SET Training - Banking and Fintech

Prosecutors have started to cross examine Sam Bankman-Fried on the witness stand. Rachel Humphreys and Caitlin Ostroff explore the competing narratives being painted by the government and the defense. Listen HERE .

How "passive income" money-making scams seem to have taken over the world, and the economic implications of such scams.

With the jury in attendance, Sam Bankman-Fried took the stand to testify in his defense. Rachel Humphreys and Caitlin Ostroff break down where his story of the FTX collapse has differed from the testimony of his former colleagues Caroline Ellison and Nishad Singh. Listen HERE .

After a short break, court is back in session as Sam Bankman-Fried takes the stand to testify in his defense. Rachel Humphreys and Caitlin Ostroff were inside the courtroom to hear some of Bankman-Fried’s side of the story and how the prosecution worked to pick it apart. Get the full story HERE .

You’re being asked to tip more and more places today. If you’re annoyed, you’re not alone. A survey by Bankrate found a third of people are annoyed by those pre-entered tip screens. The vast majority of people are still tipping servers or wait staff at sit-down restaurants but tipping much less frequently when picking up takeout or grabbing coffee.

In recent times, there has been a growing significance attached to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) endeavors for businesses.  ESG has emerged as a crucial aspect for companies to uphold their societal acceptance, and in certain regions, the disclosure of ESG components is either obligatory or actively being considered. Companies that excel in ESG performance benefit from five key advantages: reduced risk, lower capital costs, decreased regulatory interference, increased growth potential, and the ability to attract and retain top talent. Prominent corporations in the Fortune 500 are leveraging ESG initiatives as a competitive edge to distinguish themselves from their rivals. For instance, Patagonia has long been renowned for its unwavering dedication to ethical business practices and sustainability, which has enabled the brand to cultivate a devoted customer base and created formidable barriers for competitors attempting to emulate its achievements. Read the full article...

"After several weeks of powerful testimonies for the prosecution in the FTX trial in New York, you might have thought the strongest ones had come and gone. Not so: this week Nishad Singh, the former head of engineering at the now-collapsed exchange, took the stand and delivered more blows to Bankman-Fried.   Like many senior FTX people, he had connections to SBF that go back long before they became famous, then infamous. He was the best friend of Bankman-Fried’s younger brother at high school and shared SBF’s interest in effective altruism. And in common with Gary Wang and Caroline Ellison, also part of Bankman-Fried’s inner circle, Singh said he committed financial crimes and did so in concert with Bankman-Fried.    But Singh’s testimony also stands apart from that which came before him by offering a window into the emotional toll this alleged fraud had on Bankman-Fried’s associates." Read the full story HERE .

Federal Reserve Bank governor Michelle Bowman says that the use case for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the US remains unclear. In a new roundtable speech at Harvard, Bowman says that there may be alternatives to CBDCs that already solve the same issues that a digital dollar purports to address. Read the full article HERE .

Even as the economy has surprised forecasters with its resilience, lenders have cut headcount or announced plans to do so, with the key exception being JPMorgan Chase. The next five largest U.S. banks cut a combined 20,000 positions so far this year, according to company filings. A key factor driving the cuts is that job-hopping in finance slowed drastically from earlier years, leaving banks with more people than they expected. Read the full story HERE .

Over the course of Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial, the jury has seen evidence and heard testimony about the money circulating through FTX and Alameda. Rachel Humphreys and Caitlin Ostroff break down the prosecution’s case, and trace where the government says the money was coming from and where it went. Listen HERE .

Nishad Singh— another critical member of Sam Bankman-Fried’s inner circle— testified Monday saying FTX customer money was used to fund political donations and that he pushed back on Bankman-Fried’s spending on celebrities. Rachel Humphreys and Caitlin Ostroff unpack his testimony and discuss a medical issue Bankman-Fried raised to the judge. Listen HERE .

Banking profits are up, thanks to rising interest rates, but financial institutions globally need to reinvent themselves in the face of major structural and macroeconomic shifts. Check out McKinsey's just published report HERE .  

Caroline Ellison took the stand for a third day as attorneys for Sam Bankman-Fried questioned her about her role in the collapse of FTX and Alameda Research. Rachel Humphreys and Caitlin Ostroff caught up with WSJ’s James Fanelli after court to unpack the defense’s strategy. Listen HERE .

The leading video sharing app has been fined €345mn for breaching EU children’s data rules. Also banned from official devices in more than a dozen countries, the FT’s Cristina Criddle examines why TikTok and its Chinese owner present a dilemma for many governments and regulators.

Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda, took the stand for a second day Wednesday. Producer Rachel Humphreys and WSJ’s Caitlin Ostroff discuss Ellison’s testimony and what it revealed about alleged bribes to Chinese officials, misleading statements to investors, and the final days of FTX. Listen HERE

The Economist brought together Yuval Noah Harari and Mustafa Suleyman to grapple with the biggest technological revolution of our times. They debate the impact of AI on our immediate futures, how the technology can be controlled and whether it could ever have agency.

Caroline Ellison met Sam Bankman-Fried trading at Jane Street. The two would go on to have a close professional and personal relationship as his crypto empire grew and then eventually imploded. Now, she has pleaded guilty and is testifying against him. Producer Rachel Humphreys and WSJ’s Caitlin Ostroff discuss her testimony and how the government is using it to build their case against Bankman-Fried. Listen HERE -  The Trial of Crypto’s Golden Boy: Caroline Ellison Speaks

WeWork announced this week that it would not make two sets of interest payments totaling about $95 million, a move meant to jump-start negotiations with its lenders at the same time it tries to cut costs with its landlords.  The missed interest payments will spur speculation of a bankruptcy filing. But WeWork says it has the cash on hand, and the company has a 30-day grace period to make the payments, which were due Monday.  At the end of June, it had $205 million in cash and access to a credit line worth $475 million. Skipping an interest payment is not necessary to negotiate with lenders. But indebted companies sometimes use the move to put pressure on lenders to restrike deals under more favorable terms.  From its inception in 2010 to its collapse in 2023, WeWork's journey has been a roller-coaster. Once valued at $47 billion dollars, the company today, is on the verge of bankruptcy. How did the Venture Capital backed co-working company, end up as the biggest financial...

Gary Wang, FTX’s former chief technology officer, took the stand in the government’s case against Sam Bankman-Fried. Producer Rachel Humphreys and WSJ’s Caitlin Ostroff discuss what Wang says he knows about the secret code that allowed Alameda Research to borrow billions of dollars of customer money from FTX. Listen HERE  -  The Trial of Crypto’s Golden Boy: The First Key Witness

With a jury selected, lawyers from the prosecution and defense make their opening statements. Rachel Humphreys and WSJ’s Caitlin Ostroff get their first clues into some of the strategies that will unfold throughout the trial. Listen HERE -  The Trial of Crypto’s Golden Boy: Opening Arguments

In 2022, crypto markets were in turmoil, but Sam Bankman-Fried's empire seemed to weather it all. That is until one week in November, when he went from crypto's savior to its biggest villain. WSJ’s Caitlin Ostroff tracks the unprecedented collapse of Bankman Fried’s empire, and the big secret that would prove to be its downfall. Listen HERE -  The Trial of Crypto’s Golden Boy, Episode 2: Imaginary Numbers

Before his downfall, Sam Bankman-Fried drew comparisons to Warren Buffett, J.P. Morgan and other titans of finance. As his trial approaches, WSJ’s Caitlin Ostroff charts the meteoric rise of crypto’s golden boy, exploring how he sold customers and powerful people on his ideas, while hiding secrets under the hood of his flashy crypto empire. Listen HERE -  The Trial of Crypto’s Golden Boy, Episode 1: The Limit Does Not Exist