Blog Archives
AROUND THE WORLD: HONG KONG UNIVERSITY’S DOUGLAS ARNER
Every now and then I do a podcast where I feel like I hit a vein of gold. This is one of them. It’s one of our shows where I think you’ll want to listen several times and take notes, or print out the transcript and mark it up. My guest is Douglas Arner, who is the Kerry Holdings Professor in Law at Hong Kong University, and the Director and Cofounder of the Asian Institute of International Financial Law.
COMMUNITY BANKS IN THE DIGITAL AGE: ABA CEO ROB NICHOLS
America has about 5,000 banks — more than any other country. My guest today leads their national trade group. He is Rob Nichols, CEO of the American Bankers Association. He joined me for a conversation about how technology is changing banking, and especially community banks. While total banking volume is disproportionately done by large institutions, small community banks play a critical role in both our financial system, and in the life of the nation.
POWER OF ONE: MOJALOOP FOUNDATION’S PAULA HUNTER AND LESLEY-ANN VAUGHAN
The Swahili word for “one” is mojaloop, and it inspired the name of the organization that is led by today’s guests. They are Paula Hunter and Lesley-Ann Vaughan of the Mojaloop Foundation. The open-source Mojaloop software was first developed in 2017 to support the financial inclusion work of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, premised on the realization that reaching financially underserved people with digital financial services will require the financial system to use open and interoperable solutions. Just four years later, more than 400 developers are collaborating to create Mojaloop software that is helping service providers open markets and accelerate progress in emerging markets.
WORLDWIDE FINANCIAL INCLUSION: SHARMISTA APPAYA AND IVO JENIK
My guests today are leaders in the drive to bring the world’s poor into the formal financial system. They are Sharmista Appaya, Financial Sector Specialist at the World Bank Group, and Ivo Jenik, Financial Sector Specialist at CGAP. CGAP stands for the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor and sits within the World Bank as essentially a financial inclusion think tank. I first met Sharmista years ago in London when she headed the Bank of England’s Fintech Accelerator, and I’ve been running into Ivo in interesting places around the world for years, but they are now both based where I am, in Washington DC.
EMBRACE THE HERETIC – HONG KONG’S PINDAR WONG
We are introducing some thematic series into Barefoot Innovation this year. One series will stretch our collective thinking out into the future and try to envision how technology will change financial services, not for the next few years, but over the next decade or two. My working title for this theme is, the Thinkers. And so we’re starting with Pindar Wong.
TRANSFORMING CREDIT ACCESS WITH MACHINE LEARNING – MIKE DE VERE AND TEDDY FLO OF ZEST AI
My guests today are Mike de Vere, CEO of Zest AI, and Teddy Flo, the company’s general counsel. Zest is seeking to revolutionize credit underwriting by leveraging more information and analyzing it through machine learning. They started out as a lender, but have pivoted to selling tools to banks and other lenders, to equip them to make better lending decisions.
HOW TO PARTNER — ADVICE FOR BANKS AND FINTECHS FROM PARTNERSHIP FUND FOR NEW YORK CEO MARIA GOTSCH
Everyone is going to love today’s show, but if you are a fintech or regtech startup trying to sell services to a big bank — this is absolutely must listening. And the same is true if you’re a bank wanting to work with tech startups. My guest is Maria Gotsch, CEO of the Partnership Fund for New York City. The fund’s goal is to make New York City a technology innovation hub like Silicon Valley but focused on finance, leveraging New York’s role as global financial capital.
OPEN BANKING: BBVA’S SUSAN FRENCH
Is the future of banking, open? And will open banking reshape the world of finance? My guest today has the answers. She is Susan French, head of Products at BBVA’s Open Platform. BBVA, the global bank headquartered in Spain, has long been ahead of the curve in technology innovation in general, and in open banking specifically.
BANKERS’ CORE CHALLENGE: MANTL CEO NATHANIEL HARLEY
A lot of people, including me, care about community banks. They are much more than providers of financial services. They are the backbone of their communities. That matters now more than ever, as many of these communities are struggling, especially in the pandemic. These banks know their markets deeply, which both inspires them, and enables them, to serve their consumers and businesses in unique ways.
A NEW KIND OF MONEY: DIGITAL DOLLAR PROJECT COFOUNDERS CHRISTOPHER GIANCARLO AND DANIEL GORFINE
My guests are Christopher Giancarlo, former Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and Daniel Gorfine, who previously led the CFTC’s innovation program, LabCFTC. When they left the commission, they teamed up to found the Digital Dollar Project, advocating for why and how the United States needs to join the 80-plus other countries that are planning to issue Central Bank Digital Currency, or CBDC.
HOW TO INNOVATE: INTUIT FOUNDER SCOTT COOK
This is our final show of 2020 and I predict it will be an all-time favorite. It is already a favorite of mine. That’s because of who my guest is — Scott Cook, the legendary founder of Intuit — and also because of what he says. In this conversation, Scott takes us with him in thinking about the roots of innovation, the wellsprings of creativity. Where does innovation come from? How do you turn a good idea into a great company? What values should drive the effort? Scott shares his thinking on all this, he does it mainly by telling us stories drawn from his own experience.
CREDIT DATA IN THE COVID CRISIS: EXPERIAN’S ALEX LINTNER
Today’s guest is Alex Lintner, Group President of Experian Consumer Information Services, which provides credit reporting services to lenders throughout the world. This is Alex’s second time on Barefoot Innovation. The last time, we were talking with LendUp’s Sasha Orloff about credit scoring innovation. In today’s show, we’re talking about credit scoring transformation.
SAVING SMALL BUSINESSES THROUGH TECHNOLOGY WITH ROSS BUHRDORF AND LAMINE ZARRAD OF ZENBUSINESS
As the 2020 pandemic continues to threaten America’s small businesses, it makes sense to talk with people who are saving them, by serving them through technology. My guests today do just that. They are Ross Buhrdorf, CEO & Founder of ZenBusiness, and his colleague Lamine Zarrad. Lamine, who is SVP of Financial Services, was a guest on Barefoot Innovation last year, when he was CEO of Joust. Joust was acquired by ZenBusiness earlier this year.
THE FUTURE OF PAYMENTS WITH MASTERCARD EXECUTIVE VICE CHAIR ANN CAIRNS
Today’s guest has her finger on the pulse of global change in the world of payments, including how the COVID pandemic is changing the world. She is Ann Cairns, Executive Vice Chair of Mastercard. I first met Ann at the Paris Fintech Forum last January, just before the virus turned our world upside down. It’s fitting, then, that we started our discussion with the pandemic, and specifically with how it is affecting women. By the time we finished, we had traveled far into the future of payments.
ALWAYS INNOVATING: UPGRADE CEO RENAUD LAPLANCHE
In late January, just a few short weeks before COVID shut down the world, I was in Paris (which now seems like a lifetime ago). As I was helping myself to a coffee in the speaker lounge of the Paris Fintech Forum, I ran into Renaud Laplanche. Renaud was one of our earliest guests on Barefoot Innovation when he was CEO of Lending Club, and I’m so happy to have him back today in his new role as CEO and co-founder of Upgrade. I wanted to talk with him about Upgrade, and also to get his thoughts about how the fintech sector has evolved since those days.
A COMBINATORIAL EXPLOSION, CIRCLE CEO JEREMY ALLAIRE
When I started my senior fellowship at Harvard in 2015, I moved into the Boston “Innovation District,” an old neighborhood where rough brick streets slope down to Boston Harbor. A few blocks from my apartment was one of Boston’s most exciting young fintechs, Circle. Today’s guest, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, was a guest on my podcast show back then. Today, he’s back. And what a world of change has transpired in these five years.
REGULATING IN THE AGE OF COVID: NEW YORK DFS SUPERINTENDENT LINDA LACEWELL
Today’s show is a special one because it includes breaking news. My guest is Linda Lacewell, the New York State Superintendent of the Department of Financial Services, and she will not only share her program for innovating in the midst of a pandemic, but will also announce an exciting initiative: the DFS is working with us at AIR to host New York’s first-ever regulatory tech sprint, in partnership with the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS).
SMALL BUSINESS LENDING IN THE AGE OF COVID: FUNDATION CEO SAM GRAZIANO
In this episode, Sam tells us about Fundation’s journey, starting with his own very usual mix of skills and then the company’s launch as a direct line-of-credit lender to small businesses. He describes their epiphany, a few years back, in realizing that the technology platform they built was exactly what banks need in order to automate their own small business lending. Fundation had developed automated risk models that enable banks to say yes to business customers that, under traditional standards, would be rejected. Today, the company has a 50/50 split between direct lending and bank partnerships.
INVESTING IN FINANCIAL HEALTH: SARAH WILLIS ERTUR AND ALLIE BURNS
I’m delighted to say that my guests today are Allie Burns, the CEO of Village Capital, and Sarah Willis, Head of Financial Health Work at JPMChase and former Director at the MetLife Foundation.
FAST-FORWARD ON COMMUNITY BANK TECHNOLOGY: ICBA CEO REBECA ROMERO RAINEY
Our regular listeners know I have a long history of working with community banks, including in small towns and rural communities across the country. So it’s a special treat to have today’s guest on the show. She is Rebeca Romero Rainey, President and CEO of the Independent Community Bankers of America.
PROGRAMMABLE MONEY: SILA COFOUNDERS SHAMIR KARKAL AND ANGELA WILSON
Way back at the start of Barefoot Innovation, our very second episode featured one of the guests we have with us today. He is Shamir Karkal, CEO of Sila, and he’s joined on today’s show by his cofounder and Sila’s General Counsel, Angela Angelovska-Wilson.
A NEW WORLD FOR BROKER-DEALERS: FINRA’S HAIMERA WORKIE
One benefit of my work is that I get to spend time with the innovators who are reshaping regulatory agencies all over the world. I have my favorites, and one of those is today’s guest. He is Haime Workie, who leads the innovation team at FINRA.
THE FUTURE OF REGULATION SERIES: EPISODE 5 WITH NCUA CHAIRMAN RODNEY HOOD
The triple crises of 2020 — pandemic, economic contraction, and racial and social upheaval — are opening up new kinds of conversations. Today’s episode is one of these — my discussion with Rodney Hood, the Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration.
CRYPTO INNOVATION: WYOMING BANKING COMMISSIONER ALBERT FORKNER
One evening last October, I was pushing my way through the throngs of people at Money 2020 in Las Vegas, when someone called out my name. I turned and saw today’s guest — Albert Forkner. He is the Banking Commissioner of the State of Wyoming, and our conversation led to this podcast, because he is doing one of the most innovative regulatory experiments in the United States — or maybe anywhere.
THE FUTURE OF REGULATION SERIES: EPISODE 4 WITH INTERIM CEO OF THE UK FCA, CHRISTOPHER WOOLARD
Today’s episode of our special series on the future of regulation after the pandemic takes us across the Atlantic (virtually) to talk with one of my favorite Barefoot Innovation guests. He is Christopher Woolard, the interim CEO of the UK Financial Conduct Authority.
THE FUTURE OF REGULATION SERIES: EPISODE 3 WITH CHAIRMAN OF THE FDIC JELENA McWILLIAMS
Today in our special series on financial regulation in the pandemic and beyond, we are honored to have with us the Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Jelena Mc Williams.
THE FIRST FINTECH COMPTROLLER: ACTING COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY BRIAN BROOKS ON HIS FIRST DAY IN OFFICE
Brian Brooks is starting his new job as acting Comptroller of the Currency. I’m fortunate to know Brian well, and over the years he and I have spent many hours talking about all the themes that we explore here on Barefoot Innovation. As he takes on his new role, I’m delighted that we were able to sit down together (virtually) and share some of that conversation with you.
CALLING ALL INNOVATORS: ANDREW MCCORMACK OF BIS ON THE FIRST G20 GLOBAL REGULATORY TECHSPRINT — DEADLINE MAY 27
Today’s show is both a fascinating story and a call to action. We’re posting it as a bonus episode because my guest, Andrew McCormack of the Bank for International Settlements, is sharing an invitation to innovators throughout the world to apply to compete in the G20’s global TechSprint — and entries are due in just two weeks!
THE FUTURE OF REGULATION SERIES: EPISODE 1 WITH FORMER COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY THOMAS CURRY
The ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are radiating through our lives, coming with wave after wave of impact. We are gradually awakening to a sense of how profound some of these changes may become, especially as secondary and tertiary effects cascade through the system.
THE FUTURE OF REGULATION SERIES: EPISODE 2 WITH FORMER COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY EUGENE LUDWIG
Welcome to the second in our series of special conversations about how the pandemic may change the shape of financial regulation. Last time we talked with former Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry. Today, my guest is another former Comptroller, and now the CEO and Founder of Promontory Financial Group, Eugene Ludwig.
NO SHORTCUTS – VARO CEO COLIN WALSH ON HOW TO BECOME A BANK
Trailblazing is hard work. It is not easy to carve out a path no one has followed before, knowing where you want to go but not precisely how to get there. That is exactly what today’s guest has done. Colin Walsh is the CEO of Varo, and Varo is the first fintech startup to become chartered as a national bank.
HOMOMORPHIC ENCRYPTION: ENVEIL CEO ELLISON ANNE WILLIAMS
Ellison Anne and I sat down for this conversation during the Singapore Fintech Festival late last year, in the bustling speakers lounge, which means there is some background noise. Still, I know you’ll enjoy hearing from her as she explains that homomorphic encryption is 30 year old technology that has suddenly become practical because it requires intensive computing power, and that power is now becoming cheap and abundant.
FINTECH4GOOD: SUNRISE BANKS CEO DAVID REILING
Dave’s banking career started as a teller in inner city LA amidst social unrest. The bank was in a neighborhood of good people who were being poorly served because of where they lived. Dave learned a lot from the experience and took his insights back to his hometown in Minnesota where he bought a community bank.
FINANCIAL REGULATORS’ DILEMMA: REGULATORY MODERNIZATION WITH JERRY BUCKLEY AND SASHA LEONHARDT
With technology changing so fast, today’s regulators need the ability to “test drive” newly-emerging tools and try out options, as the private sector does. But in the US, my friend said, pilot testing like this is often blocked by a Catch 22 situation.
ARE YOU A BEZOS OR A MUSK? CREATING INNOVATION CAPITAL WITH JEFF DYER
Jeff and his colleagues conducted research to identify and rank America’s most innovative leaders today. The resulting Forbes Magazine story reports a tie for the number one slot: Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.
BANKING THE INNOVATORS: SILICON VALLEY BANK CEO GREG BECKER
A theme of our talk was Greg’s insight that fintech has shifted from its early focus on supporting large industries to, today, disrupting them. He thinks — and I agree — that their innovation is now forcing financial companies of all types and sizes to deeply rethink their traditional business models.
JELENA MCWILLIAMS, CHAIRMAN OF THE FDIC
The United States has never had a bank regulator like Jelena McWilliams. She is the Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and I’m delighted to say that she is my guest on today’s show.
JOSEPH OTTING, COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY
I am thrilled to say that today’s guest is the 31st Comptroller of the Currency, Joseph Otting.
For our listeners outside the United States, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or OCC, is a bureau of the US Department of the Treasury and is the agency that charters and supervises our national banks — those with federal charters. That includes all the very large US banks and many of the small ones.
LEAPFROGGING TO LEADERSHIP: ABU DHABI GLOBAL MARKET’S RICHARD TENG
In financial innovation, we sometimes see the world turn upside down. What used to be disadvantage, becomes advantage. What once seemed like assets, become liabilities. The “new” somehow becomes better than the old, even where the old has seemed like a standard to which everyone should aspire.
CONGRESS’ PHYSICIST: HOUSE AI TASK FORCE CHAIR REP. BILL FOSTER
My very special guest is Congressman Bill Foster, who represents the 11th District of Illinois. He is a member of the House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services, and was appointed by Committee Chair Maxine Waters to lead the special task force she set up to examine how artificial intelligence will transform finance.
THE FUTURE OF WORK: JOUST CEO LAMINE ZARRAD
Lamine believes we’re moving to a new economy built around small enterprises, rather than big ones. He echoes the thinking that’s being offered by Hemant Taneja in his important book Unscaled. The argument is that 20th-century industrialization rewards scale — big, centralized, hierarchical organizations.
THE CENTRAL BANK OF THE FUTURE
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have funded an initiative to think through the future of central banks and how they will, and should, advance the goal of financial inclusion. To lead the work, the foundation selected two leading thinkers in the space.
THE LONG GAME: TALKING FINANCIAL INCLUSION WITH CGAP CEO GRETA BULL
One of the joys of my work is the chance to tap into the genius of the global movement to expand financial inclusion. I honestly was barely aware of this community until about five years ago. Now, it shapes what I do every day.
DECENTRALIZED IDENTITY: CIVIC CEO VINNY LINGHAM
Today’s show zeroes in on the most foundational question facing us all, not only in financial innovation but in our whole new world of ubiquitous data. That challenge is, how can we gain the benefits of this huge new universe of digital information, and at the same time, prevent it from hurting us. My very thoughtful guest on this dilemma is Vinny Lingham, CEO of Civic Technologies.
REACHING NEW HEIGHTS: THE FCA’S NICK COOK AND FRANCESCA HOPWOOD ROAD
We have two guests. Nick Cook has been on the show twice before in his former role as head of regtech at the UK Financial Conduct Authority. He now leads the FCA’s newly-created division-level unit on innovation. I believe this model is unique in the world– a financial regulatory agency establishing a high-level unit that, when staffed out, will have 200 people. And my second guest is his successor in leading that regtech group — Francesca Hopwood Road.
CROSSING LINES: ASPEN’S IDA RADEMACHER AND PRUDENTIAL’S JAMIE KALAMARIDES
Today’s show is amazing on two levels. First, my guests, Ida Rademacher and Jamie Kalamarides, explain new frontiers of thinking about how financial services, including insurance and retirement funds, can promote real financial health and inclusion.
A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR SMALL BUSINESS, WITH KAREN MILLS
This is the second time I’ve sat down with Karen Mills for a conversation on Barefoot Innovation. Karen is a Senior Fellow at both the Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School (where I got to know her), and previously was the head of the US Small Business Administration. She is also probably the foremost expert, and most eloquent voice, anywhere, on using technology to strengthen small business.
SMALL BUSINESS LENDING: ROB FROHWEIN AND KATHRYN PETRALIA OF KABBAGE
In fintech’s early years, much of the innovation focused on consumers. The technologies, though, are equally potent for small business, and a few startups pioneered that space. Today’s guests have been at the forefront.
THE FUTURE OF BANKING WITH CHRIS SKINNER
For this one, my guest is the one-and-only Chris Skinner. Chris, the CEO of the Finanser, began writing a daily blog in 2007. Every single day since then, for twelve solid years, he has written a blog post. It’s said that journalism is the first draft of history. Chris has written that daily first draft of the history of fintech, almost from the start.
100TH EPISODE: THE RACE TO REGULATION TRANSFORMATION — MARATHON AND SPRINT
Today, I’m recording the 100th show.
If someone had asked me that spring morning — four years and ninety-nine conversations ago — to predict the financial regulatory world of today, I’m not sure what I would have said, but I know for sure that it would have been wrong. In my wildest dreams, I could not have envisioned how technology is transforming finance, and financial regulation, in 2019.