The Banker Next Door

Episode 258: How is CECL performing?

This episode examines a recent PCBB blog post titled “How has CECL adoption affected credit loss allowance levels?” The Current Expected Credit Loss or CECL methodology has been implemented by all banks for managing their Allowance of Credit Losses (ACL). How is this relatively new methodology performing compared to how banks historically managed loan loss reserves or loan loss provisions? What are the differences between small and large banks? A link to the blog post is included below.
Link: How Has CECL Adoption Affected Credit Loss Allowance Levels?

Episode 257: How was loan demand and business activity in 3Q 2024?

This episode examines the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Business Leaders Survey for October 2024. We also examine an article from S&P Global (subscription required) titled “Q3 bank reports to show weak loan growth and modest deposit improvement.” Business activity remained steady in the Northeast section of the U.S. for the third quarter of 2024. Loan demand remained weak in the third quarter of 2024. A link to the FRBNY Business Leaders Survey is provided below.
Link: Business Leaders Survey

Episode 256: Crypto fraud is growing! (Crypto Series Part XI)

This episode examines a recent blog post from PCBB titled “Crypto Fraud is growing rapidly.” The blog posts looks at the different types of crypto fraud including investment scams, call center fraud, romance, and cryptocurrency kiosks. Who are the likeliest targets by age, state, and country. Finally, the blog post offers six tips on how to avoid getting scammed. A link to the blog post is included below.
Link: Crypto Fraud Is Growing Rapidly

Episode 255: ICBA Advocacy in Action update for 4Q 2024

This episode examines the Independent Community Bankers Association (ICBA) Advocacy in Action update for the 4th quarter of 2024. What are the main regulatory issues the banking industry is currently facing? How could the proposed legislation affect consumers and businesses? A link to the PDF document is provided below.
Link: top-issues-2024.pdf

Episode 254: Update on banking industry ratios and interest rate risk

This episode examines several articles from Bank Director and S&P Global to provide an update on U.S. banking industry ratios, which include efficiency ratio, net interest margin, ROAA, ROAE, and interest rate risk. We try to get an idea of how the industry is performing overall and what headwinds could be on the horizon. The S&P Global article requires a subscription. A link is provided below for the Bank Director article.
Link: Banking: an Industry (Partially) at Risk   | Bank Director

BND: Strategy Room 10-25-2024

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 253: Social Security Benefits received COLA adjustment, was it enough?

This episode examines several articles from Investopedia, which address the recent cost of living adjustment (COLA) to social security benefits. Was the adjustment enough for retirees? In addition, we look at the Social Security Administration website and an example of the Social Security online statement. Links to both Investopedia articles, the Social Security Administration website, and the online statement and provided below.  
Link: Social Security Benefits Were Adjusted This Week. One Expert Said It May Not Be Enough
Link: Social Security's 2.5% Boost: What Enrollees Need to Know Now
Link: Your Social Security Statement
Link: Online Services | SSA

Episode 252: Review of ICBA's check fraud detection guide

This episode examines the Independent Community Bankers Association (ICBA) new check fraud detection guide. The guide provides solutions available to community banks for detecting instances of check fraud. The guide covers technology solutions, such as software and federal government systems, and operational mechanisms, such as check cashing limits and new account reviews. A link to the guide is provided below.
Link: Check Fraud: A Practical Guide to Altered, Forged, and Counterfeit Checks for Community Bankers

Episode 251: The rise of Private Credit!

This episode examines the rise of Private Credit. Private Credit has become big business on Wall Street, and they are now looking to offload this risk onto retail investors.  What is Private Credit? How did it start? Why is wall street trying to offload these loans through ETF, Mutual Funds, and Bond transactions? Can they do that? This all seems eerily familiar, like we saw this movie in 2007-2009. Anyone remember the movie the Big Short? Links to several articles are included below.  
Link: Wall Street Races to Bring Private Credit to the Masses - WSJ
Link: Private Credit vs. Private Equity: What's the Difference?

Episode 250: OpenAI wants to become a for-profit organization, how does that work?

This episode examines the case of OpenAI as it wants to change from a nonprofit company into a for profit company. OpenAI started as a nonprofit organization in 2015 that wanted to responsibly develop AI as an open-source platform. That all changed in 2019 when the company formed a for profit arm that developed ChatGPT. OpenAI is now valued at $156 billion. It also just completed a $6.6 billion fundraising round. It has two years to turn itself into a for profit company. There remain many legal and ethical hurdles in transforming this company. Links to several articles are included below.  
Link: OpenAI’s Complex Path to Becoming a For-Profit Company - WSJ
Link: OpenAI Nearly Doubles Valuation to $157 Billion in Funding Round - WSJ