Currently reading about bears.

Readers: What was the best book you read in August?

Bank Director/FinXTech is hiring a banking and fintech editor! DM if you have questions about the role. (Note: I’m not the EIC but would be your potential colleague on the editorial team.)

What have you read and enjoyed recently?

I read some strong nonfiction in May, including Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams and The Dark Queens by Shelley Puhak.

Latest issue of Bank Director is up and explores:
*What Trump 2.0 means for bank regulation
*The SoCal fires and the state of the insurance industry
*Why a bank director’s job is now tougher
*Why cybersecurity and fraud are top of mind in our 2025 Risk Survey

www.bankdirector.com/magazine/2nd...

Currently reading:
Mistborn
Dear Chairman
What an Owl Knows

Sharing my January 2025 reads (from @thestorygraph.com) — topping the list were How to Sell a Haunted House, My Darling Dreadful Thing and Orbital.
What are you reading now?

Michaud shares a chart regularly that describes the market share shift by the biggest banks. This is despite a growth cap on Wells Fargo and lack of growth at Citi.

We’ve kicked off Acquire or Be Acquired! #AOBA25 KBW’s Tom Michaud is providing an industry update — says we’re in the next M&A wave and believes banking has turned a corner.

The latest issue of Bank Director magazine is out now — with my cover story on the seven deadly sins of bank boards! I spent time wading through material loss reviews and talking to seasoned bank leaders for this piece. Check it out at BankDirector.com (subscription needed).

Best Reads of 2024
Fiction + Non-Fiction
*Note, this is the best I read this year, not based on when it was published.

What’s on your list?

When I say this looks exactly like my high school band uniform …

What’re you reading?

Me 👇

TOMORROW: Gain insights on bank M&A from two seasoned dealmakers!

Jim Ryan of Old National Bank + Randy Chesler of Glacier Bancorp will join me to discuss their recent experiences, lessons learned + their expectations for 2025. vimeo.com/event/459127...

This could be due to the Congressional Review Act. crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/...
If it’s not approved, regulators won’t have another go at it.
(I talked to attorney recently about rules not yet been finalized + why that was unlikely at this point; this came up as a reason why.)

What are the top profitability challenges facing banks?
Bank Director’s 2025 Bank M&A Survey finds the majority of bank leaders pointing to deposit costs, with regulatory compliance + tech expenses a relatively distant 2nd + 3rd.

Read more: www.bankdirector.com/article/2025...

Not requesting a follow but couldn’t help but notice that your cat looks a lot like my cat.

About Me:
- Focused on banking/corporate governance/finreg via work for Bank Director magazine (writer/editor/head of research); also interested in finance/econ
- omnivorous reader, fiction and nonfiction
- amateur musician + have several crafty little hobbies
- this little guy is often in my lap