The Banker Next Door

BND: Strategy Room 8-30-2025

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 458: How should your bank cultivate C-suite talent?

This episode examines an article from Bank Director titled “Two CEOs discuss how their banks cultivate C-suite talent.” This article covers an interview with two bank CEOs to get their perspectives on hiring outside the industry, evolving skills, and connecting with board members. Some of the questions asked include is it possible to hire outside of the banking industry to fill roles in the C-suite? Is it necessary? Do required skills change as the bank grows from say $1 billion to $10 billion in asset size? How do you work with the board and senior team to make sure everyone is connected and communicating? A link to the article is included below.
Link:  Two CEOs Discuss How Their Banks Cultivate C-Suite Talent | Bank Director

Episode 457: What's that you say, no one trusts IT?

This episode examines an article from Bank Director titled “In a room full of bankers, almost no one trusted their IT.” How confident is bank management that IT can turn investments into business outcomes? Turns out management is not very confident at all. There is a lack of alignment between technology decisions and business needs. Having the right leader makes all the difference. You should consider if your IT leader is a strategic planner. Bank management needs to be careful not to confuse technical talent with strategic leadership. Finally, this individual may be hard to find and retain. A link to the article is included below.
Link: In a Room Full of Bankers, Almost No One Trusted Their IT | Bank Director

Episode 456: Rise of the AI employees!

This episode examines an article from Bank Director titled “Invasion of the job snatchers: Digital bank workers have arrived” and a blog post from PCBB titled “Autonomous AI employees have arrived.” PCBB blog post discusses what is an AI worker, who is using AI workers in banking, what are the opportunities and risks, and what could be next for AI workers. The Bank Director article also discusses the use of AI workers or AI agents but considers how these ‘employees’ may take over customer communication and interactions. If this happens, how should the AI agents be supervised? In addition, the article considers if the bank’s data is ready to integrate with an AI agent. Links to both articles are included below.  
Link: Invasion of the Job Snatchers: Digital Bank Workers Have Arrived | Bank Director
Link: Autonomous AI Employees Have Arrived

Episode 455: How should your bank approach CD pricing?

This episode examines an article from Independent Banker Magazine titled “Why community banks are revamping their CD strategies.” According to the article bankers should be considering the following: CD education is key, market competitively, personal service always wins and be proactive in marketing CDs. With the increase in interest rates in recent years deposit pricing, deposit strategy, and cost of funds, should be top of mind for every banker. A link to the article is included below.  
Link: Why Community Banks Are Revamping Their CD Strategies

Episode 454: Interview with First International Bank & Trust CEO, Peter Stenehjem

This episode is an interview with First International Bank & Trust (FIBT) CEO, Peter Stenehjem. FIBT has been around since 1910 and has a rich history in North Dakota. Peter and I discuss the history of the bank, which ties in directly with the history of his family, as he is a 4th generation banker. We discuss FIBT’s strategy around banking-as-a-service and some of their key products Kotapay and Kavinu. Additionally, we discuss some of the family’s other entrepreneurial ventures and Peter’s background. A link to FIBT’s website is included below.  
Link: https://www.fibt.com/

BND: Strategy Room 8-23-2025

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 453: Crypto Bros Gone Wild! (Crypto Series Part XXVIII)

This is part 28 of the crypto series. In this episode we review an article from The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) titled “Tequila, Drugs, and Torture: The spending binge of two crypto bros that ended behind bars.” This episode is the story of two crypto bros, William Duplessie and John Woeltz, who started out with large dreams of making it big in the business world only to have everything devolve into an alleged kidnapping scheme. Join me for an entertaining story that is sure to become a Netflix documentary!

Episode 452: How can your bank get more out of its tech spending?

This episode examines an article from Independent Banker Magazine titled “Is your bank overspending on tech?” How is your bank doing with its tech spending? This article lays out recommendations on how your bank can better control and get more out of its tech budget. Recommendations include 1) Address overlapping spending, 2) Avoid the pitfalls of unfit software, 3) Conduct a software audit, 4) Dedicate a team to oversee this work, and 5) Innovate intelligently. A link to the article is included below.
Link: Is Your Bank Overspending on Tech?

Episode 451: Update to CECL could really help bank M&A!

This episode reviews an article from Bank Director titled “CECL update eases the math for M&A.” One of the problems with M&A transactions is called the CECL double count. This is where an acquiring bank must make additional provisions for non-purchased credit-deteriorated loans (loans that have not experienced credit loss). A buyer must set aside EXTRA capital to cover expected losses on loans, in addition to the credit loss expectations that have already been allocated, thus the double count. With FASB removing this requirement, depending on the size of the deal, and your bank’s capital position, this change could really help M&A transactions. A link to the article is included below.  
Link: CECL Update Eases the Math for M&A | Bank Director