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Rusty Haferkamp, the head of IT at Central National Bank in Waco, Texas, discusses his vigilant approach to protecting his bank from cyberattacks.

Joe Emison is the co-founder and CTO of Branch. He has been building software and technology organizations for more than 25 years. Prior to Branch, Joe founded BuildFax, the company's leading provider of building permit data to financial institutions (acquired by Verisk); Spaceful, software for tenant-rep brokers in commercial real estate (acquired by Xceligent), and BluePrince, software for managing local building departments (acquired by Harris Computer). Joe graduated with degrees in English and Mathematics from Williams College and has a law degree from Yale Law School.

Melbourne O'Banion is Bestow's CEO and co-founder. An entrepreneur and seasoned investor, O'Banion has a track record of start-up success. Before Bestow, he was a founding member of Presidio Title, a leading title insurance agency in Texas. And together with his wife, he founded Beauty Bioscience, a luxury skincare line. He's a member of the National Advisory Council for the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University, where he studied Finance and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, and is on the board of the SMU Tate Lecture Series.

While branch closings remain the norm throughout the industry, the hunt for suddenly scarce deposits is prompting some community banks to move in the opposite direction and expand their branch networks.

The McLean, Virginia-based bank is building its deposit base — in contrast with many banks that are starting to see outflows. But the growth is accompanied by rising interest expenses, which are expected to cut modestly into profit margins this year.

Senate Democrats and banks want to subject industrial loan companies to Fed supervision, but even without legislation observers say the FDIC is skeptical of new applications.

BNP Paribas's Frankfurt offices were raided by German prosecutors as part of their vast investigation into the Cum-Ex scandal that has swept up Wall Street's biggest banks.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard is a top contender to become the head of the White House's National Economic Council, according to people familiar with the deliberations.

This week's global financial news roundup includes CBDC details from Europe, a new stablecoin in Australia and more.

Artificial intelligence now has the potential to fundamentally change customers' relationships with banks, impacting everything from onboarding to retention and upselling.