The Banker Next Door

This is part 25 of the crypto series. In this episode we review recently signed crypto regulation The Genius Act and two additional bills, JPMorgan and the other big banks want to get involved with Stablecoin, Ether jumps into the spotlight, Stock Tokenization is not all it is made out to be, and we consider if crypto is bad for the government deficit?

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.

This is part 24 of the crypto series. In this episode we review multiple crypto related articles. This week was dubbed ‘Crypto Week’ by the U.S. Congress because of 3 crypto bills that are being reviewed. The Genius Act is scheduled to come up for a vote this week in the house of representatives. In other news, Bitcoin flies to a new all-time high, OmegaPro is charged with crypto fraud, BNY Mellon...

This episode examines an article from Cornerstone Advisors titled “You don’t need a Chime marketing budget to make smart marketing investments.” Now that Chime has become a publicly traded company, they have released numbers around their marketing budget. For the first time, we can compare what banks and credit unions are spending on marketing compared to one of the fastest growing fintechs. While...

This episode examines a series of articles on ‘Stock Tokens’. What is stock tokenization? Is it a real investment? Is it a real asset? Robinhood stirred a lot of conversation over the last week by rolling out stock tokens to their customers in Europe. The two companies they are focusing on are OpenAI and SpaceX. OpenAI immediately came out and said they gave no permission to Robinhood to issue a s...

This episode is an interview with Rob Titterington, a bank recruiter with Highland Consulting Group. Rob and I discuss the current landscape of artificial intelligence and how it is affecting financial services. We cover job applications, hiring, AI skills, will jobs go away, potential job augmentation and increased capacity caused by AI. A link to Highland Consulting Group’s website is included b...

This episode is an interview with Jim McCarthy founder of McCarthyHatch. McCarthyHatch is at the forefront of innovation in the consumer financial industry, driven by their groundbreaking FSAi technology. Jim and I discuss the business, his background, how the company aids their clients in real-time risk prediction, the FSAi technology, and what the current regulatory landscape looks like. A link...

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.

This episode is a book review for John Jacob Astor and The First Great American Fortune by Alexander Emmerich. This biography traces Astor’s rise from a German immigrant to the wealthiest man in American. The first modern ‘millionaire’. Astor created the template for what we now think of as entrepreneur, businessman, investor, real estate developer, and philanthropist. He created businesses, creat...

This episode is a book review for Millionaire: The Philanderer, Gambler, and Duelist Who Invented Modern Finance by Janet Gleeson. Imagine ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ but the story takes place in 1716. This is the wild story of John Law and the birth of modern finance. Law was able to remake the French economy in a time when the government teetered on the brink of bankruptcy, making him one of the m...

This episode is a book review of The Greatest Trade Ever: The behind-the-scenes story of how John Paulson defied wall street and made financial history by Gregory Zuckerman. In 2006, John Paulson ran a small, middling hedge fund on Wall Street. He saw the housing crisis coming and figured out a way to bet against the market. While all the ‘professionals’ doubted him, John Paulson pulled off the gr...

This episode is a book review of Trump: The Art of the Deal by Donald J. Trump and Tony Schwartz. This book is a business classic and gives you a peak into the day-to-day life of a real estate developer. This book follows Trump through his early years and goes through various real estate projects completed in the 1970’s and 1980’s.  

This episode is a book review of Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by Edwin Lefevre. The book is a fictionalized biography about Jesse Livermore, who was one of the greatest stock traders that ever lived. This book is a financial classic and one of the most recommended investment books ever written.

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.

This episode is a book review for The Wealth of Nations. We discussed the book, the author Adam Smith, context around the year it was published in 1776, and its enduring influence. The Wealth of Nations is considered the cornerstone of modern economics, shaping capitalism, and policy worldwide. The Wealth of Nations is a masterpiece that birthed Capitalism and fueled America’s economic rise.  

The Lords of Easy Money series continues with an exclusive interview with Dr. Thomas Hoenig. Dr. Hoenig is the former Governor of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank and Vice-Chairman of the FDIC. Dr. Hoenig is the main character in the book The Lords of Easy Money by Christopher Leonard. Dr. Hoenig became famous for his dissenting votes during FOMC meetings in 2010 along with his warnings about...

This episode examines an article from Bank Director titled “2025 Compensation & Talent Survey: Powering the C-Suite” and the Bank Director 2025 Compensation & Talent Survey. The Key findings from the report include measuring CEO performance, hiring plans level off, DEI programs decline, handling mishires, head count plateau, and costs continue to rise. Links to the article and report are i...

This episode examines two reports from the Office of the Controller of the Currency (OCC). Both reports are for the 1st quarter of 2025. The first report is “OCC Mortgage Metrics Report” and the second report is “Quarterly Report on Bank Trading and Derivatives Activities.” The Mortgage Metrics report showed 97.6% of mortgages were current and performing at the end of the quarter. The Bank Trading...

This is part 23 of the crypto series. In this episode we review an article from The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) titled “Crypto billionaire is accused of fraud.” Barry Silbert, one of the original crypto moguls, is being accused of fraud through his defunct company Genesis Capital. What makes this really interesting is that the creditors in the case allege that the ‘Crypto Winter of...

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.

This episode examines three articles from Investopedia. The articles are titled “How many people retire with $1 million or more in their retirement account? The number might surprise you”, “Which generation is the wealthiest in U.S. history, and why?”, and “US added over 1,000 millionaires a day last year – more than elsewhere, UBS says.” These three articles together can give us a very interestin...

This episode examines an article from Bank Director titled “Crafting your data strategy.” The article considers how advancements in technology can enable community banks to unlock greater labor efficiency, new revenue opportunities and create better risk management. This all depends on the bank’s data strategy. The article considers potential ‘blind spots’ in your data strategy, advances in techno...

This episode examines a blog post from PCBB titled “The impact of halting penny production.” As a result of high production costs, the US Mint will discontinue printing pennies in 2026. What does this mean for banks, businesses, and consumers? Banks may see adjustments serving cash-based businesses and coin inventory changes. Businesses may need to change their marketing strategies and how they pr...

This episode examines a series of AI related articles from The Wall Street Journal and Epoch Times (Subscriptions required). The articles primarily cover AI related developments with Meta and OpenAI. Meta is seeking to fully automate ad creation using AI and is teaming up with Anduril to develop combat VR headsets for the Army. OpenAI has committed to developing a gigantic data center with the U.A...

This is part 22 of the crypto series. In this episode we review all the latest news in the crypto world. Genius Act passes the U.S. Senate. Shares of Coinbase and Circle ride high. Stablecoin legislation could juice demand for Treasury’s. Walmart and Amazon may create their own stablecoins. Various companies are investing in crypto. DOJ seizes record $225 million in Pig Butchering scams. JPMorgan...