award for Risk, and Imm was honored with the Distinguished Service Award for Compliance.

In part one, Kelly and Imm discuss their experience across different institutions — Kelly spent most of his career at FirstBank, while Imm worked at numerous large and regional banks as well as the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. They also discuss the evolving role of technology in risk and compliance professionals and how soft skills contribute to risk and compliance career development.

This episode is presented by Alkami.

On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Biz2X — Anthony Sharett, president of Pathward N.A., discusses how his FDIC-insured bank works alongside depository institutions to expand offerings that enhance financial inclusion and reach the unbanked. Sharett discusses Pathward's reloadable co-branded prepaid card business — which can help a bank offer a Bank On-certified account — as well as its gift card business line. Sharett discusses how Pathward uses a design thinking approach to work with its bank clients to "co-create" products. "There are lots of banks out there that are providing valuable services to customers, providing solutions, providing products that they need, but is there a gap?"

He also talks about new areas where Pathward is branching out, including commercial finance solutions like merchant services, and working capital. "As we think about financial inclusion and financial education and bringing people through that journey of creditworthiness, we are excited about the credit builder product for small and midsize businesses, which are really those entrepreneurs that are the backbone of how we just expand commerce in the United States," he says.

During the conversation, Sharett also talks about his own background in bank leadership as an attorney who rose up the ranks on the risk and compliance side of banking, and he discusses how Pathward, formerly known as Metabank, developed its new brand when it sold its trademarks to newly renamed Meta Platforms.

This episode is presented by Biz2X.

What's new with Small Business Administration lending this year, and how can bankers maximize the value of the SBA loan guaranty programs? On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Biz2X — Erik Daniels of U.S. Bank, the nation's fourth-largest SBA originator by number of loans, talks about how U.S. Bank builds SBA into its overall business banking strategy.

Daniels highlights the role of SBA lending in making efficient use of capital, mitigating risk, providing more tailored solutions to businesses and driving Community Reinvestment Act impact. He also talks about the value the bank gets out of making SBA loans as a portfolio lender, "which gives our customers great opportunity with rate structure, modifications, any flexibility down the road. . . . Being a portfolio owner gives us the optionality to help them in any way that we can to make their experience a good one."

Daniels also discusses anticipated changes to SBA programs in 2024 and 2025, and he shares insights on the small business outlook from U.S. Bank clients and survey research.

This episode is presented by Biz2X.

Checks have become so marginal that the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Payment Choice relegates them to a category of "other," which, along with prepaid cards and money orders accounted for less than 9 percent of all payments in 2022. But checks aren't entirely dead, with 11.2 billion still written in the U.S. in 2021. Meanwhile, their use by criminals as a vector of fraud has shot up. Which raises the question: The paper check won't die. Is it time to kill it? This episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Biz2X — sets out to answer that question, with the help of top bankers and experts in the payment space.

According to newly released Gallup figures, just 30 percent of American workers are engaged in their work. The rest are described as disengaged, with 17 percent activelydisengaged, "which means they are literally trying to sabotage the organization," notes Neil Stevens, president and CEO of Oconee State Bank in Oconee, Georgia. "Gallup also says that if you have a 70 percent or higher engagement score, you're 23 percent more profitable than those with lower engagement scores. So engaged teams truly, in my mind, lead to healthier cultures, better customer retention."

On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by R&T Deposit Solutions — Stevens discusses his approach to cultivating a bank where engagement scores have climbed to 89 percent, triple the national average. Stevens works to build this culture through a framework called Leading Life on Life that emphasizes loving, equipping, affirming and developing ("LEAD"ing) team members. Among other topics on the show, Stevens discusses the role of love in bank management, the importance of active listening and how an environment of healthy affirmation actually allows leaders to hold their teams to higher standards.

For Financial Literacy Month in April, the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by R&T Deposit Solutions — features a conversation on how banks are engaging their communities with financial education. The ABA Foundation's Kelsey Havemann discusses a brand-new K-2 Teach Children to Save curriculum launching soon, and Lindsay Torrico talks about the Foundation's big goal to help five million people get on the path to financial prosperity.

What's the CEO-eye view on the U.S. economy, business conditions and the regulatory environment for banks? This week's episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by R&T Deposit Solutions — features a conversation with ABA's Peter Cook and four bank CEOs from across the country. In the conversation, they discuss local economic conditions in their markets, how the "regulatory tsunami" is affecting banks of all sizes, the commercial real estate outlook, what they're most excited for in the future of banking and more.

"These rewards are more than just Amex, Chase, Citi," says Brian Kelly, founder of the popular travel site The Points Guy. "Well over half of Americans have some form of rewards, often through their community banks — and to a lot of people, cash back rewards." This bonus episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by Alkami — features a conversation with Kelly and ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols from ABA's Washington Summit.

In this episode, Kelly discusses his personal story of getting involved with reward travel, his opposition to efforts to cap interchange or impose routing mandates on credit cards and the value that all kinds of consumers get out of card rewards.

The banking agencies and the Justice Department are shifting how they assess and review bank mergers and acquisitions. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by Alkami — ABA SVP Hu Benton discusses what bankers need to know about potential deals and offers amid the wave of policy changes.

Among other topics, Benton explores:

Access "Bank Mergers & Acquisitions: A Self-Assessment Guide"

This episode is presented by Alkami.

Forget Tom Brady: Most professional athletes don't play well into their 40s. "You play football for three to four years," says Brandon Ghee. "And then the next thing you know you're 25, 26. You're looking to pursue a career and you go from making $750,000 a year to $50,000. These guys and girls have a problem with the transition [in]how they're spending during their careers."

Athletes make a lot of big financial decisions at fairly young ages. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by Alkami — Ghee, a community banker and former NFL cornerback, discusses how Cogent Bank's sports and entertainment vertical comes alongside to help with this transition. In addition to traditional financial services, the bank offers specialized education on investing and financial decision-making as well as referrals to key service providers.

Ghee also discusses the fast-growing wave of highly compensated athletes amid the rollout of NCAA permission for name, image and likeness marketing deals and why student-athletes and their families need support and engagement from banks.

First Horizon Bank, a regional bank based in Memphis, Tennessee, offers some eye-catching numbers on the bank's gender balance: Women make up 62 percent of its executive team, 54 percent of its top 1,200 corporate managers and 33 percent of its board of directors.

To mark International Women's Day and Women's History Month, the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by Alkami — features three top executives from First Horizon discussing how the bank built an inclusive culture. For Beth Ardoin, chief communications officer, it's less about focusing on women per se and more focusing on "how do we build the organization around exceptional talent, no matter who you are, where you came from?"

Hope Dmuchowski, First Horizon's CFO, adds that for "our top talent, whether they're female, male or diverse, we're making sure they have lots of opportunities for lots of people that see how talented they are." Ardoin, Dmuchowski and Erin Pryor, chief marketing and experience officer, also discuss the role of sponsorship, allyship and executive leadership in creating a culture that allows women to showcase their excellent work. "Great work always speaks for itself," says Pryor. "How do you take those who are doing great work and helping to lift them up and to lift the women who are doing great work in the organization and amplify them?"

Resources:

On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by Alkami — ABA's Dan Brown and Sharon Whitaker discuss community bank exposures to commercial real estate and how community banks are managing shifts in the CRE sector. They also dispel imprecise narratives about the state of CRE.

"There is a lot of nuance within the commercial real estate market," says Brown. There are going to be some challenges for sure. But at the same time, too, though, there's going to be a lot of resilience. A lot of these loans are very conservatively underwritten. I think a lot of banks would be in a very good position no matter what may come in the future."

This episode is presented by Alkami.

If the past has any predictive power, rate-watchers may want to discount the chance of significant rate movements this election year. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, ABA VP Jeff Huther summarizes his analysis of Federal Open Market Committee actions during presidential elections, showing that in rare circumstances — well-telegraphed technical movements from a low base or during crisis moments like 2008 — the FOMC has generally refrained from taking action that could be perceived as political. Huther discusses what this means for the 2024 interest rate outlook.

"We're really focused on increasing competition and innovation in the core provider landscape," says ABA Core Platforms Committee Chair Kristiane Koontz. "We want to make sure that people know core conversions are an option, and we want to help make that easier and less risky for banks to undertake. But in many cases, a core conversion may not be the right path."

On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, the host catches up with Koontz at the Conference for Community Bankers to discuss the committee's recent work on core resilience and competition, as well as the committee's plans for 2024. The show also features past chair D.J. Seeterlin of Chesapeake Bank on the committee's newly released Core Provider Flexibility Assessment, a tool to help banks identify what the need to power their strategies.

Sometimes there are good reasons for friction in the banking experience: to stop fraud, to comply with laws. But sometimes the friction is a result of legacy tech — and legacy thinking. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, Anne Tangen, a bank IT expert-turned-CEO at BankFive in Fall River, Massachusetts, talks about BankFive's efforts to reduce friction in the account opening process, as well as her work to smooth the path for talented women in the community bank C-suite.

Tangen also discusses her own career experience working at banks of all sizes and how BankFive is embracing its mutual identity and investing in growth.

The multiyear effort to change the credit scoring models required by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continues to move forward, and mortgage lenders, credit officers and compliance professionals need to know the latest developments. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, ABA VP Sharon Whitaker provides an update. Among other topics, Whitaker discusses:

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