Barefoot Innovation Podcast

Discrimination in the credit markets is a persistent problem. Lisa Rice, head of the National Fair Housing Alliance, says we can solve it if we understand the role of structured, hidden bias, and use new technology to root it out.

Following the Federal Housing Finance Agency's Velocity TechSprint, the official leading the agency's conservatorship and fintech strategies joins Jo Ann to discuss all the ways the mortgage market is ripe for a technology overhaul. 

Most agencies focus largely on how technology affects the industries they oversee, but the U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority's innovation approach is also inward-focused. Jessica Rusu and Nathalie Lowe, two leaders driving the FCA's strategy, discuss the regulator's achievements.

Jesse Van Tol, CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, joins Jo Ann for a discussion on the upsides and downsides of technologies designed to expand access to homeownership and small business capital.

Banka helps lead the World Bank's initiative to make payments interoperable and fast. In this episode, he discusses the launch of Project FASTT, the principles that make fast payments work and how to meet key financial inclusion goals.

Hand, the Director of Financial Fairness Advocacy at Consumer Reports, leads the magazine's initiative to evaluate new fintech products to give customers greater awareness of the rapidly changing financial services market. The ratings system could be a game-changer for pricing and product development.

It has been quite a ride since our first episode in 2015. Over more than eight years, this show helped mark AIR's founding, unpacked what the pandemic and other events meant for financial regulation, and hosted so many enlightening discussions about disruptive technology.

In this episode, Jo Ann interviews the most famous generative AI. The chat is "unsmart" but it gave responses to complex questions that were accurate and displayed the ability to grasp subtle issues.

The head of the Bank for International Settlements' innovation initiative offers insight on ways that central banks and other regulatory organizations can boldly explore technological change.

Tillemann, Chief Policy Officer of Haun Ventures, shares his views about the crypto winter and how the confluence of blockchain, open source and digital tokens could solve stubborn problems.

The Bank for International Settlements, which ensures payment systems work, has prioritized technology. Tara Rice, who heads the BIS Secretariat of the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures, discusses CPMI's stablecoin guidance and more.

Kyle Hauptman, vice chairman of the National Credit Union Administration, comes on the show to discuss how his agency encourages credit unions to take steps to stay relevant in the digital era.

The question of how to expand access and ensure fairness for people of color deals with finding the right balance of regulation, technology and traditional finance. Two leaders on this issue speak with Jo Ann about finding the best answers.

In this episode, Jo Ann speaks with innovation leaders at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Haimera Workie and Alex Khachaturian, about a new tool to help transform financial regulation and compliance.

Todd Harper is the first head of the National Credit Union Administration appointed after serving in the agency's own ranks. His conversation with Jo Ann touches on the NCUA's new innovation office, and the technology pressures and opportunities facing credit unions.

The first 2023 episode is Jo Ann's discussion with Simon Taylor, Head of Strategy at the anti-fraud tech firm Sardine. He weighs in on crypto's "massive fraud problem," and the pros and cons of building trust through decentralization and code.

Rathi heads the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority, which has raced ahead of other agencies in recognizing the importance of digital transformation. He sits down with Jo Ann for a wide-ranging discussion on the FCA's sandbox initiative, why the 'G' (for Governance) in ESG matters, and how the agency aspires to be a "data-driven regulator."

Ravi Menon, the managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, has charted a bold course on regulatory innovation, inventing new models that are being emulated throughout the world.

Ramaswamy, the Chief Legal Officer of Andreessen Horowitz, speaks to Jo Ann about the World Wide Web's evolution and how version 3.0 aims to improve on earlier shortcomings through blockchain technology, tokenization and smart contracts.

Guerra leads compliance work at the five-year-old B2B platform enabling financial firms to offer crypto services. He says tech innovation challenges the assumption that compliance efforts are not aligned with business goals.

Young speaks to Jo Ann about the alliance that she leads and how its innovative members are building the bridge from traditional compliance to digitized solutions.

Renaud Laplanche, the CEO and co-founder of Upgrade, explains how the company aims to create a healthier credit card by converting debt into an installment loan with zero fees. 

The first appointee to lead the Federal Reserve's innovation office is focused on modernizing the technology of the central bank itself. Her goal is to bring the agency into the 21st century, and to keep it up-to-date as change accelerates.

Renier, a veteran of both the Treasury and the Fed and now managing director of digital finance at the Institute of International Finance, speaks with Jo Ann about the recent correction in the crypto markets and the need for regulators to hone new digital tools to get ahead of the curve.

David Foss runs one of three core processors that small financial institutions rely on for tech services. He and Jo Ann discuss community banks' tough times, how cores can help clients compete and the need for small banks to "plug in" to vendors.