Podcasts

Lindsey Johnson, who started last summer as the head of the Consumer Bankers Association, discusses how policymakers are reacting to the recent banking turmoil, why the CFPB’s credit card late fee proposal will harm consumers, and whether regulators will allow more M&A.

Last week saw a remarkable number of Capitol Hill hearings on the bank policy front, with multiple sessions featuring top bank regulators and the former chief executives of three failed banks. Claire Williams and Kyle Campbell, reporters with American Banker, offer their takeaways and remaining questions from these hearings, including what comes next from lawmakers and regulators.

Greg Baer, the president and CEO of the Bank Policy Institute, takes issue with claims that S. 2155 played a role in the collapse of three regional banks. He also tackles what areas policymakers should look at, whether Congress is likely to enact any legislative changes directed at banks, and why the CFPB is off base when it comes to its proposal targeting credit card late fees.

John Blizzard, CEO of Seattle Bank, talks about his experiences after the recent regional bank failures and the lack of concern by customers. He also discusses the nationwide launch of CD Valet, which allows consumers unbiased access to the best CD interest rates.

John Heltman, Washington Bureau Chief of American Banker, tackles the many policy questions resulting from the failure of First Republic Bank. He also discusses three regulatory reports examining two failures in March—and another report detailing how the FDIC wants to revamp deposit insurance.

Mark Calabria, the former director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, offers his take on recent criticisms that the Federal Home Loan Banks have gone too far outside their mission—and what he would do to address them.

Claire Williams, the Capitol Hill reporter for American Banker and Brendan Pedersen, the banking reporter for PunchBowl News, offer their takeaways from back-to-back hearings on the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. They discuss what lawmakers were focused on and how regulators responded as well as preview potential regulatory and legislative changes ahead.

Mark Calabria, former director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and author of the new book Shelter from the Storm, talks about why he resisted calls to bailout mortgage servicers during the pandemic, and how he knew their predictions of another mortgage crisis were overblown.

Mark Calabria, former director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and author of the new book Shelter from the Storm, talks about why he resisted calls to bailout mortgage servicers during the pandemic, and how he knew their predictions of another mortgage crisis were overblown.

Emily Flitter, finance reporter for the New York Times, tackles the big questions stemming from the extraordinary actions taken by regulators on Sunday. Is this a bailout? Is there another banking crisis in the offing? What are the potential costs to banks? Will they face Dodd-Frank 2.0?

Victoria Guida, economic policy reporter for Politico, dives into what Fed officials are trying to tell markets - and why markets don’t always appear to be taking the hint. She also tackles the latest names up to be the new Fed vice chair and whether Treasury secretly wants to create a central bank digital currency.

Bankers nationwide are experiencing heightened competition for deposits as consumers increasingly recognize their ability to shop for the best rate. Neil Stanley, founder and CEO of The CorePoint, discusses the best strategies banks can use to keep their existing deposits and attract new ones.

Kevin Wack, national editor for American Banker, talks about his multi-part series examining the phony-accounts scandal at Wells Fargo, how he persuaded a former key executive there to provide previously unknown details about what happened, and what other institutions can learn.

The CFPB surprised the banking industry last week by proposing to limit credit card late fees to $8, a much lower figure than most expected. Ian Katz, managing director of Capital Alpha Partners and a former Bloomberg reporter, discusses what other specifics are in the plan, how the industry is reacting, and how the issue is likely to play out this year.

While the Federal Housing Finance Agency conducts a historic review of the Federal Home Loan Banks’ mission, several critics are questioning whether the housing government-sponsored enterprises have lost sight of their original purpose. Karen Shaw Petrou, managing partner of Federal Financial Analytics details the controversy, and how the FHLBs should be reformed.

Bill Briggs, a key architect of the Paycheck Protection Program, talks about his just-announced role as the CEO of the Banking as a Service Association, a group representing banks that partner with fintechs to allow them to offer financial services. He discusses the need for a new set of best practices and how he believes the model is here for good despite enhanced regulatory scrutiny of bank-fintech partnerships.

H. Rodgin Cohen, the senior chair of Sullivan & Cromwell and one of the country’s preeminent bank lawyers, talks about how heightened regulatory scrutiny of M&A is impacting the industry, whether some banks are “too big to manage,” the Fed’s plans to raise capital, and the dire need for crypto regulations.

Polite disagreement is overrated. Richard Hunt, the former CEO of the Consumer Bankers Association, and Jaret Seiberg, a top bank analyst with Cowen Washington Research Group, spar (and sometimes agree) over several critical topics in financial services. That includes pending Fed changes to capital standards, Zelle alterations, FedNow, CRA reform, FTX's fallout, CFPB’s future, pot banking and much more.

The Fed is proposing to name all nonbank companies that apply for - and ultimately receive - a master account with the central bank. Kyle Campbell, the Fed reporter for American Banker, goes through why this issue matters to banks, how it connects to both a lawsuit and possible legislation, and where it’s going next.

Eugene Ludwig, the former Comptroller of the Currency who led the last successful effort to reform the Community Reinvestment Act, details why the current proposal by regulators needs to be reproposed. He also tackles how banks should be evaluating their fintech partnerships in light of supervisory scrutiny, and how he sees the fintech sector as a managing partner at venture capital fund Canapi Ventures.