Introducing Rob Blackwell
FACILITATOR, PEER INTELLIGENCE
Rob Blackwell
Chief Content Officer and Head of External Affairs
IntraFi
Rob is the Chief Content Officer and Head of External Affairs for IntraFi. He is the
host of IntraFi’s Banking with Interest podcast, for which he interviews regulators,
lawmakers, industry executives, academics, journalists and more about the latest
policy issues in financial services. Rob previously served as Editor-in-Chief of
American Banker and covered financial services as a journalist for two decades.
As an editor and reporter, Rob has won several journalism awards, including the
Timothy White Award in 2017 for an editor whose work “displays extraordinary
courage, integrity, and passion.”
Large banks are reshaping competition through targeted branch expansion, even as net closures continue, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Since 2015, the 14 U.S. banks with more than $100 billion in assets have opened over 2,500 branches, led by JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, which...
See MoreJulieann Thurlow, CEO of Reading Cooperative Bank, talks about the opportunities and challenges for community banks this year. She discusses the economic conditions, how community banks can innovate and where she'd like to see changes by policymakers.
Speed is becoming a defining competitive factor in lending. AI-powered tools are enabling institutions to compress decision timelines from days or weeks into hours, with underwriting, data validation, and compliance integrated into a single workflow. As digital lenders and fintechs increasingly use...
See MoreBanks modestly expanded their securities portfolios for a fifth consecutive quarter, with aggregate balances rising 1% quarter over quarter to $5.74 trillion as of Sept. 30, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Growth remained concentrated in short- and medium-term bonds as banks continued...
See MoreGen Z customers expect banking to be as seamless, fast, and personalized as leading consumer technology. Community banks that deploy AI thoughtfully can stand out by delivering personalization, proactive service, stronger fraud prevention, and more relevant financial insights. Done right, these...
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