BHB Welcomes Carta as a New “Friends of BHB” Sponsor

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Austin, Texas – February 18, 2025 — BHB, the rapidly expanding ecosystem dedicated to fueling community banks’ success, is proud to announce that Carta has joined as the newest sponsor in the “Friends of BHB” program. This strategic sponsorship unites two forces driving the future of banking and financial services, offering community banks fresh pathways to streamline equity management and ownership structures.

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The BHB Fund Announces Strategic Investment in equipifi

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Austin, TX – February 11, 2025 — The BHB Fund, a partner fund to the dynamic and rapidly expanding Bankers Helping Bankers program, announces its investment in equipifi, a powerful fintech platform transforming how community banks offer and manage “Buy Now, Pay Later”...
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Bankers Helping Bankers Appoints Matthew Smith as CEO: Ushering in a New Era of Independence and Focus for Community Banks

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Austin, TX – January 7, 2025 — Bankers Helping Bankers (BHB), a trusted resource and collaboration platform dedicated to empowering community banks, is ecstatic to announce Matthew Smith as its new Chief Executive Officer. This pivotal appointment in leadership transition...
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FinTech Cowboys

Every guest eventually asks Tanner Mayo and Matthew Smith the same question: "So when are you two finally starting a bank?" They don't want one. But in this episode of The Bank We Never Built — a special series from The FinTech Cowboys — they sit down with Steve Sievert, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Brand Management at PULSE, to actually design it: what it would stand for, how it would use technology, and why it might make more sense to build it from scratch than to buy one. Steve's spent nearly two decades helping financial institutions compete and grow, and in this conversation he pushes Tanner and Matthew to think past products entirely — starting with the life problems a bank should actually be solving for people, and working backward from there. In this episode: 🎯 Why the bank they never built would be built around people's life milestones — buying a home, buying a car, growing a business — instead of selling checking accounts and cards 🏗️ Why Steve would choose to build a bank from scratch (de novo) rather than buy one — avoiding the legacy tech and operational baggage that usually comes with an acquisition 📊 How a modern dashboard could pull together everything from a customer's bank accounts to their Venmo and crypto holdings — giving community banks a true edge over fragmented, digital-only competitors 🔔 Why proactive, opt-out fraud alerts (not settings customers have to turn on) build real trust — and how banks can humanize technology instead of hiding behind it 🐖 Rewarding good financial behavior, not just spending — small, meaningful incentives for saving or paying bills on time, and why the gesture matters more than the dollar amount 🤝 Why community banks' local knowledge and collaborative culture are still their biggest advantage over big digital-only banks — if they're willing to embrace change Subscribe to The FinTech Cowboys for The Bank We Never Built and our regular weekly conversations at the intersection of community banking and financial technology.
The Bank We Never Built: Steve Sievert | EVP Marketing and Brand Management | PULSE
The Bank We Never Built is a special series from The FinTech Cowboys. Every episode of our regular show, someone asks Tanner Mayo and Matthew Smith when they're finally going to start a bank. They're not going to, but it's too good a question to drop, so we built a series around it, bringing in experts to help design one piece of a bank that will never actually exist. Jeff Chambers founded Lumin Digital in 2016 to build the first modern, cloud native digital banking platform for credit unions and community banks. It wasn't his first rodeo. He previously co-founded Architect Digital Banking, which Fiserv acquired in 2015, and served as Chief Operating Officer at Alkami as the company launched its early modern digital banking suite. Under his leadership, Lumin has grown into a company valued at more than 1.6 billion dollars and has been certified as a Great Place to Work. In this episode, Jeff joins Tanner and Matthew to design the leadership and culture behind the bank we're never going to build. The conversation covers why the goal should be a company that lasts decades, not a quick exit, and what it actually takes to build technology that keeps up. In this episode: 🏗️ Build it, don't stitch it. Jeff makes the case for owning your core and API structure from day one instead of cobbling together best of breed vendors that eventually freeze your ability to innovate. 🌱 Culture is the real foundation. A mission driven, employee first culture, closer to Costco than a typical bank, is what actually drives customer experience and long term loyalty. 💰 Patient investors matter more than people think. Jeff explains why aligning with investors who want decades of value instead of a quick flip changes every decision a company makes. 🔄 Reinvent every 5 to 10 years or risk irrelevance. Jeff shares why companies that stop rebuilding themselves eventually become acquisition targets, and how open, even uncomfortable, dialogue inside a company fuels that reinvention. 🎯 Fintechs raised the bar for everyone. Why the success of companies like Chime and Robinhood means banks and credit unions no longer get to compete on convenience alone. Subscribe to The FinTech Cowboys for The Bank We Never Built and our regular conversations at the intersection of community banking and financial technology.
The Bank We Never Built: Jeff Chambers | Founder & CEO | Lumin Digital
The Bank We Never Built is a special series from The FinTech Cowboys. Every episode of our regular show, someone asks Tanner Mayo and Matthew Smith when they're finally going to start a bank. They're not going to, but it's too good a question to drop, so we built a series around it, bringing in experts to help design one piece of a bank that will never actually exist. Bill Hampton is President of Primax, where he spends his time helping community banks build payments programs that actually compete. This is his second time joining us on the show, and this time he's back to help design payments and branch strategy for the bank we're never going to build. In this episode, Bill joins Tanner and Matthew to make the case that payments should be the center of the strategy, not an afterthought, and why a de novo bank still needs a few physical branches even in a digital first world. In this episode: 🏦 Three branches, built on purpose. Why a blank slate bank would still choose a small branch footprint, and how in person trust drives the most profitable relationships like estate planning and treasury services. 💳 Payments are the deposit stickiness of the future. Bill explains why daily payment activity, not the account itself, is what actually keeps a customer loyal. 🛡️ Real-time fraud data becomes a relationship tool. How rich payment data enables proactive, personalized service instead of just reactive fraud protection. 👥 Build a leadership team around payments, not around silos. Why integrating payments, digital and security leadership tightly matters more than adding more headcount. 🤝 Best of breed partnerships, guarded by a clear mission. How a maturing fintech ecosystem lets community banks compete with national players, as long as they stay disciplined about what they integrate. Subscribe to The FinTech Cowboys for The Bank We Never Built and our regular conversations at the intersection of community banking and financial technology.
The Bank We Never Built: Bill Hampton | President | Primax
The Bank We Never Built is a special series from The FinTech Cowboys. Every episode of our regular show, someone asks Tanner Mayo and Matthew Smith when they're finally going to start a bank. They're not going to, but it's too good a question to drop, so we built a series around it, bringing in experts to help design one piece of a bank that will never actually exist. Kevin Bannerton has spent his career on the deposit and liquidity side of banking, first as Managing Director and Head of Americas Liquidity Management at Deutsche Bank, then at R&T Deposit Solutions, where he's led the launch of the CDMX program and continued growth of the DDM and RTID programs. As EVP and Chief Business Development Officer, he now shapes R&T's growth strategy and partnerships across banks and wealth managers nationwide. In this episode, Kevin joins Tanner and Matthew to tackle deposits, the piece of the blueprint that funds everything else. The conversation covers build versus buy, where regulation is heading, and what it actually takes to fund a bank that can compete. In this episode: 🏗️ Build versus buy isn't the real question. Kevin makes the case for a hybrid approach, owning the capabilities that differentiate you and partnering for the rest. 🧩 Modular tech changes the math. Banks can now add new lines like fintech or crypto without a full core rebuild, orchestrating a small network of expert partners instead of one vendor doing everything. 💰 Deposits need a real strategy. Why business banking deposits matter so much, and how recent regulatory changes around reciprocal deposits are opening up new flexibility. 🔍 Regulatory scrutiny is only going up. AML, KYC and governance are trust factors banks cannot treat as an afterthought, and charter approval now demands more time, capital and governance than ever. 🔮 Play the long game. From tokenization to FedNow to digital asset custody, Kevin explains why banks need a clear view of where the market is headed before deciding where to invest. Subscribe to The FinTech Cowboys for The Bank We Never Built and our regular conversations at the intersection of community banking and financial technology.
The Bank We Never Built: Kevin Bannerton | EVP & Chief Business Development Officer | R&T
Chris Bedel has spent his entire career protecting community banks and credit unions. He started as an Information Security Officer at a community bank for eight years, where he helped drive 82% asset growth and more than double net income. In 2015 he took that experience and founded Bedel Security, a company built to give community financial institutions real CISO level leadership without the cost of a full time hire. In this episode of The Bank We Never Built, a special series from The FinTech Cowboys, Chris joins Tanner Mayo and Matthew Smith to design the bank that never was, this time through the lens of technology and security. The conversation covers why starting fresh beats buying an existing bank, what a modern tech stack should look like, and how a lean, security first team could actually operate at scale. In this episode: 🏗️ Why de novo beats acquisition. Starting from scratch lets you build your strategy and culture on purpose instead of inheriting someone else's compromises. 🎯 The case for underserved small business banking. Targeting businesses under 50 employees, or a specific niche like affluent suburban communities, instead of competing head on with big banks and fintechs. ☁️ A cloud based, API capable core paired with Zero Trust security. What it actually takes to run a fully distributed team without cutting corners on protection. 👥 Building a lean, high leverage team. Why the CIO role should focus on innovation and data instead of just infrastructure, and which functions make sense to outsource. 🤖 Where AI fits in from day one. Using AI for fraud detection, compliance and product customization, and why clean data is the real foundation underneath all of it. Subscribe to The FinTech Cowboys for The Bank We Never Built and our regular conversations at the intersection of community banking and financial technology.
The Bank We Never Built: Chris Bedel | Founder, President & CEO | Bedel Security
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