Chana Schoenberger

Editor-in-Chief

American Banker

Chana R. Schoenberger is the editor-in-chief of American Banker. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of Financial Planning after joining Arizent in 2020. In her prior role, she was the managing editor for U.S. wealth management at J.P. Morgan. Before that, she was a columnist and freelance journalist, and previously worked at Bloomberg News, Dow Jones/The Wall Street Journal, and Forbes. A graduate of Harvard College, she received her master’s degree as part of Columbia Journalism School’s Knight-Bagehot Fellowship for business journalists. She is now based in New York City after stints in Tokyo and Canada.

Featured Sessions

Monday, October 27, 2025

9:40 am

An Interview with U.S. Bank’s Sekou Kaalund

Empowering Small and Mid-Sized Businesses: A Bank’s Role in Local Economies

Financial institutions play a critical role in supporting small and midsized businesses (SMBs) and local economies. In an up-close and thoughtful fireside chat, the session will uncover strategies and insights aimed at solidifying the role of banks as indispensable partners in the SMB ecosystem. In today’s economic landscape, discover how embracing digital transformation, leveraging data-driven intelligence, and fostering relationships can unlock new growth opportunities for banks as well as the entrepreneurs, families, and communities they serve. Insights include:

Explore how an evolving banking model approach, centering SMBs not just as entities but as vital components of local economies and the livelihoods of individuals, is critical to maintaining competitive relevance.
Examine operational and growth challenges many SMBs face, and how personalized, efficient, and scalable financial solutions address these issues to empower the people behind the businesses and strengthen the communities they serve.
Understand how fostering deeper, more collaborative relationships with SMBs can create sustainable revenue streams and long-term loyalty for financial institutions, while directly contributing to the success of small businesses, individuals and overall community vitality.

2:00 pm

Strategies and Tools for Banks to Help SMBs Deal with Costly Market Disruptions

Small businesses operate on significantly tighter margins than large enterprises. In today’s economic environment, they are less able to absorb additional costs and are more likely to pass them on to consumers. This creates an urgent need for banks to help small business clients strategize ways to offset rising expenses, navigate supply chain disruptions, and manage a tightening credit landscape.

Our panelists will discuss how banks can play a critical role by offering innovative financing options, effective cash management and expense tracking tools, and seamless ecommerce and payment solutions. Together, we’ll explore actionable strategies financial institutions can implement to help small businesses maintain stability and growth in a challenging economy.