Episodes
Minority banks play a critical role in serving communities that have historically lacked access to credit and capital. In this episode, we meet two bankers—one from a small minority bank and the other from a large global financial institution. Together, they discuss the power of their partnership to make certain the banking system works for everyone.
Published 04/18/24
Published 04/18/24
Community banks have long gained a reputation for being successful based on their deep roots in the communities they serve. But in an age of digital banking and online payment systems, what does success even look like for community banks in 2024 and beyond?
Published 03/05/24
Nobody wants to think about failure but in the banking world, planning for an orderly failure of a large bank can be crucial in preventing taxpayer-funded bailouts or widespread disruptions to the financial system. In this episode, Ryan Tetrick, the FDIC’s Deputy Director of Resolution Readiness, discusses “living wills,” a popular term to describe a plan for when a large bank fails.
Published 01/11/24
Following two large bank failures earlier this year, the FDIC began to examine possible options for reforming its deposit insurance framework. In this episode, we examine three options for deposit insurance reform with FDIC senior economists Jonathan Pogach and Rosalind Bennett.
Published 12/13/23
In an age when most people access banking through digital channels, is there a future for old-school relationship lending?  In this episode, we discuss whether the explosion of financial technology spells the end of human-to-human banking.
Published 01/24/23
Banking in rural America can be a very different experience than banking in cities and suburbs. In this episode, we speak with Donna Gambrell who leads Appalachian Community Capital and Kent Curtis of First Southwest Community Bank in rural Colorado. Together, they describe the unique banking needs for those who live and work in less populated areas across our country.
Published 01/06/23
In the second in our two-part podcast series, FDIC’s Chief of Deposit Insurance Martin Becker returns to discuss the risks consumers need to keep in mind when it comes to deposit insurance—from companies that misrepresent their products as ‘FDIC-insured’ to legitimate firms offering pass-through deposit insurance coverage.
Published 11/29/22
96 percent of all U.S. households had at least one bank or credit union account in 2021 and the percentage of unbanked households fell to a record low. FDIC Analysts Keith Ernst and Karyen Chu describe the findings of the FDIC’s 2021 National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households and the work being done to bring more people into the financial fabric of our nation.
Published 10/26/22
Federal deposit insurance is at the heart of FDIC’s mission. But who is protected and what products are covered by deposit insurance? FDIC’s Chief of Deposit Insurance Martin Becker answers some of the frequently asked questions about what deposit insurance is…and what it isn’t.
Published 08/17/22
In the banking world, risk is a fact of life. Identifying and managing those risks are critical functions of bankers and bank regulators alike. But what are the risks to our banks? In our latest episode of the FDIC Podcast, we break down the potential challenges for the banking system —from rising interest rates and inflation to cyber threats, illicit activity and climate-related risks. We invite you to listen as FDIC researchers Kathy Kalser and Krishna Patel discuss the new 2022 Risk...
Published 07/21/22
In the history of  our country, minority banks were created to serve people and places that were denied access to the mainstream banking system. Today, these banks are still making a big impact in communities of color. Nicole Elam of the National Bankers Association and economists Karyen Chu and Kristen Broady discuss how these institutions are ‘punching above their weight’ in 2022.
Published 06/17/22
In this episode of the FDIC Podcast, we look at banking in Indian Country with two bankers who lead Native-owned and operated institutions and who work and lend in communities, where if not for these banks, there may not be a bank at all —Tom Ogaard of Native American Bank and Susan Plumb of Bank of Cherokee County.
Published 05/18/22
In this episode of the FDIC Podcast, we look back on 2021 to see how our nation’s banks fared in a year that was still very much impacted a global pandemic and its economic consequences. FDIC senior financial analysts Pat Mitchell and Meg Hanrahan break down the latest annual report card on the condition of the U.S. banking system.
Published 03/08/22
In the first episode ofour new series, Banking on Inclusion, the FDIC’s Betty Rudolph and Nicole Elam of the National Bankers Association explore the world of Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). These ‘mission-driven banks’ play an outsized role in the economic life of the communities they serve.
Published 02/15/22
In this episode of the FDIC Podcast, we sit down for a final time with departing Chairman Jelena McWilliams to reflect upon her tenure leading the FDIC during a challenging time for our financial system.
Published 02/03/22
With the explosion of financial technology in the marketplace, how can we make certain that as our banking system adopts these new technologies, it remains inclusive and accessible to everyone, including the UN-banked? In this episode, FDIC Chief Innovation Officer Sultan Meghji discusses the ‘fairness of Fintech’ with Chris Brummer, director of Georgetown University's Institute of International Economic Law.
Published 01/27/22
In an increasingly digital world, how can banks make certain their customers are who they say they are? FDIC Chief Innovation Officer Sultan Meghji discusses how the FDIC and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) are working to improve digital identification, reduce identity-related crime, and preserve confidence in the digital banking environment.
Published 01/12/22
Born in a small Texas town, Arleas Upton Kea came to the FDIC nearly 40 years ago as a young attorney and rose through the agency’s senior ranks in good times and during moments of crisis.  Meet Arleas and her incredible legacy of public service.
Published 12/15/21
In our post-pandemic world, will there be lasting impacts to the commercial real estate sector? The FDIC’s Bob DiChara joins three community bankers who examine of how commercial real estate is trending where they are —John Buran, Flushing Bank in Uniondale, New York; Jim Edwards, United Bank in Griffin, Georgia; and Joanne Kim, Commonwealth Business Bank in Los Angeles.
Published 11/17/21
All across our nation, minority banks and community development financial institutions work and lend in lower income communities where, if not for these banks, there would be no banking presence at all. FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams recently launched a first-of-its kind investment fund to support these banks. It’s called the Mission-Driven Bank Fund. In this episode, Chairman McWilliams speaks with two of the Fund’s anchor investors—Microsoft’s Anita Mehra and Truist Financial Corporation...
Published 11/04/21
In an age when technology is changing our lives in so many ways, the FDIC Podcast looks ahead into the not too distant future to imagine how quantum computing may open a new frontier in how our banks operate. FDIC Chief Innovation Officer Sultan Meghji is joined by three of the nation’s leading minds in quantum computing from Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering: Dr. Jimmie Lenz,  Dr. Jungsang Kim and Dr. Chris Monroe.
Published 10/21/21
In part two of this special episode of the FDIC Podcast, we continue our historical look back on the financial crises that shaped how our banking and financial systems operate today.  Art Murton, Deputy to the Chairman for Financial Stability, picks up where we left off in part one —the collapse of the nation’s savings and loans in the 1980s.
Published 09/23/21
In a two-part episode of the FDIC Podcast, we take a trip down memory lane to recall some of the recent (and not so recent) financial crises, how we recovered from those disruption, and what that means for us today.  In his more than 35 years at the FDIC, Art Murton, Deputy to the Chairman for Financial Stability,  has seen it all. Since joining the agency as an economist in 1986, Art has had a front row seat for all the ups and downs in the banking and financial sectors.
Published 09/09/21
When it comes to malicious cyber attacks against our financial system, how prepared are our nation’s banks? FDIC Chief Innovation Officer Sultan Meghji sits down with Tim Maurer, Senior Counselor for Cybersecurity and Emerging Technology at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Together, they discuss what banks must do to defend themselves and how should they plan for recovering from these attacks should they occur?
Published 08/19/21