The Banker Next Door

As we roll into 2026 it’s time for a regulatory update. Community bank deregulation is top on the list with 1071, Stablecoin, Reg II debit card interchange proposal, and BSA reporting. In addition, other major regulations around 1033 rule, regulatory relief legislation, ACRE implementation, GSEs, and FHLBs are considered. This episode examined ICBA’s Advocacy in Action for the 1st quarter of 2026...

With the announcements of NYSE expanding in Dallas and Wells Fargo moving their wealth management HQ to Miami, what does this mean for the future of Wall Street? Since COVID, many of the largest financial firms in the U.S. have been making the move south into Texas and Florida. Given the political landscape and continued advances in technology, this trend seems certain to continue. This episode ex...

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 33 of the crypto series. In this episode we cover the battle over stablecoin regulation as bankers and crypto firms continue to argue over the finer points of The Genius Act and The Clarity Act. On the banker’s side, there is a real concern that if Stablecoins are allowed to pay interest, rewards, or annual yield payouts, that will cause a drain on bank deposits. On the crypto side, p...

The collapse of auto parts supplier First Brands in 2025 has put a spotlight on the cash flow technique known as Supply Chain Finance (SCF). This is also known as “factoring receivables” or “collect early, pay late.” The problem with SCF is that it can distort a company’s actual cash flow position. It can make cash on hand look a lot stronger by pushing off payments to vendors and moving debt to a...

Whenever you have massive unrest in a country that threatens the current regime, you can bet before all the protests a bank failure occurred. The current situation in Iran is no different. In 2025, Ayandeh Bank failed due to almost $5 billion in losses on a lot of bad loans. The Iranian government rolled the bank into a state bank and printed a ton of money to cover the massive losses. Unfortunate...

How did Apple’s credit-card partnership with Goldman Sachs completely fall apart? Goldman Sachs decided to make a push in retail banking a few years ago with Marcus and the Apple Card portfolio. That strategy proved a failure and Goldman decided to get out of that end of the banking business. Marcus was closed, loans sold off and the Apple Card portfolio became the last piece. The set up of the Ap...

Saks Global files for chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company was saddled with a large amount of debt stemming from the purchase of Neiman Marcus, which was funded with $2.2 billion in junk bonds. Right after the merger with Neiman Marcus, Saks immediately began having cash flow issues. Saks stopped paying vendors, vendors didn’t send products, and soon the lack of adequate inventory led to a drop in s...

This is a clip from the BND: Strategy Room Live Stream from 1-10-2026. This clip provides an update on the real estate market.

This is a clip from the BND: Strategy Room Live Stream from 1-10-2026. This clip provides an update on the performance of the U.S. auto industry. 

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.

There were 31 total bank charter applications filed in 2025 but most of those applications came from nonbank digital asset-focused companies. Meanwhile, the number of De Novo bank applications for 2025 was only 3. Furthermore, there were 5 US bank IPOs in 2025, the highest number in four years. Finally, Bankers see a lot of potential activity and fee income in the M&A market for 2026. This epi...

Farmers received some relief in December of 2025 when President Trump unveiled a $12 billion dollar aid package. They also received some good news when Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and RFK, Jr. announced a $700 million investment in regenerative agriculture. Farmers reacted very positively to both announcements. Regenerative agriculture is something that farmers have been looking at for ma...

What strategies are most important to community bank CEOs going into 2026? 72% of community bankers surveyed believe that their greatest opportunity lies in differentiating their bank from other financial institutions in their market. Approximately 15% are exploring new lines of business, fintech partnerships, digitization, and wealth management / financial planning as other strategies. 50% of ban...

A massive welfare fraud scheme has been uncovered in Minnesota. The amount of the fraud is estimated at $9 billion but could end up being much higher. Many people have been implicated and investigations have begun. The U.S. Treasury began taking actions back in December focusing on money services businesses (MSBs). The SBA then announced a halt on $5.5 million in federal payments to Minnesota and...

We thought that the soap opera of Republic First Bank ended with its failure and purchase by Fulton Bank, but luckily for us it has just been renewed for a second season! The FDIC is now investigating Republic First Bancorp board members around the failure of the bank, which cost the FDIC insurance fund as estimated $667 million. In turn, Republic First is suing Great American Insurance for $9.38...

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.

Warren Buffett has stepped down as CEO at Berkshire Hathaway after a six-decade run. Warren will remain Chairman, but he has turned over all day-to-day operations to Greg Abel. There will never be another Warren Buffett. The return generated by Berkshire from 1964 to 2024 was nothing short of insane. During this period the compound annual gain was 19.9%, nearly double the S&P 500’s return of 1...

There is a boom in dealmaking right now in the wealth management business, this is due to private equity firms buying up smaller firms. Private equity is also focused on other industries including veterinarians and dentists. However, private equity is dealing with a few issues going into 2026. First, they are sitting on a large pile of cash, approximately $880 billion. Second, the average holding...

This is part 32 of the crypto series. In this episode we cover FASB weighing whether some stablecoins may qualify as cash equivalents in 2026. JPMorgan is getting further into crypto with a tokenized money fund called My OnChain Net Yield Fund or “MONY”. The fund will only be opened to qualified investors with at least $5 million in investments. Crypto investors were loving most of 2025 as the Pre...

Heading into Monday December 29th silver futures witnessed one of the largest plunges it has seen in 5 years. This plunge came on the heels of silver futures making a massive run up to over $80 an ounce. A wild story began to circulate about one of the largest banks in the country receiving a margin call so large that it was going to wipe out all its liquidity. This story turned out to be false… m...

On December 31, 2025, the Federal Reserve made a massive $74.6B securities purchase in the REPO market. This also coincided with mortgage-based securities purchases, treasury securities purchases, a surge in SOFR volume, and an increase in the Fed’s balance sheet. The big question here is this a sign of major market liquidity issues or just year end window dressing? This episode examines various c...

What makes a mobile banking app something that customers get excited about? This episode looks at five capabilities that a bank should consider 1) simple & seamless design, 2) real-time alerts, 3) predictive insights, 4) hyper-personalization, and 5) easy customer service. According to McKinsey, mobile banking leaders generate 51% more annual touchpoints and 2.3x as many customer interactions....

As Tricolor Holdings’ executives have been charged with ‘systemic fraud’, auto lending continues to deteriorate, and bank regulators are vowing to take a closer look at NDFI’s.  U.S. prosecutors in Manhattan unsealed indictments against founder and CEO Daniel Chu and Chief Operating Officer David Goodgame. The charges accuse the two executives of orchestrating a series of fraudulent schemes that a...

Happy New Year! What were the 10 top BND episodes for 2025? What was the most viewed interview for 2025? What was the most watched playlist for 2025? This episode reviews the best of BND for 2025 and looks at what is to come in 2026. Looking to expand Strategy Room in 2026. Live stream specials are coming. More interviews are coming. More special series are coming. To all my followers and listener...