The Banker Next Door

The rise of Prediction Markets!

Polymarket and Kalshi have exploded onto the scene as ‘Prediction Markets’. These companies have found a way through a legal loophole to compete against DraftKings and FanDuel, two of the largest online gambling platforms. The popularity of Prediction Markets has caught the eye of Wall Street with companies such as Goldman Sachs and Susquehanna trying to figure out how they can trade on these new platforms. Coinbase and Robinhood are also adding Prediction Markets to their platforms as they are competing to become the ‘everything app’. Additionally, there is concern that college students and teens could be fueling the growth of Prediction Markets. This episode reviewed articles from The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and Yahoo Finance.

Tether & Kontigo in Venezuela, Bitcoin price drop, and other news (Crypto Series Part XXXIV)

This is part 34 of the crypto series. In this episode we cover three stories related to the activities of Tether and Kontigo in Venezuela and Iran. We consider the duality of stablecoin in those situations. We also examine the recent price decline in Bitcoin. What is driving the price down? In other news: Strategy might be a little underwater, Fairshake has a lot of money to spend on crypto regulation, Nexo got fined, Wyoming issued its own stablecoin, and an update on Binance. This episode reviewed articles from The Wall Street Journal, The Epoch Times, CNBC, Zero Hedge, Investopedia, and Banking Dive.

Private Credit Update

The worries on Wall Street about a Private Credit Market meltdown continue to build. BlackRock experiences another fund loss. First Brands founder Patrick James and his brother have been charged with fraud. Ford, GM and other big names in the auto industry step in to help First Brands. Higher scrutiny is being placed on Nondepository Financial Institutions (NDFIs) and Business Development Companies (BDCs). All this as investors are bailing out ‘in droves.’ This episode reviewed multiple articles from S&P Gobal, The Wall Street Journal, and CNBC.   

BND: Strategy Room Bonus - Analysis of Kevin Warsh pick as next Federal Reserve Chairman

This video is a clip from BND: Strategy Room Live Stream on January 30, 2026. President Trump announced his pick for the next Chairman of the Federal Reserve as Kevin Warsh. What is Kevin's background? Is he a good pick? Will he get through the Senate confirmation hearing? Most importantly, will he deliver? 

BND: Strategy Room 1-30-2026

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.

Are banks ready for the major deposit reforms that are coming?

Major deposit reforms are coming. There are currently three bills being considered in Congress and the Senate. They include The Keeping Deposits Local Act (H.R. 3234), The Main Street Depositor Protection Act (S. 2999), and The Community Bank Deposit Access Act (H.R. 5317). These three bills will change the way deposits are insured, transferred, and managed. This episode proposes five items that bank leadership should be considering: strategic assessment, scenario analysis, stakeholder engagement, economic impact, and implementation and guidance. This episode reviewed an article from Bank Director titled “What bankers must know about deposit reform.” A link to the article is included below.  
Link: What Bankers Must Know About Deposit Reform | Bank Director

How can banks best utilize Agentic AI?

Many financial institutions around the U.S. are already experimenting with Agentic AI. Some of the areas that are currently being worked on include fraud detection, security enhancements, efficiency, and customer service. How can banks put Agentic AI to work? This episode looks at the following potential use cases: contact center agents, processing ACH returns, loan underwriting, and money laundering monitoring. This episode examined a blog post from PCBB titled “The most promising use cases for Agentic AI in banking.” A link to the blog post is included below.
Link: The Most Promising Use Cases for Agentic AI in Banking

Fintech is coming for banking!

The competitive landscape in banking is shifting. With the influx of banking charter applications in 2025, fintech players such as PayPal are seeking to officially enter the banking space. Bank charter applications are expected to continue increasing in 2026. With fintech, digital, and crypto players all looking to get into banking. What does this ultimately mean for banks, regulators, and fintech’s? Everyone is going to have adjustments and challenges. This episode examined two articles. The first article was from Bank Director titled “PayPal is coming for banking” and the second article was from Banking dive titled “PayPal seeks bank charter”. Links to both articles are included below.  
Link: ‘PayPal Is Coming for Banking’ | Bank Director
Link: PayPal seeks bank charter | Banking Dive

Regulatory update for 1st quarter 2026

As we roll into 2026 it’s time for a regulatory update. Community bank deregulation is top on the list with 1071, Stablecoin, Reg II debit card interchange proposal, and BSA reporting. In addition, other major regulations around 1033 rule, regulatory relief legislation, ACRE implementation, GSEs, and FHLBs are considered. This episode examined ICBA’s Advocacy in Action for the 1st quarter of 2026 and an article from Independent Banker Magazine titled “Community Banking Deregulation: Preparing for policy changes in 2026”. Links to both are included below. 
Link: Advocacy In Action - ICBA.org
Link: Deregulation Ahead: Community Bank Regulatory Outlook - Independent Banker - ICBA.org

Are Dallas and Miami becoming the new Wall Street?

With the announcements of NYSE expanding in Dallas and Wells Fargo moving their wealth management HQ to Miami, what does this mean for the future of Wall Street? Since COVID, many of the largest financial firms in the U.S. have been making the move south into Texas and Florida. Given the political landscape and continued advances in technology, this trend seems certain to continue. This episode examined articles from the Epoch Times (subscription required) and Fox Business.