Episode 276

Big Picture 2025!

This episode examines six articles from S&P Global (subscription required) that cover big picture topics for 2025. The topics include commodities, capital markets, supply chain, M&A, commercial real estate, and generative AI. 2025 could be quite an interesting year!

Episode 275

How much is your bank really worth?

This episode examines a recent blog post from PCBB titled “How much is your CFI really worth?” Recent sales data implies there is a disconnect between buyers and sellers in terms of price. The M&A market has been weak for the last two years with many potential buyers sitting on the sidelines. What factors determine a bank’s value? A link to the blog post is included below.  

Link: How Much Is Your CFI Really Worth?

Episode 274

Interview with Jason Lange from Chatham Financial

This episode is an interview with Jason Lange from Chatham Financial. Jason is on Chatham’s financial institutions team, helping clients install, grow, and optimize balance sheet hedging and customer hedging programs. Jason has been with Chatham for 16 years and is a veteran of the armed forces serving as a U.S. Army Aviation Officer. Jason and I discuss different strategies for banks to manage their balance sheets in a decreasing interest rate environment. Links to Chatham’s website, Jason’s profile, and links to two previous interviews with Bob Newman are included below.   
Link: https://www.chathamfinancial.com
Link: https://www.chathamfinancial.com/team/jason-lange
Link: Episode 42: Interview with Bob Newman from Chatham Financial
Link: Episode 67: Interview 2 with Bob Newman on Derivatives

Episode 273

Special Report: Federal Home Loan Banks under fire!  

This episode is a special report as the Federal Home Loan Banking System (FHLB) is under fire from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). The FHFA is seeking to radically change the FHLB system by pushing a dramatic increase in affordable housing, climate change, and DEI politics. The episode examines multiple papers and reports to explain the chain of events that have led to this moment. The episode also reviews the history of the FHLB, their members, and why the FHLB should be left alone. Links to the reports are included below.  

Link: Federal Home Loan Banks and Financial Stability | Journal of Financial Regulation | Oxford Academic

Link: FHLBank-System-at-100-Report.pdf | FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY

Link: GAO-24-106957: Federal Home Loan Banks: Actions Related to the Spring 2023 Bank Failures

Link: summary-of-fhlb-system-at-100-report.pdf

Episode 272

New SBA Covid EIDL Servicing Center (CESC) and My SBA loan portal  

This episode looks at recent announcements from the SBA on the creation of a new Covid EIDL Servicing Center (CESC) and a new website called MySBA Loan Portal. If you need help with an SBA EIDL loan you can contact the CESC by phone (833-853-5638) or by email at covidEIDLservicing@sba.gov. Borrowers can register through the MySBA Loan Portal enrollment page at  https://lending.sba.gov/

Episode 271

Liquidation pressures led to Republic First Bank failure!  

This episode examines a recent report from the FDIC Office of the Inspector General on what caused the failure at Republic First Bank earlier this year. The main reasons stated for the failure include unrealized losses in the bank’s bond portfolio, the inability to utilize secondary credit sources, several failed capital raises, and a dysfunctional board of directors. The main take away is that having unrealized losses in your investment portfolio is a very risky situation for a bank to find itself in. One misstep can lead to a catastrophe. A link to the report is included below.  

Link: EVAL-2025-01 Material Loss Review of Republic First Bank.pdf

Episode 270

How are U.S. unbanked households doing?  

This episode examines a recent report by the FDIC on unbanked and underbanked households in the U.S. The report shows positive trends as the number of unbanked households in the U.S. continues to decline. The report also displays some very interesting data including the usage of mobile banking, the use of various payment channels, and for the first time, the use of buy now pay later. A link to the report is included below.

Link: 2023 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households | FDIC