A Backdoor Way to Merge Bank Regulators?
Banking with Interest
Todd Phillips, assistant professor at Georgia State University’s Robinson College of Business, discusses the latest attempt to merge bank regulatory agencies and what that means for efforts in this area. He also discusses reported discussions by Walmart and Amazon to start stablecoins, and the potential impact on banks.
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You Say You Want a (Global Payments) Revolution
Banking with Interest
Tom Halpin, the regional head of North America Global Payment Solutions for HSBC, talks about how AI and new technologies are changing domestic and global payments—and what that means both for his bank and the industry. He also tackles where AI can help (or hurt), the status of the FedNow roll out, and concerns around CBDCs and stablecoins.
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Are Banks Really Ready for AI?
Banking with Interest
Kiah Haslett, banking and fintech editor for Bank Director and FinXTech, talks about how Wall Street giants like Bank of America and community-focused lenders are training their teams to be savvy AI users. She also shares insights about an upcoming FinXTech report on why community banks need a comprehensive data strategy, and federal regulators’ decision to abandon reputation risk as a potential threat to banks.
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After a Fraud, this Bank Refused to Give Her Money Back. Now She’s the CEO.
Banking with Interest
While serving in the Oklahoma National Guard, Jill Castilla returned home to find a family member had stolen her money. The bank refused to give her the money back. Decades later, she now leads that bank, Citizens Bank of Edmond, and has used it to launch a digital bank aimed at servicemembers to ensure others don’t suffer the same fate. She also talks about the policy challenges facing community banks right now, how to fix them, and why she remains optimistic about the future.
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Politico's Sutton on China Tariff Deal, Behind the Scenes at Milken
Banking with Interest
Sam Sutton, the author of Politico's Morning Money, discusses the impact of the Trump Administration's recent deal to reduce tariffs on China, and what Wall Street and bankers were worried about — publicly and privately — at last week's Milken Institute gathering.
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Inside Dems Surprising Turn Against the Stablecoin Bill
Banking with Interest
Brendan Pedersen, author of Punchbowl News’ The Vault, talks about why key Democrats withdrew support for a bill to regulate stablecoins, how House Financial Services Committee GOP are targeting CFPB, and why an effort to overturn the medical debt rule appears to have failed for now.
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Is This the End of the Fed and CFPB As We Know Them?
Banking with Interest
President Trump is flirting with the idea of firing Fed Chairman Jerome Powell while the administration is attempting to lay off 90% of the CFPB’s employees. John Heltman, Washington bureau chief of American Banker, and Kate Berry, the paper’s consumer reporter, discuss what’s next for these two agencies.
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How Tariffs Impact Banks, Bessent’s Ambitious Agenda & Stablecoin Fears
Banking with Interest
Jaret Seiberg, managing director at TD Cowen, talks about how the uncertain economic environment—and changing policies regarding tariffs—are impacting banks large and small. He also tackles Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s bank regulatory agenda, whether the Trump administration can successfully accomplish GSE reform and the significant risks to banks from stablecoin legislation.
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Why State Regulators Are Worried About Stablecoin Legislation
Banking with Interest
Brandon Milhorn, the CEO of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, details his concerns about bills fast-tracked in Congress that would give regulatory guardrails for stablecoins. The state regulators he represents say it would open the door to mixing banking and commerce, disintermediate banks and give too much power to the federal government.
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What the Hell Is Going on with the GSEs?
Banking with Interest
Katy O’Donnell, the financial services reporter for Politico, dives into a series of surprising moves by new FHFA Director Bill Pulte, including firing the CEO of Freddie Mac, appointing himself chair of both GSEs, and cutting programs.
info_outlineAlex Johnson, the founder and publisher of Fintech Takes, tackles several hot-button topics, including how the crypto industry’s election victories will influence the next Trump administration, and why hype around stablecoins as a replacement for banks may be misplaced. He also discusses whether banks are really engaging in debanking as a prominent venture capitalist recently claimed.