JP Nicols

Financial Services Strategist @AlloyLabs | @BreakingBanks1 | Writing and analysis:

[JP Nicols @JPNicols]

How past success can doom banks to weak performance in the future. New in @AmerBanker @BankThink https://t.co/pa0WB3Dh6V

[Breaking Banks @Breakingbanks1]

"Is just a little crime OK now or what?"
@khaslett @DaraTarkowski Rick Geloff from @BankofND and @jasonhenrichs wrestle with this prisoner's dilemma thesis on deregulation — recorded live, at the @AlloyLabs annual meeting. Watch on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts. https://t.co/mZocCbMwlM

[JP Nicols @JPNicols]

Five decisions bank CEOs are wrestling with right now https://t.co/6c8LLXBRmJ

[Jason Mikula @mikulaja]

Folks who enjoyed today’s newsletter on the rapidly changing banking ecosystem should listen to this ep of @Breakingbanks1 (as seen on HBO, IYKYK) with @jasonhenrichs —

[Alloy Labs @AlloyLabs]

Most banks run projects well. But projects don’t win customers. Products do.

Projects optimize for delivery. Products optimize for adoption, retention, and economics.

- @JPNicols and Madeline Fredine in our latest Executive Briefing. https://t.co/UA8GhRhZJC

[Breaking Banks @Breakingbanks1]

In 2026, financial services is splitting in two.

One group profits when customers give up. The other profits when customers don’t.

That choice shapes product design, pricing, AI strategy — and long-term enterprise value.

At the University of Utah FintechXchange, Jason Henrichs @jasonhenrichs, Alex Johnson @AlexH_Johnson, and Simon Taylor @sytaylor, joined by Peter Renton @peterrenton, explore which model compounds the best.

Powered by U.S. Bank.
Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: https://t.co/5GK6DLligA

[American Banker @AmerBanker]

Doubling down on what has worked in the past — especially if it’s still working now — may inadvertently trap banks into business models ill-suited for the future. Smart bankers make room for change before it is forced on them, writes @JPNicols, of @AlloyLabs, in @AmerBanker @BankThink. https://t.co/vvDOWNrp8S

[Breaking Banks @Breakingbanks1]

The last mile is where progress usually stops.

Lindsay Borgeson of Core Bank and Kalyani Ramadurgam of Kobalt Labs join Jason Henrichs to discuss how decisions actually get made inside banks, when proof-of-concepts reduce risk, and where process starts working against progress.

The takeaway: Rigor matters, but risk is reduced by finishing the last mile, where learning turns into execution.

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

[PROVOKE.FM Media @provokecast]

So... @Breakingbanks1 was mentioned during Season 4, Episode 4 of @HBO's The Industry titled "1000 Yoots, 1 Marilyn." As part of a "classy" media plan the head of communications strategy suggested that the CEO, Henry Muck (played by Kit Harington), should "talk shop" with the hosts of the show.

Any time Henry, we'll be here.

@BrettKing @jasonhenrichs @JPNicols

[Breaking Banks @Breakingbanks1]

Decisions > Diligence.

Banks are great at diligence.

Less great at deciding.

Lindsay Borgeson (@corebank ) and Kalyani Ramadurgam (@KobaltLabs ) talk with @jasonhenrichs about how caution turns into paralysis and how strong bank–fintech partnerships move faster without cutting corners.

If you’ve ever sat through “one more review” instead of real learning, this one’s for you.

Listen here, or wherever you get your podcasts

https://t.co/mbhlVAYc1W

[Breaking Banks @Breakingbanks1]

“Affordability” has become a feel-good word.

It signals empathy and alignment, but too often it substitutes for real analysis.

Rhett Roberts from @loanprosoftware talks about why this framing is attractive...but dangerous. Rhett and @rshevlin from @CstoneAdvisors join host Jason Henrichs this week.

[JP Nicols @JPNicols]

Regulators’ role is to ensure banks do not fail.

Strategy determines whether banks matter.

Boards that treat regulatory planning as strategy abdicate their most important duty. The result is a well-managed institution with no clear reason to win.
https://t.co/fkqfFs4iAL

[Breaking Banks @Breakingbanks1]

Credit constraints don’t reduce demand.

They reroute it.

BNPL. Payday loans. Same pressure, worse outlets.

@rshevlin from @CstoneAdvisors and Rhett Roberts from @loanprosoftware join @jasonhenrichs

Listen here, or anywhere you get your podcasts: https://t.co/BjOzcCVtgL

[JP Nicols @JPNicols]

Companies don’t wake up one morning to discover they’ve become irrelevant. It happens slowly. Quietly.

Here's what to do about it.

https://t.co/adp97dwsIw

[Shreyas Doshi @shreyas]

The main problem with the “talk to customers” mantra in *top tier companies* is that the vast majority of your people who talk to customers are going into customer conversations for confirmation & performative heroics and not for learning & insight.

So, they will cherrypick customer feedback, not actually listen to everything the customer is saying, follow certain threads for confirmation and ignore others that might point to disconfirmation, and then present their “findings” in a sexy & neat package that’s irresistible to the CEO & execs.

There is no great solution to this problem, because most people, including >80% of highly intelligent people (in any company), are just wired to seek confirmation & validation. They are not wired with the desire to win in the market (even though everyone is sure they are).

Now, if you must have a mantra to motivate & guide the masses in your company, make your mantra to “understand customers” rather than “talk to customers”. Talking is easy, understanding is rare.

‘Understanding’ is a much higher bar than ‘talking’, and that is precisely the kind of high bar a top-tier company must meet.

And the best solution is leading from the top by yourself embodying what understanding customers truly means and holding an extremely high bar for insight that’s presented to you as the leader.

As you nod along and confirm to yourself ‘I am already doing this’, consider that perhaps you aren’t, because if you were truly doing this in proportion to your ambition for your team & company, many more of your recent features and products would’ve won than has been the case.

So perhaps the best place for you to start, as a leader, is to seriously consider how you yourself are falling short of the ideal that you wish for others on your team.

[Breaking Banks @Breakingbanks1]

Spotify Wrapped released its data on the Breaking Banks Fintech Podcast, and the news is incredible.

🎤 2025 RISING STAR - the show's growth outpaced 70% of all others

🎤 2025 MARATHON SHOW - audiences listened longer than 94% of other shows

🎤 2025 MOST SHARED SHOWS - listeners shared episodes 98% more than with other shows

In addition, our total new audience grew by 566%, with an 18% increase in listening time across 86 countries.

We want to thank all our hosts, guests, and teams for making Breaking Banks one of the Top Banking & Fintech Podcasts across the globe. We've got some incredible developments coming up in 2026, and can't wait for all of you to be a part of it!

#TopPodcasts #Banking #Fintech #AI #Finance

[JP Nicols @JPNicols]

When was the last time you materially changed your budget priorities?

Not little tweaks. A real reallocation of resources to prioritize winning the future.

Curious what’s actually happening outside of what I'm seeing.

(Connects to The Irrelevance Trap I wrote about earlier)

[JP Nicols @JPNicols]

The Irrelevance Trap is easy to fall into. When the world outside your walls moves faster than the world inside, the gap eventually swallows you.

Here's how to escape:

https://t.co/PhBLfZgdPk

[Breaking Banks @Breakingbanks1]

My friends in #Banking, you need this kind of insight.