The Banker Next Door

Episode 336: CFO roundtable discussion

This episode examines an article from Independent Banker Magazine titled “CFO roundtable 2024: Preparation, Diligence, and Perspective.” This CFO roundtable took place in August of 2024 and asked the panelists six questions around various topics, which included CECL, interest rate risk, shifting role of the CFO, credit risk, bank earnings, and technology. This article is great because it provides strong insight into how bank CFO’s feel about the current environment. A link to the article is included below.  
Link:  Independent Banker - August 2024 [42 - 43]

Episode 335: How to combat the rising cost of small business lending?

This episode examines a recent blog post from PCBB titled “The rising cost of small business borrowing: How CFIs can help.” Lending right now for small businesses is difficult. Higher interest rates, inflation, and tighter regulations are making it tough to borrow money. What can banks do to combat these issues and continue providing the capital and help that small business owners need? A link to the blog post is included below.
Link: The Rising Cost of Small Business Borrowing: How CFIs Can Help

Episode 334: Review of FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile for Q4 2024

This episode examines the FDIC’s Quarterly Banking Profile for Q4 2024. How did banks perform overall for the 4th quarter of 2024? How did community banks perform in the 4th quarter of 2024? How is the deposit insurance fund (DIF) performing? A link to the report is included below.  
Link: FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile - Fourth Quarter 2024

Episode 333: Are "super billionaires" driving the economy?

This episode examines two recent articles from The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) titled “The U.S. economy depends more than ever on rich people” and “Meet the world’s 24 super billionaires.” As the wealth gap continues to increase, consumption in the American economy continues to rely more and more on the spending of the ultra-rich. Is this sustainable?  

Episode 332: Does the CFPB have a future?

This episode examines a recent article from Bank Director titled “Chaos consumes CFPB, causing uncertainty” and recent reporting from CNBC. The CFPB was effectively shut down a few weeks ago when acting director Russell Vought took over. All legal cases and regulatory rules were halted upon further review. The CFPB has 1,700 employees but is only required to have a few hundred by law. Will the CFPB be shut down completely, reduced to a very small regulator, or just get streamlined to be more efficient? Links to the Bank Director article and CNBC reporting are included below.  
Link: Chaos Consumes CFPB, Causing Uncertainty | Bank Director
Link: CFPB leaders and Elon Musk DOGE planned to fire nearly all staff

BND: Strategy Room 3-1-2025

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 331: Is data the key to enhancing customer relationships?

This episode examines a recent article from Independent Banker magazine titled “Is data the key to enhancing bank customer relationships?” How successful are banks at personalization, outreach, and differentiation? Certain types of data such as conversation data from social media, websites, and marketing platforms may help to answer this question. What other forms of data could also play a significant role in shaping your bank’s marketing strategy? A link to the article is included below.
Link:  Is Data the Key to Enhancing Bank Customer Relationships?

Episode 330: Is your bank ready for the ISO 20022 transition?

This episode examines two articles related to ISO 20022. The first is an article from ICBA titled “Countdown to ISO 20022: Key steps for community banks to ensure a smooth Fedwire transition.” The second is a blog from PCBB titled “ISO 20022 Transition Extended: How to Take Advantage.” Both articles review what ISO 20022 is, why banks need to adapt and upgrade their systems, and what the timeline is for implementation. ISO 20022 is a global messaging standard designed to improve payment efficiency, regulatory compliance, and data transparency. Links to both articles are included below.
Link: ISO® 20022 Transition Extended: How to Take Advantage
Link: Countdown to ISO 20022: Key Steps for Community Banks to Ensure a Smooth Fedwire Transition

Episode 329: Review of Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey for January 2025

This episode examines the Federal Reserve Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey (SLOOS) for 2025. The SLOOS is done to provide qualitative and quantitative information on credit availability and demand, as well as on evolving developments and lending practices in the U.S. loan market. How is loan demand? What is going on in the current lending market? A link to the report is included below.  
Link: The Fed - The January 2025 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices

Episode 328: Let's talk about the stigma of the discount window!

This episode examines a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York titled “Can Discount Window Stigma Be Cured? An Experimental Investigation.” This paper was originally released in May 2024. The researchers conducted an experiment to see if forced regular use of the Fed’s discount window by banks would eliminate the ‘stigma’ of banks utilizing a line of credit from the lender of last resort. Does the theory work? Why is there even a ‘stigma’ to using a line of credit from the Fed? Links to the report and to Episode 216 on the discount window are included below.
Link: sr1103.pdf
Link: Episode 216: What is the discount window and how do banks get access?Podbean - https://joeberq.podbean.com/e/episode-216-what-is-the-discount-window-and-how-do-banks-get-access/?token=97c4d48bcb7971b7ea951603225d2e1b