Deal-making is heating up.

On the show today: Al and Steve sit down with Mike Maddox, CEO and president of the newly expanded $20B-asset Busey Bank, which merged with CrossFirst Bank earlier this year. They dig into scale, succession and strategy.

They also discuss what stablecoins mean for banking, Busey’s $14B wealth management platform and why Mike thinks that regional banks should act more like professional services firms to serve their markets best.

Chapters:

[00:00] Welcome & Ozzy-Inspired Kickoff

[00:41] Meet Mike Maddox: Regional Banking Veteran

[01:12] The State of Bank M&A: Scale and Strategy

[04:04] Solving for Succession: Leadership Transition

[06:13] Market Expansion: From Midwest Roots to Sunbelt Growth

[07:32] Preserving Regional Culture in a Growing Bank

[10:58] The $14 Billion Wealth Platform Advantage

[14:17] Banking Innovation: Tech, Payments & FirstTech

[18:50] Looking Ahead: Post-Merger Integration & Opportunity

[19:48] Wrap-Up: Culture, Metrics & Modern Banking Vision

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