Banking with Interest

Brian Gardner, chief Washington policy strategist at Stifel, tackles how durable the Trump administration's fast-moving regulatory and other changes are likely to be for banks. He discusses what banks still misunderstand about Washington, why the M&A environment is improving, what Kevin Warsh's first press conference signaled, and what the midterm elections could mean for bank regulation if Democr...

Michael Bright, CEO of the Structured Finance Association and a former head of Ginnie Mae, joins the show to discuss the state of the U.S. housing finance system nearly two decades after the financial crisis. He explains why he does not think the system is fundamentally broken, what policymakers still misunderstand about the secondary mortgage market, and how issues like GSE reform, Basel III, pri...

Alex Johnson, founder of Fintech Takes , details why many banks are thinking about AI the wrong way. He updates his views on stablecoins vs. tokenized deposits, discusses why fintech competition remains a potent threat to banks and talks about why the bigger issue may be how customers use AI to make financial decisions.

Banks have fought a comprehensive effort to ensure stablecoins cannot offer yield. But the Senate Banking Committee passed a bill that the banking industry still says falls short. Does that mean banks have lost the fight? Will a crypto market structure bill pass this year? Brendan Pedersen of Punchbowl News offers insights into the current and future state of play.

Andrew Olmem, managing partner of Mayer Brown's Washington office and a former deputy director of the National Economic Council, talks about how the second Trump administration has moved much faster than the first to reshape financial regulation. He discusses why he believes bank supervision became too bureaucratic and too focused on process, how the administration is approaching capital and the F...

Richard Hunt, executive chairman of the Electronic Payments Coalition, discusses the expanding fight over interchange and why the battle is no longer centered only in Washington. He explains what is happening in states like Illinois and Colorado, why the OCC stepped in, and what could happen next in the courts and legislatures.

Nick Timiraos, chief economics correspondent at The Wall Street Journal, discusses the unusually fraught transition now underway at the Federal Reserve. He tackles why Jerome Powell's decision to stay on the board matters, what Kevin Warsh will face if he takes over as chair, and whether the future of the role may be irrevocably altered.   

Deposit strategist Neil Stanley sits down with guest host Barb Rehm to discuss how AI is changing depositor behavior, pricing strategy, and the future of bank funding. He explains why static rate sheets and traditional CDs may become increasingly vulnerable as AI tools help customers optimize their cash automatically, and why banks will need more dynamic pricing, personalization, and frontline exp...

Penny Crosman, executive editor for technology at American Banker , talks about the growing risk of "rogue AI" in banking and why generative and agentic AI have changed the stakes for the industry. She discusses how banks are trying to balance the pressure to adopt AI quickly with the need to control operational, reputational, and cyber risks, including the threat of cascading errors and increasin...

Mike Hsu, the former acting Comptroller of the Currency, explains how waiting to adopt artificial intelligence has become a risk for banks and their regulators. He discusses why AI does not fit neatly into existing risk frameworks, how agentic AI is changing the cyber threat landscape, and why both banks and supervisors need to get more hands-on with the technology.

Sam Sutton, author of Politico's Morning Money , discusses Kevin Warsh's nomination to lead the Federal Reserve and the difficult position he could find himself in almost immediately once confirmed. Sutton breaks down how the conflict with Iran, inflation risks, political pressure from President Trump and the continuing investigation into Jerome Powell are all complicating the transition in leader...

Nick Anthony, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute and a leading critic of central bank digital currencies, explains why the CBDC fight is not over even as many in Washington have turned against it. He discusses why some opponents are unhappy with the Senate's proposed ban tucked into the housing bill, why he is suing the government for a Justice Department analysis on the Fed's legal authority,...

Federal regulators released their third effort at implementing Basel III in three years, with this one taking a radically different approach to the previous two under the last administration. What does this version do and will it stick? John Heltman, Washington Bureau Chief of American Banker, breaks down what has changed, the reaction by banks, and whether we've reached the beginning of the end f...

Both the House and Senate have passed bipartisan bills designed to promote housing affordability, but the two chambers are now squaring off with each other over a final version, including whether it should include community bank regulatory relief provisions. Brendan Pedersen, financial services senior policy reporter at Punchbowl News and editor of its Vault newsletter, breaks down the debate, how...

Kathy Kraninger has seen the banking system from both sides of the regulatory divide. The former director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and now president and CEO of the Florida Bankers Association joins the show to discuss whether Washington is undergoing a regulatory "recalibration" including everything from whether banks will be required to collect citizenship information to the gr...

Brandon Milhorn, CEO of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, argues that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is pushing beyond its statutory authority in areas including trust charters, stablecoins and mortgage escrow interest. He also discusses the rise of so-called "Franken-charters" and the risks he sees in the growing stablecoin market.

The Trump administration is considering possible executive action that could require banks to begin collecting citizenship information from new and existing customers, according to a blockbuster scoop in The Wall Street Journal. Dylan Tokar, who cowrote the article for the WSJ, talks about what's behind the effort and what it means for banks. He also discusses the CFTC's battle with state governor...

Ben Hoffman, chief strategy officer and head of consumer products at Fifth Third Bank, joins the show to discuss the bank's acquisition of Comerica and what it signals about the future of super-regional banking. He explains why size alone isn't a strategy, why 2023 was less a "regional bank crisis" than a lesson in concentration risk, and how diversification and discipline shape long-term resilien...

As the Supreme Court weighs the fate of Fed Gov Lisa Cook and the Justice Department launches a criminal probe into Chair Jerome Powell, the future of the U.S. economy may well be at stake. Victoria Guida, economics correspondent and columnist at Politico, goes in depth on how the high court may rule, why the Trump administration upped the pressure on Powell, and who it may appoint as his successo...

Bowing to industry pressure, Senate Banking abruptly postponed its vote on the crypto market structure bill last week. Brendan Pedersen, senior policy reporter at Punchbowl News and editor of its Vault newsletter, details the dynamics behind the meltdown. He also discusses the odds for the Trump-led push to curb interchange fees and HFSC Chairman French Hill's efforts to pass community bank reg re...

Juan Zarate, who helped create the current anti-money laundering regime 25 years ago while working at Treasury, assesses the system's faults and the Trump Administration's push for reforms. He outlines what a better system would look like and handicaps the odds of it happening 

Julieann Thurlow, CEO of Reading Cooperative Bank, talks about the opportunities and challenges for community banks this year. She discusses the economic conditions, how community banks can innovate and where she'd like to see changes by policymakers.

As the year comes to a close, the OCC approved five crypto-related firms for new charters, a move that could have big consequences for the banking industry writ large. Ian Katz, managing partner at Capital Alpha Partners, discusses why the approvals happened, what they mean, and why banks may sue. He also tackles the other big issues of 2026 - M&A, housing, and deregulation - and makes predictions...

It's safe to say 2025 has marked a dramatic change from the Biden-era bank regulatory agenda. The Trump-appointed regulators are talking about rethinking supervision, capital, and the Fed's entire approach to liquidity. What does this mean for banks and the system overall? Karen Shaw Petrou, managing director of Federal Financial Analytics, breaks it down.  

The Trump administration is refusing to take funds to pay for ongoing operations at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, arguing the funding structure is illegal. What does this mean for the agency's future, including its recent efforts to curb the small business lending data rule and define open banking? Kate Berry of American Banker and Evan Weinberger of Bloomberg Law weigh in on what's go...