ABA Banking Journal Podcast
Bank executive insights, unique business strategies, regulatory updates from D.C., and fun banking stories—all this and more on the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, brought to you weekly by the American Bankers Association's award-winning podcast team.
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Are credit unions overspending on marketing?
07/26/2024
Are credit unions overspending on marketing?
Consumers everywhere see and hear credit union marketing campaigns, from to big stadium and Super Bowl sponsorship deals. In fact, according to a from ABA’s Dan Brown and Robert Flock, credit unions spend more than double what comparable banks do on marketing as a percentage of net income. But why do credit unions, which serve members from defined fields of membership, spend so much? On the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, Brown and Flock break down the legislative and regulatory history of fields of membership and how the average credit union has more than doubled its “potential membership” since new rules were finalized in 2015, using their taxpayer subsidy to fuel growth via marketing rather than lower rates and costs for their members.
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M&A outlook with Paul Davis
07/18/2024
M&A outlook with Paul Davis
At the midpoint of the year, what’s the M&A outlook like for community banks? On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, ABA Banking Journal Contributing Editor Paul Davis discusses what he’s seeing with mergers and acquisitions and what to expect for the remainder of 2024. Davis, the founder of newsletter, also discusses what he’s hearing from banks about succession planning and talent and talks about budget forecasting, an area the for 2025.
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Understanding how monetary policy shapes SOFR
07/11/2024
Understanding how monetary policy shapes SOFR
On this episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, ABA economist Jeff Huther discusses recent dynamics with the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, the “world’s most important number.” Huther delves into topics in his his , exploring how quantitative tightening has pushed SOFR toward the upper end of the Federal Open Market Committee’s rate target range, the effects of monetary policy mechanisms like the Overnight Reverse Repo Facility, and how banks and other SOFR users can manage volatility that may emerge in the rate.
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Banking and the American founding era
07/02/2024
Banking and the American founding era
To mark Independence Day this week, this classic replay episode of the ABA Banking Journal explores the role of banking and finance in the American Revolution and the founding era. John Steele Gordon is an acclaimed economic historian whose books include Hamilton’s Blessing, The Great Game and An Empire of Wealth; he is also the ABA Banking Journal’s “” columnist. In this episode, Gordon discusses: How not having any chartered banks prior to 1782 put the United States at a disadvantage during the Revolution. Conversely, how the Bank of England was a “secret weapon” for Britain during the war. The role of patriotic financiers like Robert Morris in achieving U.S. victory. The debates over a central bank in the post-revolutionary period and how they contributed to the development of the Constitution.
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What the C-suite needs to know about redlining enforcement
06/27/2024
What the C-suite needs to know about redlining enforcement
“We’re seeing banks that have never been scrutinized before for redlining and being told that they have risk that they have not before and risk in ways that they’ve never really viewed it before,” says Andrea Mitchell. “We’re in some new territory, and I think it’s important for CEOs to understand what their compliance officers and legal departments are seeing on the ground.” In the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by — Andrea Mitchell, a top fair lending attorney, reviews the latest trends in redlining enforcement. She reviews cases brought by the Justice Department, the importance of screening programs, planning for entering new markets, the role of peer analyses in managing redlining risk and the effects of redlining enforcement on M&A activity. Mitchell also discusses the intersection of DOJ enforcement and prudential supervision, noting that “if your regulator thinks you’re doing very well, even in in terms of minority market lending, and is relying on your CRA rating, there’s nothing that prevents HUD or DOJ or other agencies from scrutinizing you.”
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A bank CEO’s front-seat view of risk, survival and recovery
06/21/2024
A bank CEO’s front-seat view of risk, survival and recovery
Brent Beardall thinks bankers need to be more comfortable with risk. “We’re not out there taking crazy risk, but my point is don’t be afraid to fail,” says the president and CEO of WaFd Bank, based in tech-focused Seattle. “If you’re going to fail: fail quickly, fail small. That’s the two requirements I have, because if you’re not failing, you’re not trying hard enough.” In the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by — Beardall discusses technology experiments that didn’t work, and those that did. He discusses the bank’s tech lab subsidiary Archway Software and its combined voice- and phone-based authentication for wire transfers. Beardall discusses WaFd’s commercial real estate portfolio, which he notes is majority “stabilized multifamily, which is the safest asset class that we or any bank can make.” Office buildings — the most distressed CRE asset class — account for just 4% of WaFd’s portfolio, Beardall says, noting that beyond the office headlines. Finally, Beardall talks about his remarkable personal story of in early 2023. “You’re flying on a jet airplane to go to the Rose Bowl, and all of a sudden you go from being pretty good to fighting for your life and you realize just how vulnerable you are and how precious life is because it can change in a heartbeat,” he says. “People that I competed with, bankers that I would compete with, they set it all aside and said, “Let’s focus on helping each other.’ We have a lot more in common than we have in terms of differences, and let’s give equal weight to what we have in common and work together for the collective good.”
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Building successful careers in bank risk and compliance (part 2)
06/14/2024
Building successful careers in bank risk and compliance (part 2)
“I need people who understand technology and the business more than I need people who understand compliance,” says Greg Imm, who recently retired as chief compliance officer at M&T Bank. “I can teach them compliance. I cannot teach them technology. We are paying much more attention on what is going on in technology that never existed five, six years ago.” The latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by — features part two of a two-part conversation with Imm and David Kelly, retiring chief risk officer at Denver-based FirstBank. At in Seattle, Kelly was awarded the Distinguished Service Award for Risk, and Imm was honored with the Distinguished Service Award for Compliance. In part two, Kelly and Imm discuss the role of technology in the compliance and risk disciplines, how they hire and coach talent, and their involvement with ABA and other professional development providers over their careers. This episode is presented by . Listen to of this conversation.
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Building successful careers in bank risk and compliance (part 1)
06/12/2024
Building successful careers in bank risk and compliance (part 1)
In a time of heightened regulatory risk and business challenges, “that’s where the risk professionals become very important,” says David Kelly, CERP, who recently retired as chief risk officer at Denver-based FirstBank. “Those relationships across business lines, because the risk will flow across those business lines, and getting stakeholders together to have those conversations.” The latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by — features part one of a two-part conversation with Kelly and Greg Imm, the retired chief compliance officer at M&T Bank and Fifth Third Bank. At in Seattle, Kelly was awarded the Distinguished Service Award for Risk, and Imm was honored with the Distinguished Service Award for Compliance. In part one, Kelly and Imm discuss their experience across different institutions — Kelly spent most of his career at FirstBank, while Imm worked at numerous large and regional banks as well as the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. They also discuss the evolving role of technology in risk and compliance professionals and how soft skills contribute to risk and compliance career development. This episode is presented by .
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Pathward’s road to innovation in financial inclusion
06/06/2024
Pathward’s road to innovation in financial inclusion
On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by — Anthony Sharett, president of Pathward N.A., discusses how his FDIC-insured bank works alongside depository institutions to expand offerings that enhance financial inclusion and reach the unbanked. Sharett discusses Pathward’s reloadable co-branded prepaid card business — which can help a bank offer a — as well as its gift card business line. Sharett discusses how Pathward uses a design thinking approach to work with its bank clients to “co-create” products. “There are lots of banks out there that are providing valuable services to customers, providing solutions, providing products that they need, but is there a gap?” He also talks about new areas where Pathward is branching out, including commercial finance solutions like merchant services, and working capital. “As we think about financial inclusion and financial education and bringing people through that journey of creditworthiness, we are excited about the credit builder product for small and midsize businesses, which are really those entrepreneurs that are the backbone of how we just expand commerce in the United States,” he says. During the conversation, Sharett also talks about his own background in bank leadership as an attorney who rose up the ranks on the risk and compliance side of banking, and he discusses how Pathward, formerly known as Metabank, developed its new brand when it to newly renamed Meta Platforms. This episode is presented by .
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Maximizing business, client value from SBA loan programs
05/10/2024
Maximizing business, client value from SBA loan programs
What’s new with Small Business Administration lending this year, and how can bankers maximize the value of the SBA loan guaranty programs? On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by — Erik Daniels of U.S. Bank, the nation’s fourth-largest SBA originator by number of loans, talks about how U.S. Bank builds SBA into its overall business banking strategy. Daniels highlights the role of SBA lending in making efficient use of capital, mitigating risk, providing more tailored solutions to businesses and driving Community Reinvestment Act impact. He also talks about the value the bank gets out of making SBA loans as a portfolio lender, “which gives our customers great opportunity with rate structure, modifications, any flexibility down the road. . . . Being a portfolio owner gives us the optionality to help them in any way that we can to make their experience a good one.” Daniels also discusses anticipated changes to SBA programs in 2024 and 2025, and he shares insights on the small business outlook from U.S. Bank clients and survey research. This episode is presented by .
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Is it time to kill the paper check?
05/03/2024
Is it time to kill the paper check?
Checks have become so marginal that the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Payment Choice relegates them to a category of “other,” which, along with prepaid cards and money orders accounted for less than 9 percent of all payments in 2022. But checks aren’t entirely dead, with 11.2 billion still written in the U.S. in 2021. Meanwhile, their use by criminals as a vector of fraud has shot up. Which raises the question: The paper check won’t die. Is it time to kill it? This episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by — sets out to answer that question, with the help of top bankers and experts in the payment space.
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How a Georgia community bank engaged employees at 3X the national rate
04/18/2024
How a Georgia community bank engaged employees at 3X the national rate
According to , just 30 percent of American workers are engaged in their work. The rest are described as disengaged, with 17 percent actively disengaged, “which means they are literally trying to sabotage the organization,” notes Neil Stevens, president and CEO of Oconee State Bank in Oconee, Georgia. “Gallup also says that if you have a 70 percent or higher engagement score, you’re 23 percent more profitable than those with lower engagement scores. So engaged teams truly, in my mind, lead to healthier cultures, better customer retention.” On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by — Stevens discusses his approach to cultivating a bank where engagement scores have climbed to 89 percent, triple the national average. Stevens works to build this culture through a framework called that emphasizes loving, equipping, affirming and developing (“LEAD”ing) team members. Among other topics on the show, Stevens discusses the role of love in bank management, the importance of active listening and how an environment of healthy affirmation actually allows leaders to hold their teams to higher standards. Hear Stevens discuss bank culture and employee engagement at the , Oct. 27-29 in New York City.
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Tackling big goals for Financial Literacy Month
04/12/2024
Tackling big goals for Financial Literacy Month
For Financial Literacy Month in April, the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by — features a conversation on how banks are engaging their communities with financial education. The ABA Foundation’s Kelsey Havemann discusses a brand-new K-2 curriculum launching soon, and Lindsay Torrico talks about the Foundation’s to help five million people get on the path to financial prosperity. from the ABA Foundation.
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The CEO view from Main Street
04/05/2024
The CEO view from Main Street
What’s the CEO-eye view on the U.S. economy, business conditions and the regulatory environment for banks? This week’s episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by — features a conversation with ABA’s Peter Cook and four bank CEOs from across the country. In the conversation, they discuss local economic conditions in their markets, how the “regulatory tsunami” is affecting banks of all sizes, the commercial real estate outlook, what they’re most excited for in the future of banking and more.
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The Points Guy on why credit card rewards matter
03/26/2024
The Points Guy on why credit card rewards matter
“These rewards are more than just Amex, Chase, Citi,” says Brian Kelly, founder of the popular travel site . “Well over half of Americans have some form of rewards, often through their community banks — and to a lot of people, cash back rewards.” This bonus episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by — features a conversation with Kelly and ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols from ABA’s Washington Summit. In this episode, Kelly discusses his personal story of getting involved with reward travel, his opposition to efforts to cap interchange or impose routing mandates on credit cards and the value that all kinds of consumers get out of card rewards. Read more about .
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Understanding the emerging bank M&A policy landscape
03/22/2024
Understanding the emerging bank M&A policy landscape
The banking agencies and the Justice Department are shifting how they assess and review bank mergers and acquisitions. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by — ABA SVP Hu Benton discusses what bankers need to know about potential deals and offers amid the wave of policy changes. Among other topics, Benton explores: The Justice Department’s of bank merger guidelines The FDIC’s on mergers. How mergers among national banks and federal thrifts. How bank mergers fit into the Biden administration and executive agencies’ broader approach to antitrust considerations. to help banks assess their readiness for a transaction. Access ““ This episode is presented by .
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An NFL-player-turned-banker helping today's student athletes
03/15/2024
An NFL-player-turned-banker helping today's student athletes
Forget Tom Brady: Most professional athletes don’t play well into their 40s. “You play football for three to four years,” says Brandon Ghee. “And then the next thing you know you’re 25, 26. You’re looking to pursue a career and you go from making $750,000 a year to $50,000. These guys and girls have a problem with the transition [in]how they’re spending during their careers.” Athletes make a lot of big financial decisions at fairly young ages. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by — Ghee, a community banker and former NFL cornerback, discusses how Cogent Bank’s sports and entertainment vertical comes alongside to help with this transition. In addition to traditional financial services, the bank offers specialized education on investing and financial decision-making as well as referrals to key service providers. Ghee also discusses the fast-growing wave of highly compensated athletes amid the rollout of NCAA permission for name, image and likeness marketing deals and why student-athletes and their families need support and engagement from banks. Access .
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‘Building the organization around exceptional talent’
03/08/2024
‘Building the organization around exceptional talent’
First Horizon Bank, a regional bank based in Memphis, Tennessee, offers some eye-catching numbers on the bank’s gender balance: Women make up 62 percent of its executive team, 54 percent of its top 1,200 corporate managers and 33 percent of its board of directors. To mark International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by — features three top executives from First Horizon discussing how the bank built an inclusive culture. For Beth Ardoin, chief communications officer, it’s less about focusing on women per se and more focusing on “how do we build the organization around exceptional talent, no matter who you are, where you came from?” Hope Dmuchowski, First Horizon’s CFO, adds that for “our top talent, whether they’re female, male or diverse, we’re making sure they have lots of opportunities for lots of people that see how talented they are.” Ardoin, Dmuchowski and Erin Pryor, chief marketing and experience officer, also discuss the role of sponsorship, allyship and in creating a culture that allows women to showcase their excellent work. “Great work always speaks for itself,” says Pryor. “How do you take those who are doing great work and helping to lift them up and to lift the women who are doing great work in the organization and amplify them?” Resources: Access from ABA. Register for the , July 17, 2024. Listen to First Horizon’s .
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The commercial real estate state of play
03/02/2024
The commercial real estate state of play
On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by — ABA’s Dan Brown and Sharon Whitaker discuss community bank exposures to commercial real estate and how community banks are managing shifts in the CRE sector. They also dispel imprecise narratives about the state of CRE. “There is a lot of ,” says Brown. There are going to be some challenges for sure. But at the same time, too, though, there’s going to be a lot of resilience. A lot of these loans are very conservatively underwritten. I think a lot of banks would be in a very good position no matter what may come in the future.” This episode is presented by .
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How the ‘apolitical’ Fed moves during presidential elections
02/23/2024
How the ‘apolitical’ Fed moves during presidential elections
If the past has any predictive power, rate-watchers may want to discount the chance of significant rate movements this election year. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, ABA VP Jeff Huther summarizes his analysis of Federal Open Market Committee actions during presidential elections, showing that in rare circumstances — well-telegraphed technical movements from a low base or during crisis moments like 2008 — the FOMC has generally refrained from taking action that could be perceived as political. Huther discusses what this means for the 2024 interest rate outlook.
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How flexible is your core? A new tool to help assess
02/16/2024
How flexible is your core? A new tool to help assess
“We’re really focused on increasing competition and innovation in the core provider landscape,” says ABA Chair Kristiane Koontz. “We want to make sure that people know core conversions are an option, and we want to help make that easier and less risky for banks to undertake. But in many cases, a core conversion may not be the right path.” On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, the host catches up with Koontz at the to discuss the committee’s on core resilience and competition, as well as the committee’s plans for 2024. The show also features past chair D.J. Seeterlin of Chesapeake Bank on the committee’s newly released , a tool to help banks identify what the need to power their strategies.
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Reducing the friction in banking
02/09/2024
Reducing the friction in banking
Sometimes there are good reasons for friction in the banking experience: to stop fraud, to comply with laws. But sometimes the friction is a result of legacy tech — and legacy thinking. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, Anne Tangen, a bank IT expert-turned-CEO at BankFive in Fall River, Massachusetts, talks about BankFive’s efforts to reduce friction in the account opening process, as well as her work to smooth the path for talented women in the community bank C-suite. Tangen also discusses her own career experience working at banks of all sizes and how BankFive is embracing its mutual identity and investing in growth. Connect with peers on these issues at the , March 17 in Washington, D.C.
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Getting the GSEs’ transition to new credit scores right
01/31/2024
Getting the GSEs’ transition to new credit scores right
The multiyear effort to required by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continues to move forward, and mortgage lenders, credit officers and compliance professionals need to know the latest developments. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, ABA VP Sharon Whitaker provides an update. Among other topics, Whitaker discusses: The operational challenges of moving from today’s tri-merge system to merging just two credit reports. How FICO 10T and VantageScore 4.0 differ from credit scores in use today. Why rushing the transition might be counterproductive to the initiative’s . The role of core platforms and other technology vendors in supporting the transition. What may happen in the Federal Housing Finance Agency makes the change but the Federal Housing Administration, Veterans Administration and others don’t. Why on how the new credit scoring models would perform, and how banks can get involved in . **** Learn more about the credit score transition at the , April 15-17 in Savannah, Georgia. Contact to join ABA’s working group on the issue.
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MDI status helps a mutual bank supercharge its strategy
01/22/2024
MDI status helps a mutual bank supercharge its strategy
Late in 2023, Warsaw Federal — a $71 million mutual savings and loan in Cincinnati — was officially designated as a minority depository institution. The move to MDI status is part of the 130-year-old bank’s pivot to serving its community more deeply while building its capital base to support growth. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, President and CEO Robie Suggs discusses the bank’s strategy. Among other topics, Suggs discusses: Why and how Warsaw Federal sought and obtained MDI status, and how it helps the bank meet the needs of the Price Hill community of Cincinnati. The role of the bank in serving in Price Hill. Warsaw Federal’s use of tier 1 mutual capital certificates. How Warsaw Federal is supported through its affiliation with . Her own journey as a banker and community and economic development executive. Join mutual bank peers at the March 17-18 in Washington, D.C.
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How Esquire Bank reaches an audience that thinks it doesn’t need to be convinced
01/12/2024
How Esquire Bank reaches an audience that thinks it doesn’t need to be convinced
Last week, the ABA Banking Journal Podcast featured , a nationwide bank with a focus on law firm banking. On the second part of this two-part series, the podcast welcomes Kyall Mai, chief innovation officer, to discuss how the bank reaches this niche market. With the goal of getting lawyers (“who are often very difficult to convince,” he notes) to switch banks, Mai emphasizes the need for content marketing, data and top-shelf technology. Mai discusses Esquire Bank’s content marketing site, , which has a unique value proposition of educating attorneys on the business side of running a law firm successfully. He explores how LawyerIQ’s AI-driven tailored content helps the bank generate leads in a niche market. He also talks about the bank’s use of Salesforce platforms and other technology services to compete for business.
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How Esquire Bank carved out a profitable niche serving law firms
01/05/2024
How Esquire Bank carved out a profitable niche serving law firms
Esquire Bank has found a strategy that turns the typical ratio of business client loans to deposits on its head. Through its nationwide vertical of services for law firms, Esquire Bank brings in roughly $1.80 in core deposits for every dollar lent. On the first ABA Banking Journal Podcast episode of 2024, Andrew Sagliocca — president, CEO and vice chairman of Long Island-based Esquire Bank — discusses the bank’s unique niche in serving the litigation sector, including the complex financing its clients require, and how the bank developed its strategy to meet these firms’ needs. Sagliocca also discusses the bank’s merchant services solutions and how they fit into the bank’s strategy.
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What the OCC’s latest report may reveal about 2024 priorities
12/17/2023
What the OCC’s latest report may reveal about 2024 priorities
On the final ABA Banking Journal Podcast episode of 2023 — sponsored by — John Vivian of Patomak Global Partners and ABA EVP Hugh Carney discuss the OCC’s latest , . Both past veterans of the OCC, Vivian and Carney explore the agency’s findings — including the way credit risk and leapfrogged liquidity risk over the course of the year and the OCC’s concerns on artificial intelligence, among other topics — and what they portend for bank supervision in 2024.
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The bank policy outlook for 2024
12/08/2023
The bank policy outlook for 2024
From the Basel III endgame to Regulation II to new Community Reinvestment Act and Section 1071, 2023 has delivered a regulatory onslaught for the industry. How are bankers navigating the waves of overlapping changes? On this episode, Gary Shook, chair of ABA’s Government Relations Council, reflects on the council’s recent meeting and offers perspectives on how banks can navigate the policy environment. Shook also highlights areas where ABA is looking to press gains on its positive agenda, including the SAFER Banking Act, the ACRE Act and financial inclusion. And as president and CEO of Community Bankers’ Bank in Virginia, Shook discusses the role of bankers’ banks in today’s landscape, including helping the industry transition to new payment platforms like FedNow.
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How wealth managers can help families navigate difficult transitions
12/01/2023
How wealth managers can help families navigate difficult transitions
For high-net-worth clients, generational transitions can be fraught moments — implicating business ownership sales, control transfers, tax situations, philanthropic decisions and of course family dynamics. On the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by — Todd Brockwell, president of 1900 Wealth, offers strategies for bankers and wealth managers to help their clients navigate these transitions. A veteran of family offices in central Texas, Brockwell discusses how bankers and wealth managers can effectively approach generational dynamics and difficult conversations. He also emphasizes the importance of education, especially for young people in these families. Brockwell offers practical examples of how wealth managers can add value in family transitions. He also discusses the business model of 1900 Wealth and how it interacts with its “old school” parent, Jefferson Bank, a community bank in San Antonio. , Feb. 21-23 in New Orleans.
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Do joint bank accounts improve couples’ relationships?
11/17/2023
Do joint bank accounts improve couples’ relationships?
For new couples, does the decision of how to organize their finances — separate accounts, a joint account or a blend of the two — matter? On the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by — Indiana University marketing professor Jenny Olson discusses that provides an answer. Olson and her colleagues randomly assigned new couples to one of three conditions for a two-year period: using only separate accounts, using a joint account only or to a third group that received no instructions about the kind of accounts to use. Couples in the no-instruction group and the separate account group saw declines in relationship quality during the experiment, couples with joint accounts were “buffered” against the declines otherwise expected, she says. “Because we randomly assigned couples, we can take better steps toward understanding causality,” Olson says. “Our results really do suggest that having a joint bank account improves relationship quality.” While every couple’s financial needs are unique and separate accounts may be what’s needed in many situations, Olson discusses implications of the research for how bankers and wealth managers approach financial planning conversations with clients. by Olson et al. in the Journal of Consumer Research.
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