The payment by the Federal Reserve of interest on bank reserves may sound like an abstruse matter of economic theory, but these payments are critical to bank operations and the Fed’s conduct of monetary policy. In the latest episode — sponsored by Intrafi’s Banking with Interest — ABA’s Jeff Huther discusses why proposals to end or reduce interest on reserves are misguided. Among other things, Huther discusses:

• Why ending payments could have a destabilizing effect on the financial sector.
• Why, under today’s accounting practices, the federal government would see no near-term bottom-line boost from capturing those payments.
• How reducing or eliminating interest on reserves would disproportionately harm community banks.

Read more in Huther’s ABA DataBank post.

ABA’s Washington Summit just wrapped up, and this episode — sponsored by Intrafi’s Banking with Interest — features a main stage conversation with Travis Hill, acting chairman of the FDIC. In this episode, Hill discusses:

• Revisions to the FDIC’s supervisory appeals process.
• Transparency in bank merger reviews by regulators.
• The future of bank capital policy after the Basel III “endgame.”
• Ethics and operational improvements at the FDIC.

April is Financial Literacy Month, a time when bankers think creatively about how to engage young people on topics of financial wellness. Citi’s Michelle A. Thornhill and Roads to Success’s Bashan Fernandez for a discussion of Citi’s approach to making financial knowledge fun and engaging. In this episode — sponsored by Intrafi’s Banking with Interest — they discuss several innovative approaches, including:

• Citi’s financial empowerment workshop for New York City middle schoolers, to be held on Teach Children to Save Day on April 22 at Citi Field in partnership with the New York Mets and several youth-serving nonprofits.
• Citi’s work with IlluminArt to produce Sami the Squirrel and the Great Acorn Adventure, a live play about financial literacy for elementary-age students.
• How Roads to Success uses budget scenario games and financial escape rooms to integrate fun into financial learning.
• Free tools from the ABA Foundation, including newly updated Teach Children to Save lesson plans, to help banks deliver engaging financial education in April and all year long.

In the wake of this week’s significant executive order directing the Treasury to eliminate the use of paper checks for federal government disbursements (and payments to the U.S. government), ABA’s Steve Kenneally joins the podcast for a conversation on what’s next for the payments system. In this episode — sponsored by nCino — Kenneally discusses:

• The role of Treasury checks in check fraud schemes.
• The order’s aggressive timeline, with an implementation date of Sept. 30, 2025.
• The significant challenges faced by different federal agencies in phasing out paper payments.
• The potential scope of exceptions to the order.
• How banks can help the small remaining user base of Treasury checks switch into bank accounts, including Bank On-certified accounts.

• Read our ABA Banking Journal feature on “Is it time to kill the paper check?“

Legislators and regulators are strongly focused on policy related to payment stablecoins, most recently with the passage of the Genius Act in the Senate Banking Committee. On this episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by nCino — ABA’s Brooke Ybarra and Kirsten Sutton discuss the current policy and technology landscape on stablecoins. Among other topics, they talk about:

• How stablecoins work and why people are interested in this kind of digital asset.
• Use cases for payment stablecoins, such as cross-border payments.
• Challenges that stablecoins may pose for today’s anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act framework.
• The outlook in Congress for the Stable Act in the House and the Genius Act in the Senate and what these bills would do.
• Key principles for thinking about stablecoins, including economic effects, disintermediation of financial institutions, regulatory arbitrage and consumer protection.
• How ABA is engaging on Capitol Hill and with regulatory agencies on stablecoin issues.

The big story of check fraud is not only its vast cost to the country and to individual victims, but simply the remarkable rate at which it is increasing. On this episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast — presented by nCino — we bring you a conversation from the ABA Fraudcast with ABA’s Paul Benda and Caitlin Piasecki of the United States Postal Inspection Service the enormous scale and challenge of addressing mail theft, a common venue for criminals to access paper checks.

Piasecki describes how the internet serves as a perfect sharing and recruiting platform for criminals aiming to get their hands on as many paper checks as possible. Encrypted platforms are where criminal organizations in New Jersey can easily connect with those operating in Los Angeles, she notes. “We have seen a huge influx in the complex nature these investigations have taken, where previously it was a local group in a local area,” she says.

A century ago, in March 1925, Charles G. Dawes was sworn in as vice president of the United States. Being elected vice president of the United States — as Dawes was, alongside Calvin Coolidge, in a landslide — is usually a career pinnacle for an American politician, but Dawes’ vice presidency turned out to be more of a footnote in his eventful life. In the second part of this two-part podcast series — presented by nCino — Dawes biographer Annette Dunlap explores Dawes’ service as head of logistics for the American Expeditionary Force in World War I (an organizational feat never before pulled off in American military history), his work in international diplomacy during the 1920s, his vice presidency under Calvin Coolidge and how he engineered a bailout for his troubled bank in the throes of the Great Depression.

A century ago, in March 1925, Charles G. Dawes was sworn in as vice president of the United States. Being elected vice president of the United States — as Dawes was, alongside Calvin Coolidge, in a landslide — is usually a career pinnacle for an American politician, but Dawes’ vice presidency turned out to be more of a footnote in his eventful life. In the first part of this two-part podcast series — presented by R&T Deposit Solutions — Dawes biographer Annette Dunlap walks listeners through Dawes’ early life, his big ideas in banking and his service as comptroller of the currency, and how he built up Chicago as a regional banking center. At this centennial moment, and in this 150th anniversary year for ABA, it’s worth reflecting on the fascinating and complex life of Charley Dawes.