Bank Nerd Corner

Bank Nerd Corner welcomes Madeline Fredin, Vice President of Partnership Strategy at Alloy Labs Alliance.

Madeline is an AI whisperer for Alloy Labs Alliance banks, where she helps them figure out how to deploy AI and even think about what a “black box” bank of the future could look like. 

Madeline shares the story of IBM’s Deep Blue, a supercomputer chess bot that beat a grandmaster in 1997, to show how it figures out new ways to accomplish tasks.

She and Kiah talk about how artificial intelligence has created a level playing field for institutions right now, if banks can figure out how to capitalize on it. To do that, they’ll need to come up with new skills to build agents and new governance to oversee them. 

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Fintech Takes Banking is the weekly newsletter for bank execs who get it.

Subscribe for the latest in regulation, tech, financials, operations and, yes, accounting, straight to your inbox: https://fintechtakes.com/banking/newsletter-subscription/

Follow Kiah:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khaslett/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/khaslett

Follow Madeline:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madelinemtaylor/

Alex Johnson of Fintech Takes and Jason Mikula of Fintech Business Weekly join this very special episode of Bank Nerd Corner to talk about white-collar crime and the Forbes 30 for 30 list.

The Forbes list identifies up-and-coming tastemakers, entrepreneurs, leaders and the occasional fraudster. Jason and Alex chat about their relationship to white collar crime before moving to a little show-and-tell about four names on the more infamous Fraud 30 for 30 list. The gang discusses about the incentives that surround these crimes, victims and the continuum of criminality. Buckle up for a compelling and fun chat!

Fintech Takes Banking is the weekly newsletter for bank execs who get it. Subscribe for the latest in regulation, tech, financials, operations and, yes, accounting, straight to your inbox: https://fintechtakes.com/banking/newsletter-subscription/

Follow Kiah:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khaslett/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/khaslett

Follow Alex: 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJgfH47QEwbQmkQlz1V9rQA/videos

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnson

Follow Jason:

Substack: https://fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonmikula/

Twitter: https://x.com/mikulaja?lang=en

Bank Nerd Corner welcomes Bernadette Ksepka, senior vice president and deputy head of product management for the Federal Reserve System’s FedNow Service.

FedNow is a real-time clearing and settlement service that supports instant payments in the United States. It was developed and launched by the Federal Reserve Banks in summer 2023. Bernadette shares her observations about how the first three years of the network have gone, and the growth and adoption trends she’s seen over that time.

The network is growing but has connections to less than a quarter of total financial institutions in the country, which represent about 50% of deposit accounts. But a variety of use cases are popping up, which may drive broader future adoption. 

Kiah and Bernadette also discuss the shifts and adjustments financial institutions need to make so they can successfully implement instant payments and navigate the accelerating pace of change. 

Fintech Takes Banking is the weekly newsletter for bank execs who get it. Subscribe for the latest in regulation, tech, financials, operations and, yes, accounting, straight to your inbox: https://fintechtakes.com/banking/newsletter-subscription/

Follow Kiah:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khaslett/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/khaslett

Follow Bernadette:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bernadette-ksepka-bbb4212/

In February’s episode of Bank Nerd Corner Squared, Kiah and Alex explore new updates while treading familiar ground.

Over the past couple of years, they’ve discussed different charter types and the regulators that approve them, de novo banking and accounting treatments. Under the second administration of President Donald Trump, these themes have found new life, interest and activity. 

They chat about the nation’s newest bank, the proposed skinny master account and a new user of fair value accounting before turning their attention to a newly approved deposit application for an industrial bank with a history.

Fintech Takes Banking is the weekly newsletter for bank execs who get it. Subscribe for the latest in regulation, tech, financials, operations and, yes, accounting, straight to your inbox: https://fintechtakes.com/banking/newsletter-subscription/

Follow Kiah:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khaslett/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/khaslett

Follow Alex: 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJgfH47QEwbQmkQlz1V9rQA/videos

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnson

Bank Nerd Corner welcomes Michael Perito, senior vice president and head of corporate strategy at Jersey City, New Jersey-based Provident Bank.

Banker’s Hours explores the personalities in banking for some real talk on important, interesting and fun topics. 

Mike and Kiah talk about his career trajectory of covering banks as a sell-side equity analyst to joining Provident Financial Services, where he helps build and execute the $25 billion bank’s strategy.

They discuss a few trends he expects to see in 2026, including why he thinks interest in bank deals will remain high and how fintech competitors should affect how banks think about their core customers. They also explore what it means to be a high-performing bank and whether and when asset size matters in banking. 

Follow Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-perito-5b761023/

Fintech Takes Banking is the weekly newsletter for bank execs who get it. Subscribe for the latest in regulation, tech, financials, operations and, yes, accounting, straight to your inbox: https://fintechtakes.com/banking/newsletter-subscription/

Follow Kiah:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khaslett/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/khaslett

Bank Nerd Corner welcomes Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union.

Heather focuses on labor data and consumer health — an important topic for healthy of financial institutions and the economy writ large. 

She’s seen some concerning things in the last 12 to 24 months: a K-shaped recovery and an emerging jobless boom. One reason why could be how companies are leveraging artificial intelligence to maintain or lower headcounts while maintaining productivity. 

Finally, Heather and Kiah think about what financial institutions should be looking at for signs of consumer health or weakness, and how they can stay close to their consumers.

Fintech Takes Banking is the weekly newsletter for bank execs who get it. Subscribe for the latest in regulation, tech, financials, operations and, yes, accounting, straight to your inbox: https://fintechtakes.com/banking/newsletter-subscription/

Follow Kiah:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khaslett/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/khaslett

Follow Heather:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hlong/

Twitter: https://x.com/byHeatherLong

Bank Nerd Corner welcomes Brian Peters, a veteran of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and insurance giant AIG. 

Brian writes the newsletter Perspectives on Risk, which draws on his experience in bank supervision at the New York Fed and as chief risk officer at AIG. He’s interested in financial stability, bank supervision and how technology, climate and demographics impact the economy. 

Brian and Kiah discuss the different mandates of the various federal banking agencies and the unique spot the New York Fed occupies, the three approaches he’s seen when it comes to bank supervision, credit quality trends at banks and his experience trying to convince a large language model to use public data to predict bank failures. 

And as promised, Brian did publish his newsletter about credit quality that he mentions during the episode, available here: https://substack.com/home/post/p-183560508.

Fintech Takes Banking is the weekly newsletter for bank execs who get it. Subscribe for the latest in regulation, tech, financials, operations and, yes, accounting, straight to your inbox: https://fintechtakes.com/banking/newsletter-subscription/

Follow Kiah:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khaslett/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/khaslett

Subscribe to Perspectives on Risk: https://perspectiveonrisk.substack.com/

In their first Bank Nerd Corner Squared episode of 2026, Kiah and Alex try their best to keep it light in the face of a lot of tough news.

2026 has been light on serious bank topics to date, but they talk about the interesting trend of fintechs buying banks, especially compared to the de novo charter applications from similar types of companies.

They then hit some of the low points of the news cycle, including President Donald Trump’s proposal to cap interest rates at 10%, the grand jury subpoenas sent to the Federal Reserve Board and the announcement that the Trump family’s cryptocurrency firm, World LIberty Financial, would apply for a national trust charter. To lighten the mood, Kiah closes with a small credit card rant.

Fintech Takes Banking is the weekly newsletter for bank execs who get it. Subscribe for the latest in regulation, tech, financials, operations and, yes, accounting, straight to your inbox: https://fintechtakes.com/banking/newsletter-subscription/

Follow Kiah:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khaslett/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/khaslett

Follow Alex: 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJgfH47QEwbQmkQlz1V9rQA/videos

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexhjohnson

Bank Nerd Corner welcomes Jason Henrichs, CEO at Alloy Labs Alliance.

Having appeared on Breaking Banks numerous times over the year, Jason returns the favor to commemorate the New Year by ranting, reflecting and resolving with Kiah. Jason and Kiah catch up about their personal approach to resolutions before moving onto how banks should think about the work ahead of them in 2026.

Jason shares the largest challenge facing banks in the Alloy Labs consortium, and they break apart what’s frustrating for us when we hear about banks’ ambitions to launch stablecoins or use artificial intelligence.

They also spend some time discussing the difference between strategy and strategic planning and how not being focused and strategic can drag decision-making and due diligence. Jason also talks about what banks still don’t get about fintechs, despite the years of partnership.

Fintech Takes Banking is the weekly newsletter for bank execs who get it. Subscribe for the latest in regulation, tech, financials, operations and, yes, accounting, straight to your inbox: https://fintechtakes.com/banking/newsletter-subscription/

Follow Kiah:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khaslett/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/khaslett

Follow Jason: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonhenrichs/

Learn more about the Alloy Labs Alliance: https://alloylabs.com

Bank Nerd Corner welcomes Matthew Goldman, the founder of credit card advisory firm Totavi.

Kiah and Matthew are both what Kiah calls “maximizers” and they discuss the dozens of cards they have between them before moving onto the meat of the conversation: The Totavi 2025 recap and 2026 trends report. 

Debit and credit cards are important but ubiquitous products in the financial ecosystem and in consumers’ lives. Matthew points out that many consumers interact with a card daily. This makes cards a nexus of development and innovation for both legacy banks and their nonbank competitors.

Matthew shares the major themes of 2025, which include the issuance of cryptocurrency cards, the challenges of issuing credit to freelance and gig workers and how technology will alter hyperpersonalization and maybe even create super apps.

Fintech Takes Banking is the weekly newsletter for bank execs who get it. Subscribe for the latest in regulation, tech, financials, operations and, yes, accounting, straight to your inbox: https://fintechtakes.com/banking/newsletter-subscription/

Follow Kiah:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khaslett/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/khaslett

Follow Dan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewgoldman/

Read the Totavi 2025 Recap and 2026 Trend report: https://www.totavi.com/post/totavi-annual-trends-report-2025