Episodes
Matt Pieniazek, president of Darling Consulting, and Dave Koch, managing director of advisory services with Abrigo, discuss strategies for banks to navigate the challenging deposit market as the Fed nears the end of its rate hike cycle. Will the Fed raise rates again, how long will rates stay high and how best can banks prepare?
Published 09/26/23
Jonathan Gould, partner with Jones Day and a former general counsel of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, makes a case that the federal banking agencies are increasingly pushing the envelope even as courts become more skeptical of their powers. He also discusses the dangers of focusing too much on the safety of individual institutions at the expense of the overall risk to the system. 
Published 09/19/23
Kevin Fromer, president and CEO of the Financial Services Forum, details why the big banks are pushing back vigorously against a new proposal to raise capital at the largest institutions by 20%, arguing it is unnecessary and could cost the U.S. economy at a critical time.
Published 09/12/23
Steven Kelly, associate director of research at the Yale Program on Financial Stability, pushes back on multiple narratives about why SVB failed and what policymakers should do to prevent another collapse like it. He also weighs in on federal regulators’ new capital proposal and the battle over stablecoin regulation.
Published 07/26/23
Aaron Klein, senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, talks about why he is skeptical of the impact of FedNow, the central bank’s instant payment system due to launch this week.
Published 07/19/23
Sean Tuffy, former head of market and regulatory intelligence at Citigroup, talks about how the changing dynamics at Twitter may impact bank policy and media narratives. He also discusses crypto and stablecoin legislation, money market mutual fund reform, and the lessons of Silicon Valley Bank’s failure.
Published 07/12/23
John Heltman, Washington Bureau Chief of American Banker, talks about federal regulators’ pending proposal to raise capital on banks with more than $100 billion of assets. He tackles how that fits into the overall Basel capital plan, how banks and Republicans are planning to fight back, and what kind of impact it could have on bank lending.
Published 06/28/23
 Tim Wennes, the CEO of Santander US, talks about the future of regional banks, including the potential for higher capital requirements and a possible credit crunch. He also weighs in on fears around commercial real estate, why the bank is expanding its auto lending business, and how it is targeting the next generation of bank customers. 
Published 06/13/23
Lindsey Johnson, who started last summer as the head of the Consumer Bankers Association, discusses how policymakers are reacting to the recent banking turmoil, why the CFPB’s credit card late fee proposal will harm consumers, and whether regulators will allow more M&A.
Published 06/06/23
Last week saw a remarkable number of Capitol Hill hearings on the bank policy front, with multiple sessions featuring top bank regulators and the former chief executives of three failed banks. Claire Williams and Kyle Campbell, reporters with American Banker, offer their takeaways and remaining questions from these hearings, including what comes next from lawmakers and regulators.
Published 05/23/23
Greg Baer, the president and CEO of the Bank Policy Institute, takes issue with claims that S. 2155 played a role in the collapse of three regional banks. He also tackles what areas policymakers should look at, whether Congress is likely to enact any legislative changes directed at banks, and why the CFPB is off base when it comes to its proposal targeting credit card late fees.
Published 05/17/23
John Blizzard, CEO of Seattle Bank, talks about his experiences after the recent regional bank failures and the lack of concern by customers. He also discusses the nationwide launch of CD Valet, which allows consumers unbiased access to the best CD interest rates.
Published 05/09/23
John Heltman, Washington Bureau Chief of American Banker, tackles the many policy questions resulting from the failure of First Republic Bank. He also discusses three regulatory reports examining two failures in March—and another report detailing how the FDIC wants to revamp deposit insurance.
Published 05/02/23
Mark Calabria, the former director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, offers his take on recent criticisms that the Federal Home Loan Banks have gone too far outside their mission—and what he would do to address them.
Published 04/25/23
Richard Hunt, the former head of the Consumer Bankers Association, and Jaret Seiberg, managing director of Washington Research Group with TD Cowen, return to the show to discuss the post-SVB bank policy world. Is the crisis over? Will Congress enact new legislation and what will it target? What banks are now considered too big to fail?
Published 04/18/23
Claire Williams, the Capitol Hill reporter for American Banker and Brendan Pedersen, the banking reporter for PunchBowl News, offer their takeaways from back-to-back hearings on the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. They discuss what lawmakers were focused on and how regulators responded as well as preview potential regulatory and legislative changes ahead.
Published 03/30/23
Mark Calabria, former director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and author of the new book Shelter from the Storm, talks about why he resisted calls to bailout mortgage servicers during the pandemic, and how he knew their predictions of another mortgage crisis were overblown.
Published 03/16/23
Emily Flitter, finance reporter for the New York Times, tackles the big questions stemming from the extraordinary actions taken by regulators on Sunday. Is this a bailout? Is there another banking crisis in the offing? What are the potential costs to banks? Will they face Dodd-Frank 2.0?
Published 03/14/23
Victoria Guida, economic policy reporter for Politico, dives into what Fed officials are trying to tell markets—and why markets don’t always appear to be taking the hint. She also tackles the latest names up to be the new Fed vice chair and whether Treasury secretly wants to create a central bank digital currency.
Published 03/07/23
Bankers nationwide are experiencing heightened competition for deposits as consumers increasingly recognize their ability to shop for the best rate. Neil Stanley, founder and CEO of The CorePoint, discusses the best strategies banks can use to keep their existing deposits and attract new ones.
Published 02/28/23
Kevin Wack, national editor for American Banker, talks about his multi-part series examining the phony-accounts scandal at Wells Fargo, how he persuaded a former key executive there to provide previously unknown details about what happened, and what other institutions can learn.
Published 02/14/23
The CFPB surprised the banking industry last week by proposing to limit credit card late fees to $8, a much lower figure than most expected. Ian Katz, managing director of Capital Alpha Partners and a former Bloomberg reporter, discusses what other specifics are in the plan, how the industry is reacting, and how the issue is likely to play out this year.
Published 02/07/23
While the Federal Housing Finance Agency conducts a historic review of the Federal Home Loan Banks’ mission, several critics are questioning whether the housing government-sponsored enterprises have lost sight of their original purpose. Karen Shaw Petrou, managing partner of Federal Financial Analytics details the controversy, and how the FHLBs should be reformed.
Published 01/31/23
Bill Briggs, a key architect of the Paycheck Protection Program, talks about his just-announced role as the CEO of the Banking as a Service Association, a group representing banks that partner with fintechs to allow them to offer financial services. He discusses the need for a new set of best practices and how he believes the model is here for good despite enhanced regulatory scrutiny of bank-fintech partnerships.
Published 01/24/23
H. Rodgin Cohen, the senior chair of Sullivan & Cromwell and one of the country’s preeminent bank lawyers, talks about how heightened regulatory scrutiny of M&A is impacting the industry, whether some banks are “too big to manage,” the Fed’s plans to raise capital, and the dire need for crypto regulations.
Published 01/17/23