Steve Williams’ Post

From the Albany Congress in 1754 to the Declaration signing in 1776, the Constitution in 1789, the Bill of Rights in 1791 and the first peaceful transfer of presidential power in 1797, the process of creating our democratic republic was messy and not always pretty. I love this country with all my heart and pray for leaders to encourage engagement and problem-solving while always seeing the big tent opportunity for all. As Thomas Jefferson best said “the price of freedom is eternal vigalence.” Or as Jackson Brown once sang so aptly: I have prayed for America I was made for America I can't let go till she comes around Until the land of the free Is awake and can see And until her conscience has been found Happy 4th everyone! I commit to honor this wonderful land and dream of hope for all the days of my life. #america #thegreatexperiment #oursacredhonor

As some who’s spent his entire career in banking, I made a pilgrimage today to the oldest existing bank in the world Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, of course in Siena, Italy. Yes I also had some wine in Tuscany today :), but the point is I sincerely enjoyed seeing a bank founded in 1472 to offer loans to “poor or miserable or needy persons”. It reminds me once again that the honorable calling of banking is about trust, about community and about helping those with merit and will to lift themselves and all of us up to a better place. #banking #smarterbank #equity #chianti 🍷🍷🍷

Great quote and warning from El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele - neither party is serious about this issue, but the people can make them get serious. It starts with business leaders and economists on both sides of the aisle bringing the need for a serious plan to light. =================================== “The real problem is that you pay high taxes only to uphold the illusion that you are funding the government, which you are not. It's shocking, but it's true. The government is funded by money printing, paper backed with paper, a bubble that will inevitably inevitably burst.The situation is even worse than it seems because if most Americans and the rest of the world were to become aware of these bars, confidence in your currency would be lost. The dollar will fall and the western civilization with it. If the next president of the United States doesn't make the necessary policies and the structural changes, sooner or later that bubble will burst. There's still time. You don't have to make the same mistakes we did in the sixties seventies. You can still jump before the water boils.”

Wow just wow. Not Chevron the oil company - Chevron the big rocking Supreme Court case. For bankers the implications could be positive - however the details of bill drafting became hugely important in our legislative branch. In general, I find bureacracy soul-crushing so I’m going to say THUMBS UP! #regulation #overreach #10thammendment

I think I found out what happened to all those glacially slow modems we used to use on giant PCs to check our AOL mail in the late 90s - Southwest Airlines must have salvaged them for their inflight internet service. It’s suuuucccch an embarrassing joke. Missing Herb and Kathleen - this airline used to execute like a Swiss watch on everything. Now 🙁 #CX

As so McDonalds goes, will this be the first chink in ai hype? I mean bacon and ice cream sounds aight and a tad innovative Mr. Roboto, but $222 for gross nuggets? Fatal error. #ai #goldenarches #smarterbank https://lnkd.in/g2i2pqvc

The The Wall Street Journal recently ran a great article about the increasing aversion from merchants to cash payments and the rise of “reverse atms” and providers like PayNearMe to address the desire to push cash from registers and bill payment. This trend uncorks a whole lot of policy debate given that cash usage is negatively correlated with income and a bastion of the underbanked. Here’s my take: I do NOT want a cashless society but in a free market I think it’s okay for merchants to design their payment preferences and charge commercially reasonable fees for the friction cash presents in operations. It’s a slippery slope to the privacy of cash going away so I would like to see a “Maginot Line” from that perspective. Tony DeSanctis , Ron Shevlin , Anne Arvia and Brandi Gregory - what do you think makes sense here? #payments #cashlesssociety #smarterbank

Thanks to Elevations Credit Union COO Ray Lindley for a great discussion at the dinner table of "First Concert...Last Concert." Mine was Elton John in 1975 and The Boss in Vegas this year! What's yours gang?

While it was business as expected news from the Fed today, the "dot plot" polling clearly shows how the higher for longer hawkishness has grown even in the past three months. Yes, inflation is trending down but it's still not in a place where Fed governors would have no fear of "blowback" were they to get more dovish. Inflation is the most regressive tax on the middle and lower income segments - I'm glad to see the Fed's approach. At Cornerstone Advisors we keep encouraging our clients to run multiple dynamic scenarios, buckle down on efficiency and spend time building capabilities in marketing, digital, data and integrated risk manage to support growth when things become more clear. #fed #banking #smarterbank

For all the bank, credit union and fintech executives hoping to stay current on all "The Tea" out there, check out the fantastic four voices from Cornerstone Advisors and their gritty podcasts. The guests and stories told give a first-hand glimpse at the sheer impact of bank transformation and the fintech collision. Ron Shevlin, Al Dominick, Sam Kilmer and Mary Wisniewski - keep the snark, the spin and the songs coming! #banking #smarterbank #fintech https://lnkd.in/gwV3DsBh