Podcasts

Begun in 2017 with the promise of a better approach to overdraft fees, fintech “Dave” has seen tremendous growth, including more than 10 million customers. CEO Jason Wilk talks about why Dave started by targeting overdraft, how he sees the policy debate over the controversial fees - and his ambitious plans for what’s next.

Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu talks about how his federal regulatory work during the 2008 financial crisis is informing his approach to new risks, including the explosive growth of cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and buy-now-pay-later services.

Rohit Chopra is expected to be confirmed soon as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What kind of a leader is he likely to be, and what financial activities will he target first? Kate Berry, who covers the CFPB for American Banker, breaks down how the new director will guide the agency.

Yolande Piazza, the vice president of financial services at Google Cloud, talks about why Google has no interest in being a bank, but instead wants to partner with them. She discusses the momentum behind Google Cloud, where the industry is going next, and the difference between Big Tech and big banks.

Simran Kang, cofounder and CEO of MyFO-Tech, a fintech focused on helping consumers manage their wealth, talks about her experience in creating a fintech, the challenges she faced and the vision for her company. She also discusses what it’s like as a woman entrepreneur, offering a candid view of an industry still widely seen as male-dominated.

With housing prices at all-time highs, the auto market overheating and policymakers worrying about inflation, there are plenty of concerns about the state of the economy. Sayee Srinivasan, the new chief economist of the American Bankers Association, talks through the latest data and whether banks and consumers need to be worried.

The banking industry is sitting on a record amount of deposits, but as post-pandemic life takes shape, many are arguing banks should be focused on retaining and attracting even more traditional, core deposits. Jeff Marsico, banking consultant, blogger and president of the Kafafian Group, makes the contrarian case for why building deposits makes sense in an era of high liquidity.

Sam Sidhu, incoming CEO of Customers Bancorp., explains his bank’s hybrid strategy of partnering with fintechs while also retaining a robust retail presence. Sidhu provides insights into the bank’s recent growth, its forays into block-chain based payments and AI-lending, and plans for the future.

Garry Reeder, the CEO of the newly formed American Fintech Council, discusses the big questions confronting members including the impact of a possible repeal of the OCC’s true lender rule, whether fintechs should have their own charter and if they should be subject to the Community Reinvestment Act.

Bill Briggs, a top official at the Small Business Administration during the creation and administration of the Payment Protection Program, talks about its impact, legacy and how banks and businesses can build on its momentum.

Kris Pease, chief financial officer of Cross River Bank, talks about the community bank’s unique B2B strategy, working with fintech – and fellow bank – partnerships to establish a nationwide footprint. The bank has seen tremendous growth with its plan, increasing its asset size by nearly five times to almost $10 billion by the end of last year.

The Senate voted last week to overturn the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s “true lender” rule establishing how and when national banks are considered the lender when a loan is sold. Hannah Lang and Brendan Pedersen, two reporters for American Banker, discuss the rule’s expected repeal and what it means for banks.

Ron Shevlin, managing director of fintech research at Cornerstone Advisors and a senior contributor for Forbes, predicts what’s behind Walmart’s formation of a fintech. He also discusses why many banks are further behind on digital transformation than they think and how they can better improve their customers’ financial health.

Tony Repanich, a former community banker turned cannabis compliance expert, talks about the business opportunities available for banks - as well as the potential pitfalls. He also tackles the House’s recent passage of legislation to protect banks helping legal pot firms and its prospects in the Senate.

Matthew Leising, a reporter for Bloomberg News, talks about his book “Out of the Ether,” which details a daring heist in which Internet thieves stole tens of millions of dollars worth of Ethereum. He talks about how they did it, the development of Ethereum as a cryptocurrency and what the heist says about its future.

John Ryan, the president and CEO of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, and Charlie Clark, the director of the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, discuss state bank regulators’ new effort to retire the siloed state-by-state system of financial services oversight. The new system expands state regulators’ successful mortgage licensing system to cover the entire bank as well as nonbank companies.

Scott Sanborn, CEO of LendingClub, talks in-depth about why the prominent fintech opted to buy Radius Bank earlier this year and how that move is transforming the company. He also talks about how competition will heat up in the peer-to-peer lending space as the pandemic ends.

Dominic Ng, the chairman, president and CEO of East West Bank, talks about the evolution of his institution from a small thrift serving Chinese immigrants to a regional powerhouse with a key window into China. He offers advice on how the Biden administration should approach China, as well as his views on the disturbing rise in violence and discrimination against Asian Americans.

David Andolfatto, a senior vice president in the research division at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, goes beyond the politics of the U.S. debt to tackle what it is, whether it’s a problem, and what steps policymakers should be taking now. Along the way, he challenges common assumptions about the debt level and the debate around it.

Several prominent fintechs, including Square, Varo Money, Lending Club and SoFi, have either chartered or bought banks recently. Kevin Wack, an award-winning reporter for American Banker, breaks down the different ways fintechs are trying to get into banking, how successful they are likely to be and why many bankers are so angry about it.