The Banker Next Door

Fifth Third Bancorp buys Comerica in big $10.9B bank M&A deal

Fifth Third Bancorp has agreed to purchase Comerica for $10.9 billion. This is the largest bank M&A transaction since 2021 and one of the largest bank deals since 2009, being over $10 billion in value. This episode examines multiple articles from S&P Global Market Intelligence (subscription required). As the bank M&A market is heating up, strategies are also forming for regional banks like PNC as they try to solidify specific markets in the U.S. In addition, this episode provides an update on the overall bank M&A market and the global M&A market.    

BND: Strategy Room Bonus - Charlie Javice Sentenced!

Charlie Javice was found guilty of defrauding JPMorgan Chase on the sale of her company Frank. Charlie was sentenced to 7 years in prison and is required to pay JPMorgan Chase over $400 million for both the company and their legal fees.

First Brands Group files for bankruptcy! Private Credit Market in trouble?

First Brands Group filed for bankruptcy with $2.3 billion missing and a criminal investigation being started. First Brands Group is the second major failure in the auto industry within the last month following the bankruptcy of Tricolor Holdings. Both companies are tied to the Private Credit Market. First Brands Group appears to have committed major fraud and, like Tricolor Holdings, is pulling in a list of major banks including Blackrock, Carlyle, UBS, Cantor Fitzgerald, Jefferies, etc. Are these the first dominos in the collapse of the Private Credit Market? This episode examines a series of articles from The Epoch Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Baron’s, and CNBC.   

BND: Strategy Room 10-11-2025

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.

Fitch Ratings warns about systemic shock to Private Credit!

Here we go again! Another warning about Private Credit, this time from Fitch Ratings. According to their resent research, a shock to the financial system that impacts the Private Credit sector could create a large systemic problem for a wide range of investors and lenders (i.e. Hedge Funds, Private Equity Funds, and Banks). In this episode we review two articles from Fitch Ratings titled “Private Credit’s growing complexity untested through market cycles” and “Systemic shock could expose Private Credit’s broad reach, growing risk.” Links to both articles are included below.  
Link:  Private Credit’s Growing Complexity Untested Through Market Cycles
Link: Systemic Shock Could Expose Private Credit’s Broad Reach, Growing Risk

Is AI profitable Part 4: McKinsey Beyond the Hype

Companies are beginning to realize a hard truth about AI, namely that making a significant investment building flashy AI prototypes is easy, but creating measurable business value (i.e. a profit) is not! 80% of companies report using the latest GenAI and the same percentage have reported no significant gains in topline or bottom-line performance. This is according to a new report from McKinsey titled “Beyond the Hype: Unlocking Value from the AI Revolution.” This report details four common pain points and offers three case studies with potential strategies to help improve ROI. This is Part 4 in a 4-part series on AI profitability. A link to the McKinsey report is included below.  
Link: Generative AI has ignited a wave of enthusiasm and investment. | McKinsey

Is AI profitable Part 3: McKinsey Superagency in the Workplace

While nearly all companies are investing in AI, only 1 percent of leaders call their companies “mature” on the development spectrum. This is according to a report from McKinsey titled “Superagency in the Workplace: Empowering people to unlock AI’s full potential.” The report states that the long-term AI opportunity is $4.4 trillion in added productivity growth potential, but the short-term returns are unclear (or put another way NONEXISTENT!). This report dumps the blame for this weak performance on leaders. They are not steering, deploying, investing, and committing fast enough. This is Part 3 of a 4-part series on AI profitability. A link to the McKinsey report is included below.
Link: superagency-in-the-workplace-empowering-people-to-unlock-ais-full-potential-v4.pdf

Is AI profitable Part 2: MIT State of AI in Business 2025

Despite investing $30-$40 billion dollars, 95% of corporations experimenting with AI have received ZERO return! This is according to a new report from MIT titled “The GenAI Divide: State of AI in Business 2025.” The outcomes are so large between buyers and builders that MIT has called this the GenAI Divide. MIT identified four patterns that define the GenAI Divide. They are 1) limited disruption, 2) enterprise paradox, 3) investment bias, and 4) implementation advantage. This is Part 2 of a 4-part series on AI profitability. A link to the MIT report is included below. 
Link:  ai_report_2025.pdf

Is AI profitable Part 1: The GenAI Paradox

AI has a deployment problem. As GenAI has experienced sky-high adoption a disconnect has grown due to a lack of bottom-line profitability. McKinsey calls this the “GenAI paradox.” Is GenAI developing according to the Gardner Hype Curve or is the technology a bust? This is what we consider in Part 1 of this 4-part series on AI profitability. This episode examines a blog post from PCBB titled “Cracking the GenAI Paradox.” In addition to considering the GenAI Paradox, this blog post offers four strategies that could help increase GenAI ROI. A link to the blog post is included below.     
Link: Cracking the GenAI Paradox

BND: Strategy Room 10-3-2025

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.