Finance Rewired

Congressman Tom Emmer of Minnesota's Sixth District, and Co-chair of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus, speaks with FS Vector Partner John Collins about his journey to Congress and how he thinks government should approach cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. Congressman Emmer discusses some of his recently introduced bills, including the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act (HR 6974), his work to gain further guidance from the IRS on cryptocurrency transactions, and his call for the White House to hold a forum on blockchain.  They also discuss his time as a talk radio host and how he approaches all of his work in Congress.

Jason Somensatto (@JasonSomensatto)is Strategic Counsel at 0x. Jason and John talk crypto, decentralized finance (DeFi), cryptotwitter, cryptolawyers, and a bit about electric bicycle culture.   You can read some of Jason’s writings and learn more about 0x’s ongoing projects, here.

This week FS Vector Partner, John Collins (@johncollins), speaks with Brad Carr(@BradJCarr) of the Institute of International Finance (IIF). Brad is Senior Director of Digital Finance Regulation & Policy at the IIF and host of the FRT Podcast. John and Brad talk artificial intelligence, cloud, and crypto.  They also delve into Brexit and how well do those job ads in The Economist real work?

This week FS Vector Partner, John Collins (@johncollins), speaks with Diego Zuluaga (@DiegoZuluagaL) of the CATO Institute. Diego is with the Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives at Cato and recently authored a piece for Politico discussing some approaches to financial services that both conservatives and progressives might be able to get on board with.  Optimistic! Diego and John discuss his piece, the current state of crypto regulation in the U.S. and a number of other topics, including - how many airline phone apps are too many?

Jackson Mueller, Associate Director for the Center for Financial Markets at the Milken Institute speaks with FS Vector Partner John Collins about his work covering the global fintech and capital markets spaces. Jackson discusses some of his research - and critiques - of regulatory sandboxes, and what lessons we can learn here in the United States from what other countries have implemented.  They also discuss the state of fintech in the middle east and, in honor of March Madness, their respective college mascots.      READINGS  FinTech: Considerations on How to Enable a 21st Century Financial Services Ecosystem FinTech: Building a 21st-Century Regulator’s Toolkit Comment Letter to the Global Financial Innovation Network  

Amy Friend, Senior Advisor at FS Vector, has had a storied career in Washington.  Starting as a junior House staffer she went on to become Chief Counsel for the Senate Banking Committee during the financial crisis, overseeing the crafting, negotiation, and passage of the Dodd Frank Act. Later, she would become Senior Deputy Comptroller and Chief Counsel at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) where she led the agency’s innovation work, including the creation of the Special Purpose National Bank charter for fintech companies. This week she speaks with FS Vector Partner John Collins about her second run at the OCC.  We talk in depth about the Fintech charter, why it’s important and what sort of companies should be considering it.  We also discuss what Amy’s been up to since leaving the OCC, what she’ll be working on here at FS Vector, and what the techiest thing about her is. This episode is part 2 of 2.  

Amy Friend, Senior Advisor at FS Vector, has had a storied career in Washington.  Starting as a junior House staffer she went on to become Chief Counsel for the Senate Banking Committee during the financial crisis, overseeing the crafting, negotiation, and passage of the Dodd Frank Act. Later, she would become Senior Deputy Comptroller and Chief Counsel at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) where she led the agency’s innovation work, including the creation of the Special Purpose National Bank charter for fintech companies. This week she speaks with FS Vector Partner John Collins about  her time on the Hill and during her first run at the OCC, and explore some behind the scenes stories of the financial crisis and the work to bring us back from the brink.  This episode is part 1 of 2.  We will release the second part of the conversation, next week.

Amy Davine Kim, General Counsel and Global Policy Director at the Chamber of Digital Commerce speaks with FS Vector Partner John Collins about her work leading engagement with regulators on behalf of some of the world's largest blockchain companies.  Amy and John discuss the depth and breadth of the blockchain industry and how it's changed over time, how the Chamber handles the very different policy interests of its members, and why they believe the United States needs to pursue a national action plan for blockchain or risk losing its competitive edge.   Amy also provides a preview of the Chamber's upcoming DC Blockchain Summit.

Rob Morgan, Vice President of Emerging Technologies at the American Bankers Association (ABA) speaks with FS Vector Partner John Collins about his work leading fintech for the nation's largest financial services trade association.   Rob works with ABA's members on navigating the quickly evolving market, regulatory, and political fintech landscapes.  Rob and John discuss the different approaches of large and community banks to tech issues, why ABA is investing in non-bank companies, and what does ABA think of the proposed OCC Fintech Charter. 

FS Vector Partner John Collins speaks with two reporters who cover the financial technology space in Washington DC.  They report on the industry players, the politicians, the regulators, and the influencers who are working in our nation's capitol and beyond.   Lydia Beyoud of Bloomberg Law and Colin Wilhelm of the Washington Examiner joined John in FS Vector's offices in Washington, DC.  They discuss what the new Democratic Congress might have in store for the fintech industry, the current state of Blockchain in Washington, and the policy stories they think will have the most impact over the coming year.   Follow Lydia and Colin on Twitter @ElleBeyoud @ColinWilhelm

Welcome to the inaugural episode of Finance Rewired, produced by FS Vector. In our first episode FS Vector partner, John Collins, speaks with Paul Watkins, Director of the CFPB's Office of Innovation, in his office in Washington, DC.    They discuss what the heck fintech actually is, what's up with Sandboxes, and how Paul ended up coming from Arizona to Washington.