The Banker Next Door

Episode 418: Interview with former Fed Governor Dr. Thomas Hoenig

The Lords of Easy Money series continues with an exclusive interview with Dr. Thomas Hoenig. Dr. Hoenig is the former Governor of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank and Vice-Chairman of the FDIC. Dr. Hoenig is the main character in the book The Lords of Easy Money by Christopher Leonard. Dr. Hoenig became famous for his dissenting votes during FOMC meetings in 2010 along with his warnings about prolonged easy money policy.

Episode 417: Review of Bank Director 2025 Compensation & Talent Survey

This episode examines an article from Bank Director titled “2025 Compensation & Talent Survey: Powering the C-Suite” and the Bank Director 2025 Compensation & Talent Survey. The Key findings from the report include measuring CEO performance, hiring plans level off, DEI programs decline, handling mishires, head count plateau, and costs continue to rise. Links to the article and report are included below.
Link: 2025 Compensation & Talent Survey: Powering the C-Suite | Bank Director
Link: 2025-Compensation-Survey.pdf

Episode 416: Review of OCC Q1 2025 Reports on Mortgage Metrics and Derivatives Activities

This episode examines two reports from the Office of the Controller of the Currency (OCC). Both reports are for the 1st quarter of 2025. The first report is “OCC Mortgage Metrics Report” and the second report is “Quarterly Report on Bank Trading and Derivatives Activities.” The Mortgage Metrics report showed 97.6% of mortgages were current and performing at the end of the quarter. The Bank Trading and Derivatives report showed cumulative trading revenue of U.S. commercial banks and savings associations was $15 billion and derivative notional amounts increased by $23.9 trillion, or 12.8% to $210.4 trillion. Links to both reports are included below.   
Link: Quarterly Report on Bank Trading and Derivatives Activities | OCC
Link: OCC Reports Mortgage Performance for First Quarter of 2025 | OCC

Episode 415: A new 'Genesis' for the Crypto Winter of 2022? (Crypto Series Part XXIII)

This is part 23 of the crypto series. In this episode we review an article from The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) titled “Crypto billionaire is accused of fraud.” Barry Silbert, one of the original crypto moguls, is being accused of fraud through his defunct company Genesis Capital. What makes this really interesting is that the creditors in the case allege that the ‘Crypto Winter of 2022’, that most believe started with two crypto tokens – TerraUSD stablecoin and the Luna Token, actually started in 2021 with Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. This case could end up rewriting the history of what ultimately caused the collapse in crypto markets in 2022.

BND: Strategy Room 6-27-2025

The Banker Next Door (BND) weekly live stream show. Strategy Room provides financial news, commentary, top stories in the business world, economic indicators, and all things banking for the week.

Episode 414: Checking up on Millionaires in the U.S.

This episode examines three articles from Investopedia. The articles are titled “How many people retire with $1 million or more in their retirement account? The number might surprise you”, “Which generation is the wealthiest in U.S. history, and why?”, and “US added over 1,000 millionaires a day last year – more than elsewhere, UBS says.” These three articles together can give us a very interesting look into what is happening with the millionaire class in the U.S. The boomers continue to be the wealthiest group of millionaires, a lot of millionaires are created each year, on paper, and yet very few people retire with $1 million+ in their retirement accounts. Links to the articles are included below.   
Link: US Added Over 1,000 Millionaires a Day Last Year—More Than Elsewhere, UBS Says
Link: Which Generation Is the Wealthiest in U.S History, and Why?
Link: How Many People Retire With $1 Million or More in Retirement Accounts? The Number Might Surprise You

Episode 413: What is your banks data strategy?

This episode examines an article from Bank Director titled “Crafting your data strategy.” The article considers how advancements in technology can enable community banks to unlock greater labor efficiency, new revenue opportunities and create better risk management. This all depends on the bank’s data strategy. The article considers potential ‘blind spots’ in your data strategy, advances in technology, and the need to get started now. What is your bank’s data strategy? A link to the article is included below.
Link: Crafting Your Data Strategy | Bank Director

Episode 412: What is the impact of stopping penny production?

This episode examines a blog post from PCBB titled “The impact of halting penny production.” As a result of high production costs, the US Mint will discontinue printing pennies in 2026. What does this mean for banks, businesses, and consumers? Banks may see adjustments serving cash-based businesses and coin inventory changes. Businesses may need to change their marketing strategies and how they price certain items. Consumers could see a disproportionate impact on unbanked and low-income families. A link to the blog post is included below.
Link: The Impact of Halting Penny Production

Episode 411: AI update

This episode examines a series of AI related articles from The Wall Street Journal and Epoch Times (Subscriptions required). The articles primarily cover AI related developments with Meta and OpenAI. Meta is seeking to fully automate ad creation using AI and is teaming up with Anduril to develop combat VR headsets for the Army. OpenAI has committed to developing a gigantic data center with the U.A.E., former Apple designer, Jony Ive, has been brought in to develop new products, they announced the release of an AI companion device next year, the company has abandoned plans for a for-profit conversion, and their relationship with Microsoft is deteriorating quickly. One article is examined that pushes back on the current narrative that AI is on the verge of superintelligence. Finally, an article on Anthropic’s AI model and how it threatened engineers with blackmail to avoid shutdown!

Episode 410: Crypto legislation, crypto kidnappings, and more! (Crypto Series Part XXII)

This is part 22 of the crypto series. In this episode we review all the latest news in the crypto world. Genius Act passes the U.S. Senate. Shares of Coinbase and Circle ride high. Stablecoin legislation could juice demand for Treasury’s. Walmart and Amazon may create their own stablecoins. Various companies are investing in crypto. DOJ seizes record $225 million in Pig Butchering scams. JPMorgan to launch a deposit token. Celsius’s Mashinsky gets 12-year prison sentence. Cryptocurrency holders are becoming the targets of abductions, beatings, and kidnappings!