Banking with Interest

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...

Senate negotiators have started talking again on a crypto market structure bill after a breakdown in discussions earlier this year. Does the bill have momentum? Brendan Pedersen, the financial services reporter for Punchbowl News, breaks down the latest around the legislation, what it means for banks, and whether bank efforts to close loopholes around stablecoins paying interest have a chance of p...

As the government shutdown drags on, the Treasury Department fired the entire staff of the CDFI Fund, a program with substantial bipartisan support. Dennis Ammann, CEO of People's Bank, a CDFI in Mississippi, and Jeannine Jacokes, CEO of the Community Development Bankers Association, discuss the impact on CDFIs nationwide and why it has alarmed lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. 

Aaron Klein, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, explains how the Supreme Court is likely to react to President Trump's efforts to fire Fed Gov. Lisa Cook, and what it means for the central bank's future as well as monetary policy. Klein also details how crypto is fighting banks' attempt to prevent stablecoins from paying interest or rewards.

More than two dozen bills dedicated to Making Community Banks Great Again have passed House Financial Services Committee. Panel Chair French Hill handicaps which will have the most impact and what is most likely to be enacted. He also discusses the latest on the crypto market structure bill, how regulators can help banks in the fight against fraud, where the payments sector will be in five years,...

Nathan McCauley, Cofounder and CEO of Anchorage Digital, discusses how his institution obtained the first OCC digital trust charter five years ago, how it has changed his business, and why other crypto firms are rushing to apply for the same charter now. He also discusses stablecoins vs. crypto, and the changing attitudes around debanking.

Alex Johnson, founder and publisher of FinTech Takes, sorts through what happens now that Congress has passed a new law to regulate stablecoins. Will stablecoins take over finance, and if so, are they a bigger threat to banks or money market mutual funds? What are the use cases for stablecoins vs. tokenized deposits? Can big banks beat stablecoin issuers at their own game?   

Victoria Guida, economics correspondent and columnist for Politico, talks about President Trump's reported decision – and then quick reversal – of a move last week to oust Jerome Powell as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. She goes behind the scenes on what the president is telling allies, how GOP lawmakers view the situation, and why firing Powell might not solve Trump's central concerns.

Crypto firms often pitch themselves as an alternative to and the future of traditional finance. So why are firms like Ripple, Circle, Wise and Erebor attempting to charter banks? Penny Crosman, executive editor for technology at American Banker, talks about what's going on, how regulators will view these applications, and whether banks plan to fight back. 

Todd Phillips, assistant professor at Georgia State University's Robinson College of Business, discusses the latest attempt to merge bank regulatory agencies and what that means for efforts in this area. He also discusses reported discussions by Walmart and Amazon to start stablecoins, and the potential impact on banks.

Tom Halpin, the regional head of North America Global Payment Solutions for HSBC, talks about how AI and new technologies are changing domestic and global payments—and what that means both for his bank and the industry. He also tackles where AI can help (or hurt), the status of the FedNow roll out, and concerns around CBDCs and stablecoins.

Kiah Haslett, banking and fintech editor for Bank Director and FinXTech, talks about how Wall Street giants like Bank of America and community-focused lenders are training their teams to be savvy AI users. She also shares insights about an upcoming FinXTech report on why community banks need a comprehensive data strategy, and federal regulators' decision to abandon reputation risk as a potential t...

While serving in the Oklahoma National Guard, Jill Castilla returned home to find a family member had stolen her money. The bank refused to give her the money back. Decades later, she now leads that bank, Citizens Bank of Edmond, and has used it to launch a digital bank aimed at servicemembers to ensure others don't suffer the same fate. She also talks about the policy challenges facing community...

Sam Sutton, the author of Politico's Morning Money, discusses the impact of the Trump Administration's recent deal to reduce tariffs on China, and what Wall Street and bankers were worried about — publicly and privately — at last week's Milken Institute gathering.