The SBA has doubled the combined limit on 7(a) and 504 loans from $5 million to $10 million. This is the largest financing ceiling in the history of the agency. This is a tremendous opportunity particularly for companies in manufacturing, construction, logistics, distribution, and food production. In addition, time is running out for fee waivers the SBA enacted for 2026. The SBA is waiving upfront and annual fees on 504 manufacturing loans. The agency also waived upfront guarantee fee on 7(a) manufacturing loans up to $950,000. These waivers will end on September 30th unless the SBA extends them into 2027. This episode examined an article from Bank Director titled “The SBA just opened a $10 million window.” A link to the article is included below.

Link: The SBA Just Opened a $10 Million Window | Bank Director

This survey includes responses from bank CEOs and board directors. The focus of the survey is around bank board governance. The key findings in this year’s report include AI in the boardroom, strategic planning, board assessments, virtual attendance, policy review, and debanking scrutiny. Additional insights include artificial intelligence adoption in the boardroom remains low, 39% of boards conduct an annual assessment, many see room for improvement in the strategic planning process, 87% of boards allow directors to attend virtually, more than half of boards have adjusted policies, reporting, or oversight in several key areas since January 2025, and just 20% have examined whether their institution could be subject to scrutiny from examiners for debanking activity. This episode reviewed Bank Director’s 2026 Governance Best Practices Survey. A link to the survey is included below.  

Link: 2026-Governance-Report-Open.pdf

Bank News: Alma Bank to acquire in-state peer American Community Bank. Federal Reserve approves Santander-Webster merger. Augustus (formerly Ivy) receives FDIC approval to launch bank. Huntingdon Bank sees increased deposit cost competition. WSFS sees persistent deposit competition. Central Bancompany sees stable deposit costs. Seacoast reports lower deposit costs. BCB Bancorp got “too deep” in unfamiliar businesses, which resulting in a $14.8 million second quarter loss. Coastal Financial stock drops more than 40% after loss related to BaaS partnership. Federal Reserve issues enforcement action against Iuka Bancshares. Northwest Bank reshuffles C-suite. Chime’s CFO steps down. This episode examined multiple articles from Banking Dive and S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Four companies are currently racing to develop tokenized deposit networks. The companies include The Clearing House Payments Co., The Cari Network, The Hazel Network, and The DTX Consortium. The Clearing House and Cari Network are being developed by the big banks. The Hazel Network is trying to create more of a niche by allowing customer deposits to convert into digital tokens and then issue, transfer, and redeem them as stablecoins. The DTX Consortium is being developed with a focus on community banks. Banks stand to benefit in different ways from each of these networks. Banks should not worry that they must act around tokenized deposits tomorrow, but they should start thinking about them. Wells Fargo is ready to roll out tokenized deposits this fall. They see tokenized deposits as a blockchain-based representation of commercial bank money that will enable customers to move, program, and settle funds 24/7/365, all within banking guidelines and regulations. This episode reviewed an article from FinXtech titled “Choosing the right tokenized deposit network” and an article from S&P Global (subscription required) titled “Wells Fargo to mint tokenized deposits for corporate, commercial clients in fall. A link to the FinXtech article is included below.

Link: Choosing The Right Tokenized Deposit Network - FinXTech

The SLOOS is a quarter survey of senior bank loan officers that the Federal Reserve puts out quarterly. It measures bank credit underwriting standards and loan demand. The 2nd quarter showed an increase in demand for commercial C&I loans with spreads tightening for large and middle-market firms. For commercial real estate, underwriter standards eased and loan demand remained stable. For residential real estate, underwriting standards were mixed and loan demand decreased. The same for HELOC’s and auto loans. Loan underwriting standards tightened for credit cards and loan demand remained unchanged. This episode reviewed the Federal Reserve Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey for July 2026. A link to the survey is included below.

Link: The Fed - July 2026 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices

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.

How did America get its banks? How was the American financial system created? How has it evolved over the last 250 years to become the largest economy in the world? This episode seeks to answer these questions by exploring the economic history of the U.S. This episode primarily focuses on Alexander Hamilton and President Andrew Jackson. These two historical figures had immense influence over the American economy and financial system in the early years of the country. The battle between Federalists and Anti-Federalists; between people that wanted a Central Bank versus those that wanted a decentralized banking system was central to how the early banking system evolved. This episode examined an article from Bank Director titled “250 Years Later: How America Got its Banks.” A link to the article is included below.  

Link: 250 Years Later: How America Got Its Banks | Bank Director

Books recommended in this episode: Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, Robert Morris by Charles Rappleye, The Banker Who Made America by Richard Vague, and Nicholas Biddle by Thomas Payne Govan (this book is no longer in print and can be hard to find).

Three years in, how is FedNow doing? The FedNow instant payment service realized an 80% increase in volume growth quarter over quarter. Active senders have increased 85% over the last year. FedNow has 1800+ financial institutions participating and membership represents all 50 states. Approximately 50% of members exclusively use the FedNow service. Over 50% of all U.S. checking accounts are reachable. FedNow continues to combat fraud by offering various tools which include FraudClassifier and ScamClassifier. It takes approximately five days for a Bank to sign up and onboard to FedNow. This episode examined an article from Banking Dive titled “FedNow advances over hurdles” and an infographic from the FedNow website. Links to both the article and infographic are included below.

Link: FedNow advances over hurdles | Payments Dive

Link: Three Years Strong

NACHA released 2nd quarter 2026 number for their ACH Network. Highlights for the 2nd quarter include an almost 30% gain in Same Day ACH, nearly 10% increase in B2B payments, total volume on the ACH Network was 9.3 billion payments with a value of $25.9 trillion, Same Day ACH handled 435.7 million payments up 29.5%. Additionally, volume across major transaction types increased year over year. Healthcare increased 2.3% to 141M, Internet increased 7.6% to 3B, Direct Deposit increased 3.6% to 2.3B, and P2P increased 21% to 136.6M. This episode examined NACHA’s website and ACH Network infographic. A link to the website is included below.

Link: Large Gains in Same Day ACH Help Drive ACH Network in Second Quarter of 2026 | Nacha

Bank News: BitMEX crypto exchange to close after 11 years. Twin City Bank is rebranded into Increase Bank after receiving regulatory approval on name and business plan changes. PNC targets wealthy clients with new lending option. Rent fintech Flex applies for an ILC banking charter. Banc of California has a large loss of $251MM for the second quarter. The Federal Reserve bans two bankers from future work in the industry. FinCEN chief heads for new role at Citibank. Visa is cutting their workforce by 7%. Chime is cutting their workforce by 10%. This episode examined multiple articles from Banking Dive and CNBC.