Breaking Banks

A podcast on banking, fintech, and the future of financial services. Hosted by @jasonhenrichs, @jpnicols, and founder @brettking

[Breaking Banks @Breakingbanks1]

Core modernization can fail before the work even begins if the wrong metrics define success.

If transformation is strategically necessary, the question should not be limited to how much money the bank can save over the next three years.

The better question is what business value the institution needs to unlock for where it wants to compete next.

That shifts modernization from a cost-cutting exercise to a strategic capability decision.

Brett King @brettking and Paolo Sironi @thepsironi, host of Breaking Banks' sister podcast The Bankers' Bookshelf, speak with Pal Krogdahl, author of Rip Out the Core, about measuring transformation against the future the bank is actually trying to build.

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://t.co/Jk0EyKipQv

[Breaking Banks @Breakingbanks1]

The AI-native bank may be the destination, but getting there won’t happen with the flip of a switch.

Banks need to start the journey now, modernizing iteratively while moving their technology, operating models, and organizations toward that future state.

That means making progress without waiting for the perfect replacement, perfect architecture, or perfect moment to begin.

The challenge is imagining what comes next and building a practical path from today’s reality to tomorrow’s architecture.

Brett King @brettking and Paolo Sironi @thepsironi, host of Breaking Banks' sister podcast The Bankers' Bookshelf, speak with Pal Krogdahl, author of Rip Out the Core, about what that transformation actually requires.

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://t.co/Jk0EyKipQv

[Breaking Banks @Breakingbanks1]

Sometimes the best signal that an AI tool is working isn’t ROI.

It’s whether employees actually want to use it.

BECU saw that with Monty in the contact center.

Instead of hunting through pages of information while helping a member, agents could ask a question and get clarity in the moment.

The technology mattered, but so did the feedback loop. Agents helped improve the tool week after week until it became part of how they worked.

That may be the real test for enterprise AI: not whether it demos well, but whether it makes someone’s job meaningfully better.

Jason Henrichs @jasonhenrichs is joined by Bev Anderson, President and CEO of BECU @BECU, and Nadim Homsany, SVP, Head of AI at BECU.

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://t.co/5YRIlsEjn2

And catch Nadim on stage with Samer Saab, SVP of Product and Partnerships at Alloy Labs, at MoneyLive North America in Chicago, September 14–15. Find out more at https://t.co/fCr385HDE1

[Breaking Banks @Breakingbanks1]

“You're going to be able to deliver effective financial advice, but only so much as the individual who's receiving that advice trusts you.” – Nadim Homsany

AI can dramatically expand access to financial advice.

It can help people understand where they are financially, interpret their own data, and make better decisions.

But none of that matters if they don’t trust the institution delivering the advice.

For financial institutions, trust may be the most important AI capability they can’t automate.

Jason Henrichs @jasonhenrichs is joined by Bev Anderson, President and CEO of BECU @BECU, and Nadim Homsany, SVP, Head of AI at BECU, to explore how AI could expand access to financial health without sacrificing the trust that makes advice valuable.

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://t.co/5YRIlsEjn2

And catch Nadim on stage with Samer Saab, SVP of Product and Partnerships at Alloy Labs, at MoneyLive North America in Chicago, September 14–15. Find out more at https://t.co/fCr385HDE1

[Breaking Banks @Breakingbanks1]

“We have a saying that is digital first, human always. And now we've added digital first, AI enabled, human always. The ‘human always’ is who BECU is.” – Bev Anderson

AI may change how financial institutions serve people, but it doesn’t have to change who they are.

For BECU @BECU, the opportunity is to use AI to extend financial health and well-being to more members without losing the human connection at the center of the credit union model.

Jason Henrichs @jasonhenrichs is joined by Bev Anderson, President and CEO of BECU, and Nadim Homsany, SVP, Head of AI at BECU, to discuss what it means to build an AI strategy around mission, not just technology.

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://t.co/5YRIlsEjn2

And catch Nadim on stage with Samer Saab, SVP of Product and Partnerships at Alloy Labs, at MoneyLive North America in Chicago, September 14–15. Find out more at https://t.co/fCr385HDE1

[Breaking Banks @Breakingbanks1]

Let’s Get Serious About AI

The AI advantage may not belong to the institution with the biggest budget.

It may belong to the one with the clearest idea of where AI actually matters.

For BECU @BECU, getting serious about AI means making disciplined choices about where to focus, when to buy versus build, and how to measure value when traditional ROI doesn’t tell the whole story.

Could a member-owned credit union actually out-innovate banks spending billions on AI?

Jason Henrichs @jasonhenrichs is joined by Bev Anderson, President and CEO of BECU, and Nadim Homsany, SVP, Head of AI at BECU, to explore what a mission-anchored AI strategy looks like in practice.

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://t.co/SEEFwNsFen…

And catch Nadim on stage with Samer Saab, SVP of Product and Partnerships at Alloy Labs, at MoneyLive North America in Chicago, September 14–15. Find out more at https://t.co/fCr385HDE1

[Breaking Banks @Breakingbanks1]

Sometimes the best signal that an AI tool is working isn’t ROI.

It’s whether employees actually want to use it.

BECU saw that with Monty in the contact center.

Instead of hunting through pages of information while helping a member, agents could ask a question and get clarity in the moment.

The technology mattered, but so did the feedback loop. Agents helped improve the tool week after week until it became part of how they worked.

That may be the real test for enterprise AI: not whether it demos well, but whether it makes someone’s job meaningfully better.

Jason Henrichs @jasonhenrichs is joined by Bev Anderson, President and CEO of BECU @BECU, and Nadim Homsany, SVP, Head of AI at BECU.

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://t.co/5YRIlsEjn2

And catch Nadim on stage with Samer Saab, SVP of Product and Partnerships at Alloy Labs, at MoneyLive North America in Chicago, September 14–15. Find out more at https://t.co/fCr385HDE1

[Breaking Banks @Breakingbanks1]

“You're going to be able to deliver effective financial advice, but only so much as the individual who's receiving that advice trusts you.” – Nadim Homsany

AI can dramatically expand access to financial advice.

It can help people understand where they are financially, interpret their own data, and make better decisions.

But none of that matters if they don’t trust the institution delivering the advice.

For financial institutions, trust may be the most important AI capability they can’t automate.

Jason Henrichs @jasonhenrichs is joined by Bev Anderson, President and CEO of BECU @BECU, and Nadim Homsany, SVP, Head of AI at BECU, to explore how AI could expand access to financial health without sacrificing the trust that makes advice valuable.

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://t.co/5YRIlsEjn2

And catch Nadim on stage with Samer Saab, SVP of Product and Partnerships at Alloy Labs, at MoneyLive North America in Chicago, September 14–15. Find out more at https://t.co/fCr385HDE1

[Breaking Banks @Breakingbanks1]

“We have a saying that is digital first, human always. And now we've added digital first, AI enabled, human always. The ‘human always’ is who BECU is.” – Bev Anderson

AI may change how financial institutions serve people, but it doesn’t have to change who they are.

For BECU @BECU, the opportunity is to use AI to extend financial health and well-being to more members without losing the human connection at the center of the credit union model.

Jason Henrichs @jasonhenrichs is joined by Bev Anderson, President and CEO of BECU, and Nadim Homsany, SVP, Head of AI at BECU, to discuss what it means to build an AI strategy around mission, not just technology.

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://t.co/5YRIlsEjn2

And catch Nadim on stage with Samer Saab, SVP of Product and Partnerships at Alloy Labs, at MoneyLive North America in Chicago, September 14–15. Find out more at https://t.co/fCr385HDE1

[Breaking Banks @Breakingbanks1]

Let’s Get Serious About AI

The AI advantage may not belong to the institution with the biggest budget.

It may belong to the one with the clearest idea of where AI actually matters.

For BECU @BECU, getting serious about AI means making disciplined choices about where to focus, when to buy versus build, and how to measure value when traditional ROI doesn’t tell the whole story.

Could a member-owned credit union actually out-innovate banks spending billions on AI?

Jason Henrichs @jasonhenrichs is joined by Bev Anderson, President and CEO of BECU, and Nadim Homsany, SVP, Head of AI at BECU, to explore what a mission-anchored AI strategy looks like in practice.

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://t.co/5YRIlsEjn2

And catch Nadim on stage with Samer Saab, SVP of Product and Partnerships at Alloy Labs, at MoneyLive North America in Chicago, September 14–15. Find out more at https://t.co/fCr385HDE1

[Breaking Banks @Breakingbanks1]

Core modernization can fail before the work even begins if the wrong metrics define success.

If transformation is strategically necessary, the question should not be limited to how much money the bank can save over the next three years.

The better question is what business value the institution needs to unlock for where it wants to compete next.

That shifts modernization from a cost-cutting exercise to a strategic capability decision.

Brett King @brettking and Paolo Sironi @thepsironi, host of Breaking Banks' sister podcast The Bankers' Bookshelf, speak with Pal Krogdahl, author of Rip Out the Core, about measuring transformation against the future the bank is actually trying to build.

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://t.co/Jk0EyKipQv

[Breaking Banks @Breakingbanks1]

The AI-native bank may be the destination, but getting there won’t happen with the flip of a switch.

Banks need to start the journey now, modernizing iteratively while moving their technology, operating models, and organizations toward that future state.

That means making progress without waiting for the perfect replacement, perfect architecture, or perfect moment to begin.

The challenge is imagining what comes next and building a practical path from today’s reality to tomorrow’s architecture.

Brett King @brettking and Paolo Sironi @thepsironi, host of Breaking Banks' sister podcast The Bankers' Bookshelf, speak with Pal Krogdahl, author of Rip Out the Core, about what that transformation actually requires.

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://t.co/Jk0EyKipQv

[Breaking Banks @Breakingbanks1]

Rip Out the Core

New systems collide with old processes, old incentives, and old ways of working, turning transformation into another expensive cycle of delays, overruns, and patchwork fixes.

Brett King @brettking and Paolo Sironi @thepsironi, host of Breaking Banks' sister podcast The Bankers' Bookshelf, speak with Pal Krogdahl, author of Rip Out the Core - an essential guide for anyone wrestling with the stubborn realities of banking core modernization.

Join as the trio unpack successful modernization, organizational transformation and technical transformation, and why core modernization so often fails.

Because replacing the core is only half the job.

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://t.co/Jk0EyKipQv

[Breaking Banks @Breakingbanks1]

“If all you're doing is just using AI to reformat your COBOL code, you're not doing a transformation.” – Pal Krogdahl

New technology does not automatically create a new bank.

If the business models, processes, and ways of working remain unchanged, AI can simply become a faster way to preserve the institution that already exists.

That may modernize the technology.

It does not transform the bank.

Brett King and Paolo Sironi, host of Breaking Banks' sister podcast The Bankers' Bookshelf, speak with Pal Krogdahl, author of Rip Out the Core, about why genuine transformation starts with rethinking the business, not just rewriting the code.

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://t.co/Jk0EyKipQv

[Breaking Banks @Breakingbanks1]

Core modernization can fail before the work even begins if the wrong metrics define success.

If transformation is strategically necessary, the question should not be limited to how much money the bank can save over the next three years.

The better question is what business value the institution needs to unlock for where it wants to compete next.

That shifts modernization from a cost-cutting exercise to a strategic capability decision.

Brett King @brettking and Paolo Sironi @thepsironi, host of Breaking Banks' sister podcast The Bankers' Bookshelf, speak with Pal Krogdahl, author of Rip Out the Core, about measuring transformation against the future the bank is actually trying to build.

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://t.co/Jk0EyKipQv

[Breaking Banks @Breakingbanks1]

The AI-native bank may be the destination, but getting there won’t happen with the flip of a switch.

Banks need to start the journey now, modernizing iteratively while moving their technology, operating models, and organizations toward that future state.

That means making progress without waiting for the perfect replacement, perfect architecture, or perfect moment to begin.

The challenge is imagining what comes next and building a practical path from today’s reality to tomorrow’s architecture.

Brett King @brettking and Paolo Sironi @thepsironi, host of Breaking Banks' sister podcast The Bankers' Bookshelf, speak with Pal Krogdahl, author of Rip Out the Core, about what that transformation actually requires.

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://t.co/Jk0EyKipQv

[Breaking Banks @Breakingbanks1]

“Even though we’ve had a large-scale disaster, there are still potentially issues beneath the surface.” – Jason Mikula, @mikulaja

Synapse was a warning.

That does not mean the problems are gone.

And the market has changed.

BaaS-native banks are scaling and stablecoins are reshaping how startups build.

Middleware no longer holds the same position it did five years ago.

Sponsor banks now have to manage hidden risk while adapting to an entirely new competitive landscape.

Jason Henrichs, @jasonhenrichs, is joined by Jason Mikula, @mikulaja, publisher of FinTech Business Weekly and author of the book on BaaS; Ellen Linardi, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Synctera; and Reid Whiting, President of Lincoln Savings Bank as they discuss what worked five years ago, and what may no longer be enough in 2026.

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://t.co/LFgGaj4nK9

[Breaking Banks @Breakingbanks1]

Rip Out the Core

New systems collide with old processes, old incentives, and old ways of working, turning transformation into another expensive cycle of delays, overruns, and patchwork fixes.

Brett King @brettking and Paolo Sironi @thepsironi, host of Breaking Banks' sister podcast The Bankers' Bookshelf, speak with Pal Krogdahl, author of Rip Out the Core - an essential guide for anyone wrestling with the stubborn realities of banking core modernization.

Join as the trio unpack successful modernization, organizational transformation and technical transformation, and why core modernization so often fails.

Because replacing the core is only half the job.

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://t.co/Jk0EyKipQv

[Breaking Banks @Breakingbanks1]

One of the hardest parts of being a founder is accepting that sometimes there is no good decision.

There are moments when avoiding the hard call puts the entire business at risk.

Move too soon and people get hurt.

Wait too long and uncertainty spreads, the team stays in panic mode, and you may ultimately put even more people at risk.

That’s the reality Max Farrell describes in this episode of Killing It: leadership can become a perpetual series of trade-offs where the choice isn’t right versus wrong—it’s deciding which imperfect option gives the business and the people around you the best chance forward.

Jason Henrichs @jasonhenrichs and Alex Johnson @AlexH_Johnson talk with Max @MaxOnTheTrack about those decisions, the near-failures along the way, and what the founder journey actually looks like when the easy options disappear.

Sometimes leadership isn’t about making the best choice.

It’s about having the conviction to make the least-worst one.

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://t.co/AgE5xX16Bb

[Breaking Banks @Breakingbanks1]

“If you're not having fun in the business and you don't feel like you have oxygen, then nobody else has it.” — Max Farrell

Sometimes profitability is about more than numbers; It’s about giving the whole company room to breathe.

For Max Farrell, reaching profitability wasn’t just a financial milestone.

It created oxygen.

Enough room to think more clearly, lead better, and actually enjoy building the business again.

Jason Henrichs @jasonhenrichs and Alex Johnson @AlexH_Johnson are joined by Max Farrell @MaxOnTheTrack, founder of WorkHound, now WorkStep, for a candid conversation about the highs, near-failures, and difficult decisions that come with the founder journey.

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://t.co/AgE5xX16Bb