The Banker Next Door

Dr. Joseph Bergquist

BND is focused on the U.S. Banking industry and how the industry intersects with finance, technology, and economics. Topics discussed can include all types of banking products and lines of business along with strategy, marketing, management, and leadership.

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#878
Yesterday · 17 min
Reviewing bank CEO pay for 2025
Bank CEO compensation for the big 4 CEOs dramatically increased in 2025. Citigroup CEO, Jane Fraser, became the highest paid bank CEO with a pay package of $95.8 million. Wells Fargo CEO, Charles Scharf, came in right behind with a pay package of $94.5 million. JPMorgan CEO, Jamie Dimon’s, pay package was $40.6 million. Bank of America CEO, Brian Moynihan’s, pay package was $32.7 million. The lists reviewed include top 10 highest paid bank CEOs, 10 highest paid bank CEOs with assets between $1B and $10B, 10 highest paid CEOs with assets between $10B and $50B, 10 highest paid bank CEOs with assets between $50B and $500B, 10 highest paid CEOs with assets under $1B. Also examined is CEO pay ratios versus median employee salaries and the overall rise in CEO bonuses. This episode reviewed two articles from S&P Global Market Intelligence (subscription required) and an article from Bank Director titled “What’s behind the rise in CEO bonuses?” A link to the Bank Director article is included below. Link: What’s Behind the Rise in CEO Bonuses? | Bank Director
#877
Wednesday · 21 min
Bank News: BitGo, M&A, charter update, MoneyLion, Old Glory, SVB, & CFPB changes!
Bank News: BitGo acquired NYDIG’s trading business. Equity Bancshares to acquire Lincoln Savings Bank for $123.8 million. FNBO to acquire InBankshares Corp for an amount up to $204 million. Bank7 wins auction to purchase 71% of Century Financial. TabaPay is seeking to attain a bank charter by purchasing Transact Bank. UK neobank Revolut receives conditional bank charter from the OCC. Zerohash reapplies for OCC trust bank charter. OpenReserve received conditional approval for a national bank charter from the OCC. Old Glory Bank revisits capital raise and IPO after SPAC deal fails. Farmers & Merchants Bank incurs $85 million loss to reposition securities portfolio. Judge blocks SVB ex-parent from getting $1.7 billion from the FDIC. U.S. bank seeking to expand business roster. GAO believes holding company rules should be reviewed. Citizens focusing on private-bank customers. Republicans introduce a bill to change the CFPB funding structure. 21 banks partner up on stablecoin project. Banks maybe favoring tokenized deposits over stablecoin. New clarifications on SARs for banks. TD Bank is seeking to open 100 new branches. This episode reviewed multiple articles from Banking dive and S&P Global Market Intelligence (subscription required).
#876
Tuesday · 12 min
Review of S&P Global Best Banks by Deposit Franchise
This episode reviewed S&P Global’s list of top U.S. large and community banks by deposit franchise. The top 3 large U.S. banks by deposit franchise were 1) EB Acquisition Co. LLC, 2) CVB Financial Corp., and 3) Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. The top 3 U.S. community banks by deposit franchise were 1) Central Service Corp., 2) Bank of Marin Bancorp, and 3) Bank of Guam. The most recent trend for both large and community size banks is the need to engage in M&A for deposit growth. “Acquirers are leveraging dealmaking to capture market share and protect margins, avoiding the higher costs associated with competing for deposits through promotional rates.” This episode reviewed two research articles from S&P Global Market Intelligence (subscription required).
#875
Monday · 10 min
BND versus TikTok financial education
What does BND offer compared to all the other financial influencers on TikTok? The Wall Street Journal analyzed hundreds of finance influencers on TikTok and was able to break them down into several categories. These include the educator, the young guns, the stock hypers, and the showoffs. Most of these influencers are pedaling stocks, get rich quick schemes, flashy videos to get clicks, or just nonsense. BND is not doing any of this. BND brings you deep knowledge of the world of finance, specifically around banking. BND offers current news and insights in addition to historical analysis on financial innovations and key events that have shaped the economy. Interviews with top experts. Reviews of relevant business books, movies, and documentaries. All done through the lens of education. No sales, no gimmicks, just a better understanding of the financial world, so that we all can lead more successful financial lives! This episode reviewed an article from The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) titled “A breakdown of the financial advice that’s flying all over TikTok.”
#873
Sunday · 8 min
BND: Strategy Room Bonus - Walter's issues causing Private Credit insurance trade to unravel?
This video is a clip from BND: Strategy Room Live Stream on August 29, 2026. Mark Walter’s TWG investigation continues to cause ripples through the Private Credit and insurance ecosystem. Mark Walter’s problems are not a ‘one off’ incident. Rather, he used a strategy that is being deployed by many across the Private Credit and Insurance industries. The web of interconnection between Private Credit, Private Equity, and Insurance is a little unnerving. Mr. Walter’s problems are just beginning, as are the additional problems that are likely to be uncovered with various other companies. This video reviewed articles from CNBC and The Wall Street Journal (subscription required).
#872
Sunday · 2 hr 27 min
BND: Strategy Room 9-5-2026
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.
#871
September 4 · 26 min
Examining the fall of Leopold Aschenbrenner and Situational Awareness
The new hedge fund Situational Awareness (“situational”) created by 24-year-old boy wonder Leopold Aschenbrenner managed to barely dodge a total collapse by working out a last-minute deal with Citadel. Situational managed to lose $30 billion in a matter of weeks. Situational had ballooned up to $45 billion in assets under management, more realistically $100 billion with the leverage piled on. This hedge fund almost collapsed because they never bothered to learn the lessons from Long Term Capital Management and multiple other examples of how concentration and leverage can kill you in the stock market. It is the perfect example of why you don’t give billions of dollars to a 24-year-old that has never managed money a day in his life. Situational got sunk because of a ‘Texas Hedge’ trading strategy that doubled down on exposure and had too much concentration (AI), too much leverage (loans from banks), and too many illiquid securities (pre-IPO stock, ex: Anthropic). Ultimately, Citadel came out great in the trade, Situational survives with $15 billion in assets, and the SEC had opened an investigation into the hedge funds trading activity. However, what are we to make of Mr. Aschenbrenner? He spent time at Jane Steet, FTX with Sam Bankman Fried, and OpenAI with Sam Altman, eventually leaving on bad terms with all of them. This episode reviewed multiple articles from The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) and CBNC.
#870
September 3 · 17 min
With scale fueling more bank M&A deals, should banks be raising capital in 2026?
Bank M&A had a good year in 2025 and got off to a slower start in 2026 but is looking to pick up through the rest of the year. Mergers of equals transactions or more to the point, mergers of healthy banks have really picked up steam. Capital is strong right now, the regulatory environmental is favorable, and closing times have returned to a strong average of 131 days. Technology is a major consideration. Institutions that defer technology planning until after signing consistently underperform on synergy capture. Scale is driving M&A activity especially if you are looking to get over the $10 billion asset hurdle. If you want to get in on the M&A game, capital is the price of entry. If you are looking to raise capital before year end, now is a great time for three reasons. 1) stock valuations have recovered, making equity raises less dilutive. 2) The M&A window is open. 3) Loan demand and spreads are good. This episode reviewed two articles from Bank Director titled “3 Reasons why your bank should be raising capital in 2026” and “Why scale is fueling more banking M&A deals than survival.” Link: Why Scale Is Fueling More Banking M&A Deals Than Survival | Bank Director Link: 3 Reasons Why Your Bank Should Be Raising Capital in 2026 | Bank Director
#869
September 2 · 20 min
Bank News: Material financial risks, M&A, quieter Fed, Clarity Act, & RTP!
Bank News: Gulf Winds Credit Union agreed to acquire Madison County Community Bank. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Valley National Bank agreed to acquire Providence Financial Corp. for $247 million. First Financial Corp. agreed to acquire First Illinois Corp. for $111.3 million. OCC and FDIC issued a final rule that formally defines “unsafe and unsound practices” and establishes uniform standards around matters requiring attention. Kevin Warsh pushes for a ‘quieter Fed’ in first Jackson Hole speech. VALT bank receives conditional approval for a bank charter from the FDIC. ICBA CEO says there is no middle ground on closing the loophole for stablecoin in the Clarity Act. RTP networking is getting ready for international payments with BNY. Trump lawyers not happy with Capital One. Cashmere Valley Bank names a new CEO. This episode reviewed multiple articles from Banking Dive.
#868
September 1 · 14 min
Review of Bank Director Ranking Banking: The Best U.S. Banks 2026
Bank Director issued their Ranking Banking survey results for 2026. Finishing first in the top 25 banks category was Commerce Bancshares. For the $50 billion and above category Columbia Banking System finished first. For the $5 billion up to $50 billion category Commerce Bancshares finished first. For the less than $5 billion category Northeast Community Bancorp finished first. Outside of the categories, the report provides some interesting details on the banks. What are some of the metrics that separate the top ranked banks from the average banks in the Ranking Banking survey? Where is the cost of deposits currently at and how has the cost adjusted over the last 18 years? What regions dominate the Ranking Banking survey? This episode reviewed Bank Director’s Ranking Banking: The Best U.S. Banks 2026. A link to the report is included below. Link: RankingBanking's Best Banks: Back to the Basics | Bank Director
#867
August 31 · 17 min
Review of FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile for 2Q 2026
The FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile shows the performance of the bank industry but also breaks down the performance of community banks for the quarter and the performance of the Deposit Insurance Fund or DIF. The banking had the following results for the second quarter: Net income rose, net interest margin increased, net operating revenue increased, noninterest expense increased, provision expense declined, asset quality metrics improved, unrealized losses on securities increased and remain an issue for the industry, industry assets increased, loan growth was broad-based, domestic deposits increased for the eight consecutive quarter, capital ratios declined, but are still strong, the number of problem banks decreased, and four banks opened in the 2nd quarter. The number of FDIC insured institutions decreased to 4,238. Community bank performance was equally strong. DIF increased by $3.7 billion to $161.1 billion. DIF reserve ratio increased to 1.48%. One institution failed in the 2nd quarter. This episode reviewed the FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile for the 2nd quarter of 2026. Links to the report and charts are included below. Link: FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile - Second Quarter 2026 Link: FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile Second Quarter 2026 | FDIC.gov
#866
August 30 · 13 min
BND: Strategy Room Bonus - Is Scott Bessent using Activist Treasury Issuance (ATI)?
This video is a clip from BND: Strategy Room Live Stream on August 22, 2026. Stephen Miran and Nouriel Roubini wrote a research paper for Hudson Bay Capital titled “ATI: Activist Treasury Issuance and the Tug-of-War over monetary policy.” This research paper was originally published in July 2024. ATI, in a sense, was the Treasury Departments version of Quantitative Easing. ATI became a tool in the Treasury’s toolbox. Given what Scott Bessent is looking to do in the bond market, I thought this was a good time to go back and review ATI. A link to the research paper is included below. Link:69e6aab714fc6f94b589fcc0_635102_ATI_-_Activist_Treasury_Issuance_and_the_Tug-of-War_over_Monetary_Policy.pdf
#865
August 30 · 2 hr 13 min
BND: Strategy Room 8-29-2026
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.
#864
August 28 · 22 min
Bank News: Insider trading, CFTC bans, SEC crypto rules, and CAMELS in question!
Bank News: Brazil’s Itau Unibanco Holding gets OCC conditional approval for a U.S. bank charter. Old Glory Bank is forced to scrap merger with SPAC. Flagstar Banks goes with Fiserv ‘s Finxact on new cloud-native core system. The SEC charged an ex-Bank of America Banker with insider trading. SouthPoint Bancshares is in trouble with the Federal Reserve and Alabama State Banking Department. CFTC bans ex-FTX execs Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang from trading for only five years. Democrats introduce anti-corruption bill because Trump backed World Liberty received a conditional bank charter. The OCC’s Jonathan Gould had some interesting comments at a blockchain symposium. SEC proposes crypto rules because The Clarity Act is stalled in the Senate. Bankers are seeking a clearer definition of ‘material financial risk’ in proposed CAMELS changes. This episode reviewed multiple articles from Banking Dive.
#863
August 27 · 12 min
Private Credit + Private Equity + Life Insurance = Mark Walter's billion-dollar margin call!
Mark Walter’s, CEO of Guggenheim Partners (big wall street player) and owner of the Dodgers and Lakers, received what amounted to a $20 billion-dollar regulatory margin call. This forced him to sell the Lakers very quickly and scramble for additional funds. This event shined a light on the ties between Private Equity, Private Credit, and Life Insurance companies, which led to major concern among state insurance regulators and federal regulatory authorities. Mr. Walter’s insurers apparently lent more than $20 billion of policyholder money to his own private entities without properly disclosing the affiliations. The problem here is that this is not a one-off or isolated incident. It is a peak behind the curtain into a much larger game on wall street that has been going on for a while now flying under the radar. The question is will the regulators be able to clean this up before another major blow up occurs. This episode reviewed a Substack article from Edward Dowd (subscription required) titled “Mark Walter’s $20 billion regulatory margin call: How Guggenheim’s insurance arm funded his empire.” You can follow Edward Dowd on X @DowdEdward.
#862
August 26 · 12 min
Tioga-Franklin Savings Bank becomes fifth bank failure of 2026!
Tioga-Franklin Savings Bank in Philadelphia becomes the fifth bank failure of 2026. The bank had $68 million in assets as of June 30th. The FDIC estimates that the failure will cost the Deposit Insurance Fund approximately $5.5 million. Second Federal Savings and Loan Association assumed all the single branch bank’s deposits and most of its assets. The FDIC acted as receiver. Tioga-Franklin Savings was founded in 1873 and was one of about 22 black-owned banks in the U.S. The bank was plagued by deficiencies that were identified starting back in 2023. Despite being under a regulatory consent order since 2024, the bank was not able to adequately address its issues. This episode reviewed an article from Banking Dive titled “Philly lender becomes fifth bank to fail in 2026.” A link to the article is included below. Link: Philly lender becomes fifth bank to fail in 2026 | Banking Dive
#859
August 25 · 19 min
Why form a start-up bank and how to do it?
Why would someone want to start a De Novo bank? If you wanted to, how would you go about it? What is the process? This episode tries to answer these questions. First, if you want to start a De Novo bank focus on the “why.” What is a compelling customer problem and how will you solve it? What is your niche? Why would a customer switch to your bank? A good example is Bird-in-Hand Bank in Lancaster, PA. This bank was built to specifically serve the Amish community. Another consideration is local community relationship banking versus national product-centric fintech platform. Let the “why” drive everything. Second, If you want to start a De Novo bank you should follow these 7 steps. 1) Team and Governance, 2) Seed money, 3) Choose the niche, 4) Three-year business plan, 5) Choose charter type and file, 6) Raise capital, and 7) Build infrastructure and tech. This episode reviewed two blog posts from PCBB titled “De Novo Formation Part 1: Start with the Why” and “De Novo Formation Part 2: Executing the how.” Links to both blog posts are included below. Link: De Novo Formation - Part 1: Start with the Why Link: De Novo Formation – Part 2: Executing the How
#858
August 24 · 13 min
FDIC and OCC looking to increase de novo bank applications
The FDIC announced a new deposit insurance application process. This will be a two-phase process used to evaluate new applications to speed up the review process. The FDIC will provide de novo applications who satisfy requirements with a contingent authorization within 120 days of receiving the application. The idea is to make the process more efficient by getting a green light before organizers spend significant capital and time to form a new bank. Additionally, the OCC said it will continue to encourage the formation of new banks and strengthen the resilience of the federal banking system. This episode reviewed press releases from the FDIC and OCC and an article from Banking Dive titled “FDIC tweaks de novo application process.” Links to the FDIC and OCC press releases are included below. Link: OCC prioritizes de novo banks - ICBA Payments Link: FDIC tweaks de novo application process | Banking Dive
#861
August 23 · 2 hr 21 min
BND: Strategy Room 8-22-2026
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.
#860
August 23 · 8 min
BND: Strategy Room Bonus - Private Credit liquidity and default issues continue!
This video is a clip from BND: Strategy Room Live Stream on August 16, 2026. Private Credit has a liquidity issue as loan defaults continue to increase. While cash redemption requests have calmed down a little, they continue at a concerning pace. At the same time, money inflows into Private Credit funds have slowed dramatically and loan defaults continue to rise. This mix of events is leading to liquidity issues, but what does ‘liquidity’ mean? That depends on who you ask in the Private Credit world. The goal post has moved from ‘everything is fine, nothing to see here’ to ‘we are in a credit cycle and there will be some losses.’ Next Stop – ‘who could have seen this coming?’

Showing 1–20 of 44 episodes