The BankerCast: A Banker's Guide to Success

Join us in this episode as we sit down with Carey Chopin, an experienced commercial lender, to explore advice within the world of banking. Beyond banking, he also imparts wisdom on the importance of teamwork and shares life lessons, making this episode a must-listen for anyone seeking financial wisdom and personal growth.

Intro 0:00
Background Information 1:25
Foundational lessons 9:56
Joyful side of Banking 19:26
Interest Rates 25:54
Teamwork 29:25
Lagniappe 33:55
Contact Info 44:30

With the second largest bank failure in US history looming in the background, Smith Shellnut Wilson's Russell Guess dives into how and why certain big banks have gone under in the past few months.  Guess, a man with extensive background in different facets of the banking industry, offers a well researched and thoughtful perspective.  As a bonus, listen in to glean valuable insight from Guess's career in the Marine Corps and his service in Iraq.  


:00 - Background, career path, and introduction to Smith Shellnut Wilson

16:00 - Frank Smith's adventure in starting Smith Shellnut Wilson

18:00 - Big bank failures…what's going on?

41:00 - Recession? What the economists are saying

45:30 - Guess's service in the Marine Corps

52:00 - Raising kids with Corps values

1:04:00 - Books, brisket, and Bourbon

When it comes to banking, regulation and legislation play no small role in determining the health of the industry.  Thankfully, we can look to the Louisiana Bankers Association to promote policies that benefit bankers and consumers alike.  Listen to LBA's new CEO Ginger Laurent update us on the latest legislation affecting Louisiana bankers today.

Ginger Laurent

:00 - A recap of year 1 as CEO of the LBA

4:45 - Projecting the role of the LBA in the coming years

9:15 - Legislation in Louisiana pertaining to community banks

14:00 - LBA's financial literacy initiative

21:40 - LBA's Free-Market Policy

24:45 - Advice for young bankers in a rising-interest environment

31:30 - Louisiana Bankers Convention Asheville - 2023

33:30 - Book recommendations from Ginger and Jay

Join us on this episode in welcoming Winnsboro State Bank's Howard Dee Smith (President and CEO).  Howard Dee recounts a lively story of Winnsboro's rapid acceleration over the past three years and shares some tips to their overwhelming success.  Listen in for a thoroughly entertaining, and informative, conversation.

:15 - Introduction to Winnsboro and Howard Dee

7:50 - How to rocket launch a stagnant bank  

14:10 - How to "turn on the loan engine"

19:00 - Learning from the past, tips to managerial success

23:30 - Plans for the future

30:00- Big-bank failures and the community-banking world

37:00- Smith family adventures

The Bankercast welcomes American Planning's Jeff Fair to discuss the whirlwind of challenges battering the community banking industry today.  Fair brings to the table decades of experience in the banking world and a perspective trusted by bankers throughout the southeast and beyond.  Tune in for an invaluable industry overview and quite a few laughs.

2:45- Examining the economic climate for the upcoming year

30:15- Challenges to the American economy of the future

47:45- How rising interest rates affect asset-sensitive banks

57:10- The threats to community banks in America

67:48- Jeff's culinary adventures

In this special edition of BankerCast, Jay Toups and Joseph Benton of High Performance Teams, by RMR, Inc. interrupt regularly scheduled programming to celebrate twenty exciting years of operation.  Tune in for a riveting story and to glean key insights into starting a business built to last.

BankerCast Anniversary Podcast Summary

• 1:44 – Jay’s Background and Family
• 4:45- Early History of HPT
• 10:00 – Pro-tips to Managing the Volatility of Business
• 11:50 – First Pivot: Katrina
• 18:20 – Pivots 2 and 3: Recession and Regulatory Aftermath
• 21:36- The HPT Way
• 24:00- Developments since COVID
• 29:10 – A Supplement to Business: The Third Way
• 35:30 – Strategy and Culture, Balancing Priorities
• 43:35- Twenty Years of Entrepreneurial Wisdom Distilled
• 55:15- Upcoming News and Closing Remarks

I think, without fail, our small business customers want us to know something about them and at the same time, there are things that we wish we could get small business customers to understand about our side of things.

Byron Earnheart at the Barret School of Banking/host or Main Street Banking and Jay Toups, Pres/CEO of High Performance Teams have a long resume of working both with banks and small businesses. 

So, Byron and I got together and thought about things both sides of the table need to know about the other. It was an interesting conversation.

You can find The Main Street Banking podcast at the following link.

Learning From Each Other: Jay Toups and The Bankercast Podcast - Barret School of Banking (barretbanking.org)

CEO of Smith Shellnut Wilson, Frank Smith, started his business over 20 years ago. In this episode, Frank shares the wisdom he has learned during his career in banking, gives us insight on how banks manage their investment portfolios, and takes a look at the state of affairs in banking today as well as the future.  

0:00 - Intro
7:40 - Earning your Stripes
13:50 - The Rate Environment/Recession
23:00 - Employee Cost
25:00 - Interest Rate Risk
32:40 - Serving and Enjoying the Work
36:35 - Wrap Up

After being in the sales game as both a student and a teacher, Reece Theriot started his company, Fulcrum Sales and Marketing, to solve problems and build meaningful relationships.

0:00 - Intro
4:24 - Sales Background
13:40 - Advice for Sales in Banking
17:15 - The definition of sales
21:05 - Inbound and Outbound Marketing
25:15 - Cold Call Strategies
34:10 - Why Fulcrum?
39:43 - Does it really work?
43:00 - How to cross the finish line
56:35 - Hungry, Humble, and Smart
1:02:49 - Outro