Podcast
The Banker Next Door
Hosted by Dr. Joseph Bergquist · EN
BND is focused on the U.S. Banking industry and how the industry intersects with finance, technology, and economics. Topics discussed can include all types of banking products and lines of business along with strategy, marketing, management, and leadership.
81episodes
Episodes
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How can banks better engage with customers in the fintech era?
3d ago00:20:30Tap to summarizeBanks are constantly challenged in the fintech era, not with loosing accounts, but with maintaining day-to-day financial engagement. Consumers continue to diversify away from bank offerings to multiple fintech platforms, mainly for P2P payments and digital wallets. Bank’s share of the financial relationship with fintechs is shrinking. Speed, flexibility, and control are the main items that customers are looking for. Payments are the front door for customer engagement. Right now, Venmo and Cash App are winning the race, but banks have options such as Zelle. Bank’s can retain financial engagement with their customers, but it will require them to make changes and adapt current offerings. This episode reviewed a research report from S&P Global (subscription required) titled “Community banks in the fintech era: Competing for customer engagement.”
Transcribe →Bank News: CEO apologies, EOs, Living wills, Charters, Exemptions, and Fines!
4d ago00:17:06Tap to summarizeBank News: Standard Charter CEO Bill Winters apologized for his ‘lower-value human capital’ remarks that he made about his employees. Flagstar CEO Joseph Otting will stay until 2028 when a successor will be named. Federal Reserve and FDIC approve US banks’ living wills. Senator Warren wants charter details from OCC. Jay Gould justifies conditional trust charter approvals. Senator Warren questions Morgan Stanley exemption allowing them to fold their German investment bank into their holding company. President Trump directed the Federal Reserve to review how it grants access to central bank payment rails for fintechs. Chime is definitely in the market for a bank charter. Ally offers new brand platform. CFPB eliminates information prior to February 2025. Goldman Sachs settles 1MDB case. This episode reviewed multiple articles from Banking Dive.
Transcribe →Regulators are looking to overhaul CAMELS ratings for banks
5d ago00:14:53Tap to summarizeThe CAMELS rating system is used by bank regulators to assess a financial institution. The rating system evaluates six key factors – capital adequacy, asset quality, management, earnings, liquidity, and sensitivity. Banks are then rated on a scale of 1 (Best) to 5 (Worst). This scale helps examiners to determine which banks require closer supervision because of poor performance. The CAMELS framework was originally created in 1979 but has not been updated since 1996. Federal regulators are now looking to make changes by shifting the focus to material financial risk and bolster ratings transparency. The focus of the changes will be related to composite rating changes and management rating changes. Some of these potential changes are welcome as bank executives have complained for years about how the ‘management’ category is rated. This episode reviewed articles from S&P Global (subscription required) and Investopedia. A link to the Investopedia article is included below. Link: Understanding the CAMELS Rating: Evaluation and Calculation Explained
Transcribe →Is Mythos the beginning of endless cyberattacks for banks?
6d ago00:14:53Tap to summarizeWhat has AI unleashed on the banking industry? Anthropic’s development of Mythos has sent shockwaves through banking executives. Palo Alto Networks tech chief Lee Klarich sees a small window before hackers begin to use programs like Mythos to launch attacks against software vulnerabilities. Banks should consider this a wake-up call. Think about your current platforms and technology stacks. Consider shifting from static cybersecurity models to dynamic monitoring. This threat is only about to begin. This episode covered an article from S&P Global (subscription required) titled “Anthropic’s new AI model pushes banks to shore up cyber defenses” and an article from CNBC.
Transcribe →CEO used an AI clone of himself?
1w ago00:14:21Tap to summarizeCustomers Bank CEO Sam Sidhu caused quite a stir when he used an AI clone for the first 25 minutes of the bank’s most recent earnings call to provide prepared remarks. Mr. Sidhu was trying to display how adept the bank has become at using AI technology. Mr. Sidhu showed how the bank has been able to deploy AI and decrease the efficiency ratio from 62% in 2024 to 49% in 2026. Mr. Sidhu is also hoping that AI will help to shrink the time it takes to close a loan and open a deposit account. This episode reviewed an article from S&P Global (subscription required) titled “Customers targeting efficiency ratio, customer onboarding improvements with AI” and a blog post from Emily McCormick at Bank Director.
Transcribe →BND: Strategy Room Bonus - The American citizen AI revolt has begun!
1w ago00:28:18Tap to summarizeThis video is a clip from BND: Strategy Room Live Stream on May 24, 2026. The American citizen is revolting against AI. From the job losses to the data centers being put in our back yards to the amount of overall danger posed from this new technology, Americans are pushing back. President Trump pulled his executive order on AI due to a split in his administration over how tightly AI development should be regulated. Anger is simmering as Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO, was booed off the stage at a recent Arizona graduation commencement over his comments around AI. Standard Charter CEO Bill Winters stepped in it last week as he considers his employees “lower-value human capital” to be replaced by AI. There are currently 3,100 data centers in the U.S., more than any other country in the world. There are also 1,800 new data centers in various stages of development. There will be 4,900 data centers when they are completed. How much is enough? The new data centers are massive behemoths that are sucking up unprecedented levels of energy, polluting the water, and creating light and sound pollution. American’s hate them. The constant increases in electric bills are about to cause major problems for politicians. This last week saw a major M&A deal announced between NextEra and Dominion Energy. Finally, the amount of CAPEX being proposed for AI and data center development over the next five years has gone to crazy town.
Transcribe →BND: Strategy Room 5-24-2026
1w ago02:13:01Tap to summarizeThe Banker Next Door (BND) weekly live stream show. Strategy Room provides financial news, commentary, top stories in the business world, economic indicators, and all things banking for the week.
Transcribe →Review of Federal Reserve Financial Stability Report for May 2026
2w ago00:18:23Tap to summarizeThe Financial Stability Report is the Fed’s current assessment of the stability of the U.S. financial system. The Fed seeks to assess vulnerabilities using four broad categories, which include asset valuations, borrowing by businesses and households, leverage in the financial sector, and funding risks. Asset valuations remain elevated. Vulnerabilities from business and household debt remained moderate. Vulnerabilities associated with financial leverage remained notable (Private Credit). Funding risks have remained moderate. Additionally, the report looks at salient risks to the financial system. Survey respondents had concerns about geopolitical risks, oil shock, artificial intelligence, private credit, and persistent inflation. This episode reviewed the Federal Reserve Financial Stability Report for May 2026. A link to the report is included below. Link: Financial Stability Report, May 2026
Transcribe →Is the Federal Reserve facing a hopeless situation?
2w ago00:18:37Tap to summarizeWith Jerome Powell existing and Kevin Warsh coming in as the new Fed Chair, he must walk a tight rope across an already strenuous economy. Is the situation hopeless? This seems a fair question given that any action the Fed takes could lead to dire circumstances. Inflation remains elevated, fiscal debt and deficits are out of control, yields are rising in the bond market to compensate for these risks, and the American consumer is running on fumes. Raising rates increases pressure on consumers, banks, and the federal government. Holding rates steady means waiting until something breaks. Decreasing interest rates when inflation remains elevated could risk another spike in inflation further crushing American consumers and the economy. What could be an answer for the Fed? Changing the data, as Warsh has suggested, could be what the Fed uses as rational to lower interest rates. Warsh wants to make changes at the Fed. I am rooting for him, but he faces the Mount Everest of financial difficulties. This episode reviewed an article from Zero Hedge titled “The Fed will invent new inflation numbers out of thin air.” Link: The Fed Will Invent New Inflation Numbers Out Of Thin Air | ZeroHedge
Transcribe →What has 8 years of Jerome Powell at the head of the Federal Reserve brought us?
2w ago00:22:10Tap to summarizeJerome Powell’s tenure as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve is coming to an end after 8 years. What has he left us? To say he has left us a mess would be an understatement. The Fed has lost approximately $240B in the last three years. The Fed has unrealized losses in their bond portfolio around $1T. Inflation remains well above the Fed 2% target. Powell has NEVER brought inflation below 2% in his 8-year tenure. The Fed balance sheet is back up to $6.7T, over 2T higher then when he started as Chairman. Powell drained all the liquidity out of the REPO market by bringing down the Fed’s balance sheet. He has since started QE light pumping money back into the market via purchases of bonds and treasuries. Powell has made one misstep after another. He caused a blowup in the REPO market in 2019, he overstimulated the market during covid causing massive inflation, which he deemed as “transitory,” he over tightened interest rates blowing a massive hole in bank balance sheets and leading to a banking crisis in 2023. Now he seeks to be a “shadow chair,” causing additional problems before his final exit. This episode reviewed an article from The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) titled “How eight tumultuous years pushed Jerome Powell and the Fed to the limit.”
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