Today on the show, Steve quizzes Al on the hottest topics discussed at the recent Association for Financial Technology Fall Summit held in Palm Springs. Among them: the Federal Reserve’s rate cut and what it could mean for regional banks, mounting regulatory fintech issues, holes in talent pipeline and whether branches are going extinct in the next two decades. Spoiler: They aren’t.

Lake City Bank has managed to grow its book value per share even amid some of the thorniest industry challenges.

David Findlay, Chairman and CEO of Lake City Bank, talks to Al and Steve about why the bank is creating an innovation and tech center in Indiana, the significance of elevating the retail banker role and the importance of community outreach, including by making a move a big bank wouldn’t: maintaining rural branches.

But his secret sauce? It’s literal: Don’s Rib Sauce at Alcona Country Club in Elkhart, Indiana.

It’s action packed in banking right now as regulatory uncertainty mounts with the looming presidential election.

Today on the show, Al and Steve pick the brain of Nitin Mhatre, the CEO of Berkshire Bank, on the most pressing issues in banking. They explore the tension of a bank changing for the times while preserving its relationship-driven company culture, how to recruit senior talent and the importance of investing in technology. They also get into some of the cool initiatives the bank has pursued, including offering a bank account that comes with an unusual perk – paying up to $15 per month for subscriptions like Hulu and Netflix for certain direct deposit customers.

Al also brings up the big reunion: the Oasis tour. Steve starts humming.

As Jeff Jackson, the CEO of WesBanco, sees it, M&A activity can only go up.

In this episode, Al and Steve chat with Jeff about why that is and what is at stake for community banks across the country.

They also explore other banking classics, including what the future of delivery in banking looks like, how to retain employees and what has helped the bank grow its deposits in a competitive year. They also opine on another passion: college football.

The frequent flyer miles are overflowing for Steve and Al as they continue to visit banks across the country. In this episode, they dish on the burning C-suite issues, including: recession risks, core deposit growth challenges (and ideas to overcome them) and an area they believe bankers need to step it up on – their succession planning. Don’t worry. They talk about Snoop Dogg, too.

Mike Daniels, the chairman and CEO of Nicolet Bank and Green Bay Packers’ board member, talks to Al and Steve about what it takes for a community bank to flourish right now and the NFL offseason.

They also chat about how to preserve company culture when the business is scaling and offer tips on what not to do in pursuing deposits. Also, Mike provides a peek at what it’s like banking in America’s dairy land.

In this episode, Al and Steve discuss the mounting scrutiny on banking-as-a-service providers, the perplexities tied to a higher interest rate environment and the mounting concerns of succession planning.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Your hosts also chat about when M&A activity will pick up, how to preserve and nurture creativity while also mitigating risk and ways to become the best small business bank of the future.

It’s hard to stand out in banking but not impossible. In this cross-over edition of Plugged In, Al Dominick sits down with Mary Wisniewski to explore talent retention, theatrical innovation acts and the importance of the return on tech. They also get into mistakes banks make (ahem, on their social media video efforts) and introduce Mary's new show, 'Money Isn't Everything,' which starts to drop in mid-April.