Princess Castleberry began her career in risk management in financial services, and the biggest risk she sees today is that “leaders are in a capacity crisis.” Work experience, education and professional networks are undermined by this lack of capacity driven by emotional triggers, she says, which are in turn compounded by a massive wave of societal, economic and technological change.

Now an instructional design expert and leadership speaker, Castleberry discusses how leaders can understand and manage triggers to enhance their capacity to lead with empathy. Castleberry will also be discussing these and other topics — including how to reduce “conflict waste” — at the ABA Annual Convention next month in Charlotte.

The rapid evolution of the financial services marketplace means the market for banking as a service is also evolving rapidly. From artificial intelligence to other new technologies to regulatory expectations, how is the partner bank sector shifting? On the season premiere of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, Pathward Bank CEO Brett Pharr talks about the Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based partner bank’s strategy. Among other things, Pharr discusses:

• The evolution of the business model beyond interchange to include embedded finance, faster payments and other opportunities.
• The criticality of third-party risk management in partner banking.
• How Pathward is using AI to accelerate compliance review of its partners’ marketing materials — and how some AI uses might be limiting young bankers’ learning and development.
• The role of partner banks in advancing financial sector participation by the unbanked.
• How Pathward builds its workplace culture with its “talent anywhere” remote work structure.

The U.S. is experiencing a massive demographic shift driven by the aging Baby Boom generation, declining birth rates and shifts in immigration trends. What effect will aging have on the banking outlook? In the season finale of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, ABA economist JP Rothenberg discusses how America’s aging population:

• Shifts balance sheet management strategies with a surplus of stable deposits by weaker localized loan demand.
• May increasingly push banks into new markets to drive loan growth, which further accelerates consolidation.
• Magnifies credit risk during downturns in the tail of the risk profile
• Increases opportunities for personalized wealth management solutions and expands the growth prospects of senior-serving business sectors.