Lack of Resilience: A Mid-2026 Commercial Banking Check-In
The Purposeful Banker
Six months into 2026, pricing activity is up, but spreads are compressed, fixed-rate margins are under pressure, and deposit balances aren't growing the way banks planned. Q2's Jim Young and Anna-Fay Lohn compare the year-end State of Commercial Banking data against mid-year market reality and talk through what commercial bankers and pricing managers should be paying attention to in the second half of the year. Related Links
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Thriving Through Disruption: Digital Strategies for a Changing Market
The Purposeful Banker
Commercial banking is changing fast, and the institutions winning aren't waiting for things to settle. In this episode, recorded live at Q2's CONNECT 26 customer conference, treasury and payments leaders from Associated Bank, Columbia Bank, First Citizens Bank, and Atlantic Union Bank talk through client expectations, payments modernization, embedded banking, AI, fraud, and what a best-in-class treasury sales team looks like. Related Links
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An Inflection Point in the Fight Against Fraud
The Purposeful Banker
Fraud leaders at banks and credit unions aren't asking whether AI belongs in the fraud stack. They're asking whom they can trust to build with. Jeff Scott, Q2's managing director, Fraud Intelligence, joins the podcast to discuss what it takes to move from alert-chasing to running a full fraud intelligence operation, and why—amid all the AI momentum—human trust is more important than ever. Related Links
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What Hundreds of FI Budget Conversations Reveal About 2027
The Purposeful Banker
Budget planning shapes what actually gets done. Melissa Haire, senior vice president of Customer Success at Q2, talks through how financial institutions can move from a project-by-project mindset to a connected strategy where every dollar ties back to desired outcomes. From digital engagement and commercial growth to fraud prevention and AI investment, Melissa shares what the best-performing institutions have in common when they sit down to plan. Related Links
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Beyond the Binary: A Smarter Response to Account Takeover Risk
The Purposeful Banker
Fraud teams rarely struggle with the obvious cases. It’s the in-between moments that are hardest: a suspicious login here, a profile change there, a third-party signal that something might be off. The problem is that most account takeover defenses still force a binary choice. Lock the user out or let them through. In this episode, Q2 Product Manager Kristina Wingers joins host Jim Young to talk about why that binary approach no longer fits the reality of modern fraud, what a more proportional response looks like, and how financial institutions can buy themselves time to investigate without...
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The Hidden Cost of Banking Heroics
The Purposeful Banker
In this episode of The Purposeful Banker, Nicholas Koutouras, VP of Product Management for Q2’s Relationship Pricing and Profitability business, discusses why repeated late saves can signal deeper drift inside a bank and how disciplined banks create consistency to help teams spot issues earlier and make steadier decisions. Related Links
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More Than Another AI Conversation
The Purposeful Banker
In this episode of The Purposeful Banker, we’re sharing a conversation that goes deeper than the usual AI headlines. In a replay of Q2's new AI-focused podcast, Cut to Context, Adam Blue and Hima Mukkamala explore where AI really sits in the hype cycle, what it is changing in software development, and why human judgment, validation, and systems thinking still matter. For bankers, it’s a useful look at how AI may reshape the way financial institutions build, innovate, and compete. Related Links
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Why Discipline, Not Momentum, Drives Better Bank Performance
The Purposeful Banker
In this episode, Nick Koutouras explores what it takes to build a repeatable operating rhythm that strengthens pricing discipline, portfolio oversight, and relationship decision-making. The conversation looks at how governance drift begins, what signals leaders should watch for, and how banks can maintain consistency even when business conditions are strong. Related Links
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Bank M&A Beyond the Balance Sheet
The Purposeful Banker
As bank M&A activity picks up, the real challenge is no longer just getting the deal done. This episode explores why technology readiness, integration strategy, and customer experience now play a bigger role in determining whether a merger creates value or creates risk. Related Links
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What Bank Leaders Need to Know About Stablecoins
The Purposeful Banker
As stablecoins move from industry debate to practical planning, Alex Treece of Stablecore joins the podcast to explore what banks should be doing now to prepare responsibly and what strategic, operational, and compliance questions matter most as digital assets evolve as a payment rail. Related Links
info_outlineThis episode of The Purposeful Banker podcast is one in a series of episodes focused on better understanding Gen Z consumers and business owners. In this replay of our “Lessons in Loyalty” panel discussion, three Gen Z consumers unpack the multibank mindset, the importance of personalization, the digital-branch balance, incentives, and the role of education in trust.
Related Links:
[On-Demand Panel Replay] Lessons in Loyalty: A Live Q&A With Gen Z Consumers https://hub.q2.com/resources/col/pf/lessons-in-loyalty
[LinkedIn] Stacy Armijo https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacyarmijo/
[LinkedIn] Stuart Featherston https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuart-featherston-3170745/