Commercial banking

Michelle Westfort, Chief Product Officer at InStride, is a globally recognized leader in post secondary education with over 20 years of experience. An integral member of InStride since its inception in 2019, she brings a bold sense of innovation to drive successful programs and partnerships derived from a humble immigrant family upbringing. Her career has centered around unlocking access to education from high school launch programs to adult career pathways and from digital transformations to workforce skilling. Her work has spanned marketing, business development, program design, and strategy at mission-centric organizations such as The Learning House (acquired by Wiley NYSE: WLY), Pivot, Navias (ASX:NVT) and Education Management Corporation.

Kathy Pattillo is a managing partner at executive search and leadership consulting firm Boyden, where she also serves as global practice leader of its financial officers practice. She has over 20 years of experience in executing searches for and consulting with finance-focused C-suite leaders, including CFOs, CAOs, CIOs and functional leaders in finance.

The pressure from President Donald Trump and his allies on the Fed to slash interest rates underscores the need to retain credibility on fighting inflation, the former Treasury chief added.

Acting CFPB Director Russ Vought has managed to neuter the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau through a series of actions. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C., played a major role by cutting funding in half.

Nicky Brown is vice president of public policy and government affairs at HealthEquity. Her 20+ year career has focused predominantly on the benefits space in implementation, compliance, and advocacy.

The Federal Open Market Committee's decision to reduce interest rates for the first time in nine months lifted bank stocks Wednesday. The 25-basis-point reduction could lead to net interest income headwinds now, but loan growth later, analysts said.

Most lenders said they had already priced in the widely-anticipated decision to cut short-term rates for 30-year home loans but other products will benefit.

Larry Mohr, CPA, MBT, is a tax principal with Baker Tilly's not-for-profit practice. He has 35 years of experience providing tax-related services for not-for-profit organizations.

The anticipation of lower rates has helped drive yields lower, with the 30 year's falling as much as three basis points to 4.62% on Wednesday, the lowest level since April 30.

Some 63.8% of the assets in the pool are modified loans, and for 92.6% of those loans, the modifications happened more than two years ago.

Amit Ranjan is Executive Vice President, Global Head of Data and Risk Analytics at Xceedance, a global consulting, technology, and operations leader for insurance organizations. With 25 years of diverse experience, he oversees catastrophe modeling, actuarial and data insight services. He specializes in leveraging advanced modeling techniques, statistical analysis, and data-driven strategies to optimize underwriting, pricing, and portfolio management.

David Klasing is a dual-certified tax attorney and CPA, and founder of the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing, P.C. He has earned dual California licenses that enable him to simultaneously practice as an attorney and as a CPA in the practice areas of taxation, estate planning and business law. He provides businesses and individuals with tax representation, planning and compliance services, and criminal tax representation. He has more than 20 years of professional tax, accounting and business consulting experience, coupled with extensive knowledge about federal and state tax codes, regulations and case law.

New-home loan activity rose 1% in August year over year, but applications fell 6% from July.

Nicole is a strategic HR leader with demonstrated experience collaborating with all levels of leadership to drive successful People initiatives in dynamic and fast-paced environments. Known as an out-of-the-box thinker who offers creative and effective solutions to support an exceptional employee experience and drive high performing teams.

Her industry experience includes technology, wellness, consumer goods, entertainment, and aerospace & defense. Experienced with global organizations, both private and public, spanning start-up to established large firms. She is skilled in engaging complex, evolving, distributed, and diverse employee populations to achieve business results.

He is expected to take part in the closely-watched Federal Open Market Committee meetings scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Hanna Bjornn is the Vice President of Product at Canopy Tax, Inc., where she leads product strategy and development for one of the accounting industry's most innovative SaaS platforms. With a career spanning both startups and established tech companies, Hanna has built a reputation for delivering customer-centric solutions that drive measurable impact and user delight.

Her leadership at Canopy reflects a deep commitment to solving real problems for accounting professionals—streamlining workflows, enhancing client collaboration, and simplifying complex tax resolution processes. Known for her strategic clarity and collaborative approach, Hannah blends technical insight with a strong understanding of market needs.