Checks have become so marginal that the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Payment Choice relegates them to a category of “other,” which, along with prepaid cards and money orders accounted for less than 9 percent of all payments in 2022. But checks aren’t entirely dead, with 11.2 billion still written in the U.S. in 2021. Meanwhile, their use by criminals as a vector of fraud has shot up. Which raises the question: The paper check won’t die. Is it time to kill it? This episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — sponsored by Biz2X — sets out to answer that question, with the help of top bankers and experts in the payment space.

According to newly released Gallup figures, just 30 percent of American workers are engaged in their work. The rest are described as disengaged, with 17 percent actively disengaged, “which means they are literally trying to sabotage the organization,” notes Neil Stevens, president and CEO of Oconee State Bank in Oconee, Georgia. “Gallup also says that if you have a 70 percent or higher engagement score, you’re 23 percent more profitable than those with lower engagement scores. So engaged teams truly, in my mind, lead to healthier cultures, better customer retention.”

On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by R&T Deposit Solutions — Stevens discusses his approach to cultivating a bank where engagement scores have climbed to 89 percent, triple the national average. Stevens works to build this culture through a framework called Leading Life on Life that emphasizes loving, equipping, affirming and developing (“LEAD”ing) team members. Among other topics on the show, Stevens discusses the role of love in bank management, the importance of active listening and how an environment of healthy affirmation actually allows leaders to hold their teams to higher standards.

• Hear Stevens discuss bank culture and employee engagement at the ABA Annual Convention, Oct. 27-29 in New York City.

For Financial Literacy Month in April, the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by R&T Deposit Solutions — features a conversation on how banks are engaging their communities with financial education. The ABA Foundation’s Kelsey Havemann discusses a brand-new K-2 Teach Children to Save curriculum launching soon, and Lindsay Torrico talks about the Foundation’s big goal to help five million people get on the path to financial prosperity.

• Access free financial education resources from the ABA Foundation.

What’s the CEO-eye view on the U.S. economy, business conditions and the regulatory environment for banks? This week’s episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by R&T Deposit Solutions — features a conversation with ABA’s Peter Cook and four bank CEOs from across the country. In the conversation, they discuss local economic conditions in their markets, how the “regulatory tsunami” is affecting banks of all sizes, the commercial real estate outlook, what they’re most excited for in the future of banking and more.

“These rewards are more than just Amex, Chase, Citi,” says Brian Kelly, founder of the popular travel site The Points Guy. “Well over half of Americans have some form of rewards, often through their community banks — and to a lot of people, cash back rewards.” This bonus episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by Alkami — features a conversation with Kelly and ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols from ABA’s Washington Summit.

In this episode, Kelly discusses his personal story of getting involved with reward travel, his opposition to efforts to cap interchange or impose routing mandates on credit cards and the value that all kinds of consumers get out of card rewards.

• Read more about taking action on interchange and routing on Secure American Opportunity.

The banking agencies and the Justice Department are shifting how they assess and review bank mergers and acquisitions. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by Alkami — ABA SVP Hu Benton discusses what bankers need to know about potential deals and offers amid the wave of policy changes.

Among other topics, Benton explores:

• The Justice Department’s review of bank merger guidelines
• The FDIC’s newly released policy statement on mergers.
• How the OCC is evaluating mergers among national banks and federal thrifts.
• How bank mergers fit into the Biden administration and executive agencies’ broader approach to antitrust considerations.
• A new resource from ABA and Squire Patton Boggs to help banks assess their readiness for a transaction.

Access “Bank Mergers & Acquisitions: A Self-Assessment Guide“

This episode is presented by Alkami.

Forget Tom Brady: Most professional athletes don’t play well into their 40s. “You play football for three to four years,” says Brandon Ghee. “And then the next thing you know you’re 25, 26. You’re looking to pursue a career and you go from making $750,000 a year to $50,000. These guys and girls have a problem with the transition [in]how they’re spending during their careers.”

Athletes make a lot of big financial decisions at fairly young ages. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by Alkami — Ghee, a community banker and former NFL cornerback, discusses how Cogent Bank’s sports and entertainment vertical comes alongside to help with this transition. In addition to traditional financial services, the bank offers specialized education on investing and financial decision-making as well as referrals to key service providers.

Ghee also discusses the fast-growing wave of highly compensated athletes amid the rollout of NCAA permission for name, image and likeness marketing deals and why student-athletes and their families need support and engagement from banks.

• Access financial education resources from the ABA Foundation.

First Horizon Bank, a regional bank based in Memphis, Tennessee, offers some eye-catching numbers on the bank’s gender balance: Women make up 62 percent of its executive team, 54 percent of its top 1,200 corporate managers and 33 percent of its board of directors.

To mark International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by Alkami — features three top executives from First Horizon discussing how the bank built an inclusive culture. For Beth Ardoin, chief communications officer, it’s less about focusing on women per se and more focusing on “how do we build the organization around exceptional talent, no matter who you are, where you came from?”

Hope Dmuchowski, First Horizon’s CFO, adds that for “our top talent, whether they’re female, male or diverse, we’re making sure they have lots of opportunities for lots of people that see how talented they are.” Ardoin, Dmuchowski and Erin Pryor, chief marketing and experience officer, also discuss the role of sponsorship, allyship and executive leadership in creating a culture that allows women to showcase their excellent work. “Great work always speaks for itself,” says Pryor. “How do you take those who are doing great work and helping to lift them up and to lift the women who are doing great work in the organization and amplify them?”

Resources:

• Access women in banking resources and training from ABA.
• Register for the ABA Women Lead Symposium, July 17, 2024.
• Listen to First Horizon’s Bucket List-ening podcast.

On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by Alkami — ABA’s Dan Brown and Sharon Whitaker discuss community bank exposures to commercial real estate and how community banks are managing shifts in the CRE sector. They also dispel imprecise narratives about the state of CRE.

“There is a lot of nuance within the commercial real estate market,” says Brown. There are going to be some challenges for sure. But at the same time, too, though, there’s going to be a lot of resilience. A lot of these loans are very conservatively underwritten. I think a lot of banks would be in a very good position no matter what may come in the future.”

This episode is presented by Alkami.

If the past has any predictive power, rate-watchers may want to discount the chance of significant rate movements this election year. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, ABA VP Jeff Huther summarizes his analysis of Federal Open Market Committee actions during presidential elections, showing that in rare circumstances — well-telegraphed technical movements from a low base or during crisis moments like 2008 — the FOMC has generally refrained from taking action that could be perceived as political. Huther discusses what this means for the 2024 interest rate outlook.

“We’re really focused on increasing competition and innovation in the core provider landscape,” says ABA Core Platforms Committee Chair Kristiane Koontz. “We want to make sure that people know core conversions are an option, and we want to help make that easier and less risky for banks to undertake. But in many cases, a core conversion may not be the right path.”

On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, the host catches up with Koontz at the Conference for Community Bankers to discuss the committee’s recent work on core resilience and competition, as well as the committee’s plans for 2024. The show also features past chair D.J. Seeterlin of Chesapeake Bank on the committee’s newly released Core Provider Flexibility Assessment, a tool to help banks identify what the need to power their strategies.