Family-owned businesses — especially those crossing the mark of $10 million in annual revenue — often have unique banking needs. They have the freedom to make long-term investments, but they also face challenges associated with funding for growth, complex family dynamics and the need to manage liquidity events for family members, says Mikel Williamson, the newly appointed president and CEO of First Bank in the St. Louis area. On the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by R&T Deposit...

“When we’re able to take banking to them, at a place where they already have trust with their employer, that’s a bridge,” says Jennifer Huffman of Atlantic Union Bank’s workplace banking product. “From there we’re able to grow that relationship.” In the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by R&T Deposit Solutions — Huffman provides an overview of Atlantic Union’s Solutions Banking product, which brings consumer accounts into more than 2,300 small and midsize...

“Banks have long supported consumers accessing their own data, but believe it should be done in a safe and sound way that provides them with control,” says ABA VP Ryan Miller. With respect to Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act, the CFPB “has attempted to put that into place here.” In the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Intrafi — Miller provides an overview of the long-awaited Section 1033 proposed rule. In this episode, Fink also talks about: How the...

“Capital investment has surprised a great bit of our economy and the business community,” says TD Bank EVP Bill Fink. “As rates go up, how could we be having stronger capital investment?” In the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — the third in a series of conversations on the business outlook, sponsored by Intrafi — Fink discusses how the fiscal stimulus of the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, as well as state economic development packages for...

“Often, economic change occurs at this level of the economy,” says Umpqua Bank EVP Richard Cabrera about the middle market of the commercial sector. “While economic concerns still linger, there’s tremendous optimism.” The latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Intrafi — continues a series of conversations on the business outlook, following last week’s episode on the perspectives of CFOs at large corporates and the upper end of the middle market. In this episode,...

Corporate CFOs and finance leaders are “best leading indicators.” says Stephen Philipson, head of global markets and specialized finance at U.S. Bank. “They always have to be looking ahead.” On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Intrafi — Philipson discusses findings from U.S. Bank’s 2023 CFO Insights Report, among them: Large and middle-market corporate CFOs’ accelerated transition from growth mode to cost-cutting and what the slowdown in capital...

The latest incarnation of ABA’s award-winning #BanksNeverAskThat anti-phishing campaign returns for National Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by Servbank — ABA’s Amy Wertlieb talks about new resources this year, including a return of the popular scam quiz and an all-new consumer-facing site plus customizable resources in Spanish. Banks can register for free and use campaign materials all month or at any point during...

With the availability of credit card rewards at stake under the Durbin-Marshall credit card bill, bill sponsor Sen. Roger Marshall dismisses consumer concerns about their rewards. “Rewards are for rich people,” Marshall said derisively at a Capitol Hill press conference on Wednesday in response to media questions about consumers’ preferences. Facing Marshall at the press conference just happened to be nearly 50 bankers from his home state of Kansas, in D.C. for their annual Washington Visit....

Employee resource groups have become an important part of diversity, equity and inclusion strategies at larger companies. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by Servbank — two bank leaders explore how the ERGs provided by ABA for bankers to benefit from this kind of resource at banks that may not be large enough to host an ERG in-house. Among other topics, Latia Coleman and Krys Lassiter, who lead ABA’s Black Bankers ERG for African-American bankers and...

There’s a lot going on in the innovation space in banking. On the season seven premiere of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by Servbank — ABA SVP Brooke Ybarra provides an overview of hot issues in the fintech space, including generative AI solutions like ChatGPT. For example, she explores potential use cases for a wide range of generative AI solutions in banks as well as how generative AI can be leveraged by bad actors. Ybarra also talks about ABA’s new partnership with the...

Check fraud continues to be a growing problem for banks of all sizes — and it’s not going away anytime soon. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by Intrafi — ABA’s Paul Benda and James Hitchcock discuss how banks can enhance their defenses against check fraud, including new technologies and integration of investigative intelligence as check fraud and cyber fraud intersect in dangerous ways. Benda and Hitchcock also outline key dynamics of today’s check fraud...

Nearly 72 million Americans were covered by health savings accounts at the end of 2022, an increase of 6.5% from the year before, and HSAs are used across the income spectrum, with 75% of accountholders living in a zip code with a median household income of less than $100,000. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by Intrafi — ABA’s Kevin McKechnie and HSA expert Eric Remjeske discuss the findings of the latest ABA HSA Council/Devenir survey of HSA...

Bank partnerships with colleges and universities hold promise to help banks tackle human resources challenges: creating a pipeline of rising professionals with banking exposure, and diversifying banks’ talent bases. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by Intrafi — Tennessee Tech professor Alma Núñez and ABA SVP Jamie Beaulieu discuss how these partnerships work and how to make the most of them. Among other topics, Núñez and Beaulieu explain the shape of these...

In today’s environment of elevated interest rates and a tech sector market correction, how is the banking-as-a-service landscape shaking out? The latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by Intrafi — features a conversation with Piermont Bank’s Rodrigo Suarez on current trends in the BaaS sector (on both the bank side and the nonbank side), the BaaS business models that make the most sense and how banks can approach profitability in the BaaS space. Suarez also discusses...

The latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by Intrafi — features the winners of ABA’s Distinguished Service Awards for Risk and Compliance. Jim Bedsole, chief risk and compliance officer at BankSouth, won the 29th annual award for compliance professionals, while Joanne Campbell, EVP and chief risk officer at Camden National Bank, won the inaugural distinguished service award for risk management. Prior to receiving the awards at ABA’s Risk and Compliance Conference in...

Take a deep dive into the evolving world of transaction monitoring with Ted Sausen, an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) expert from NICE Actimize. Ted provides expert insights into the shifting AML paradigm, shedding light on recent innovations and their implications for your financial institution. Are you ready for the future of AML detection? Discover which game-changing technologies are set to transform the fight against financial crime. 

The cover story of the latest issue of the ABA Banking Journal features an unprecedentedly transparent look into what happens inside a financial institution during and after a ransomware attack. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Intrafi — Evan Sparks shares the true story of this anonymized bank and how it tackled what could have become a crippling ransomware attack. Sparks discusses: How hackers got in, the early moments after an attack happens and how...

First quarter earnings reports are done, and bank shareholder meetings are currently going on — and rarely have these activities been in the public spotlight as now in the wake of three significant bank failures. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Intrafi — ABA Banking Journal Contributing Editor Paul Davis discusses: The overall resilience seen in the banking sector’s first-quarter earnings reports. The disconnect between the health of the banking...

The CFPB’s final rule implementing Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act represents major change to how banks process and handle small business loans — taking what in many banks is a bespoke, tailored financial product and requiring a whole new way of doing business. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Intrafi — ABA SVP Kitty Ryan discusses: An overview of the Section 1071 final rule. Implementation deadlines and partial wins in extending them from the...

After years of being “FedSoon,” the Federal Reserve’s instant payment network FedNow is preparing to go live this summer. What do banks need to know in the final months before launch? On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by R&T Deposit Solutions — ABA SVP and payments expert Steve Kenneally discusses: Key implementation deadlines for FedNow in 2023. How FedNow compares to existing instant payments services like RTP and Zelle. Lessons from the FedNow pilot...

For many small business owners, the first step on the credit ladder is the hardest, and they may miss opportunities to build business credit and grow their business while relying on personal credit instead. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by R&T Deposit Solutions — Amegy Bank EVP Jevaughn Sterling talks about Zions Bancorporation’s Small Business Diversity Banking Program, organized as an “special-purpose credit program” under Equal Credit Opportunity...

How can community bank emerging leaders take initiative in innovation? The latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by R&T Deposit Solutions — features a conversation with Tim Shangle, AVP for innovation and data analytics at ChoiceOne Bank in Sparta, Michigan. Shangle, who is also vice chair of ABA’s Emerging Leaders Council, advises bankers to take small steps and explore what new technologies — say, ChatGPT — can do. Shangle also discusses his own unusual career...

The ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Intrafi — wraps up Women’s History Month with a conversation on an early Texas banking pioneer: Anna Mebus Martin (1843–1925). Museum curator Diana Vela tells the story of Martin, a German immigrant who arrived in the Lone Star State at age 14 and settled in rural west-central Texas. At the age of 35, Martin was widowed and began a long and successful career as a postmaster, storekeeper, rancher, barbed-wire entrepreneur and, ultimately, a...

Revisit the critical days of March and April 2020 in Washington on the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast. In this episode — sponsored by Intrafi — former Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria discusses his new book Shelter from the Storm: How a COVID Mortgage Meltdown Was Averted. Calabria recounts the key decisions made in designing COVID-19 forbearance policies for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac-owned mortgages and how he tried to avoid problems experienced...

After the fallout from the Silicon Valley Bank failure, the ABA Washington Summit is one of the most important events to hear from the banking policymakers shaping the response — including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and all “big four” in Congress: Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Ranking Member Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) and Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-Calif.). On the latest episode of the...