ABA Banking Journal Podcast

• The 2026 outlook for bank M&A

  The bank consolidation logjam broke in 2025, with several banks, including large regionals, inking major deals amid an accelerated pace for approvals. While that may reflect both pent-up deal flow and a rush to get transactions done in a favorable environment, on the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, Paul Davis notes that the rush is forcing everyone in the market to pay attention and be ready. Davis discusses how these factors, as well as the underlying forces driving consolidation, the capital markets environment and credit conditions will shape the mergers and acquisitions outlook throughout 2026.

  --------  

  15:18

  --------

  15:18
• The outlook for tech-forward community banking

  Jon Sisk and Matt Lujano's banks couldn't be more different at first appearance — Sisk is a top executive at a community bank in Santa Cruz, California, near the beating heart of America's tech ecosystem, and Lujano leads a bank primarily based in a rural area of western Iowa where farming is dominant. But they share a positive outlook on the role of tech in community banking. As chair and vice chair, respectively, of ABA's Community Bankers Council, they reflected on what it means to be a tech-forward community bank in a podcast following the committee's recent D.C. meeting. Among other topics, they discuss: Forming AI brainstorming groups within banks to facilitate collaborative innovation. The use of generative AI tools to accelerate policy development and exam preparedness. Being ready to move quickly on stablecoins, tokenized deposits and digital assets, even if customers aren't demanding solutions. Good ideas surfaced in conversations among CBC members. Stay tuned for more conversations on tech-forward community banking within the ABA Banking Journal Podcast channel.

  --------  

  21:23

  --------

  21:23
• The Erie Canal at 200

  The Erie Canal — one of the biggest milestones of American history — celebrated the bicentennial of its completion this week. On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, acclaimed economic historian and Banking Journal columnist John Steele Gordon and editor-in-chief Evan Sparks discuss the canal's development and construction, the involvement of the Savings Bank of New York in financing it, how it transformed New York and the Midwest, and how the canal created future demand for mass transport of goods by other means, helping fuel the republic's development as a commercial powerhouse.

  --------  

  17:12

  --------

  17:12
• Intelligent Origination: Reinventing Lending with AI

  Blend's Intelligent Origination — an AI-powered orchestration layer embedded in Blend's platform that reduces the cost of loan origination, improves speed and accuracy, and redefines how lenders and borrowers experience the lending process.

  --------  

  4:04

  --------

  4:04
• Why branches are top priority for PNC

  PNC Bank is the nation's eighth-largest bank by assets and the sixth-largest by deposits, but it ranks fourth in the number of physical branches. In a time when many banks are streamlining their in-person service locations, why has PNC doubled down on branches? On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, PNC executive Jeff Martinez explores: The role of branches in marketing and account acquisition, particularly business accounts. PNC's strategy of combining organic growth and M&A (most recently in Colorado with FirstBank). Professional opportunities created for bank employees through the in-person delivery network. The role of personal touches — down to thank-you notes and branded umbrellas — in reinforcing the bank brand through the client experience.

  --------  

  23:32

  --------

  23:32

More Business podcasts

Trending Business podcasts

About ABA Banking Journal Podcast

ABA Banking Journal Podcast: Podcasts in Family