Regulation, M&A and BaaS: Insights from the NEXT Forum

Panelists shared several hot takes, and featured speaker Johnny Allison didn't disappoint. We also discuss signs of weaker loan demand from mid-quarter updates.

What’s going on, Bank Slaters?

I am writing from Newport Beach, Calif., where I’m attending the Future Proof Festival, an innovation conference geared toward wealth managers, investment advisers and fintech firms. I’m looking forward to making new contacts in this space — a promising growth area for banks and nonbanks.

I just returned from the inaugural NEXT Forum hosted by Travillian and Newcleus, where I reconnected with many of my favorite banking experts. I had the chance to catch up with Johnny Allison from Home BancShares (more on that later) and attend a great motivational talk by Sugar Ray Leonard. I got some great footage of Johnny and Sugar Ray ‘sparring’ for those who can reach beyond the paywall.

Finally, I recorded an episode of “Pioneers in Payments” with Donna Blum, where we discussed the adoption of instant payments, the importance of using data and touchpoints to find small business customers and what banks should be thinking about in terms of detecting fraud and protecting client privacy.

Recording “Pioneers in Payments” with Donna Blum

Let’s talk about the NEXT Forum.

It was a day packed with great sessions, including M&A and hiring/compensation panels (which I moderated) and discussions about bank investing, embedded finance and the looming impact of the 2024 presidential election on financial services.

Here is a collection of perspectives I collected from the event.