President & Vice Chairman, Customers Bancorp
Search every verified Samvir Sidhu interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Samvir Sidhu, President and Vice Chairman of Customers Bancorp, has discussed the bank's positioning as a "startup bank" that operates at the intersection of banking and fintech. In a September 2021 podcast, Sidhu described Customers Bank as a "bank in transition" that is not burdened by legacy technology and plans to lean more heavily into digital banking and banking-as-a-service. He noted that the bank welcomed opportunities to be a first partner or fast follower with fintechs, and highlighted its rapid response during the pandemic, including standing up a digital PPP application within 72 hours that ultimately processed nearly 400,000 loans and $11 billion in funds. Sidhu also discussed the bank's work with the CFPB to build a fairness test for lending, which resulted in a no-action letter, and stated that alternative data points could improve the fairness of the credit system. In a September 2022 podcast, Sidhu reflected on leadership and organizational change, drawing on his earlier career experiences including his time at Rogers Video. He stated that "the way you look at your core competencies defines how you will navigate change" and observed that Netflix saw streaming as an opportunity while his former employer viewed it as a threat. Sidhu emphasized that leadership today requires vulnerability and the courage to admit uncertainty, and that leaders must be open to influence from their teams. He also noted that the pandemic forced organizations to transform rapidly, with changes like curbside pickup occurring in weeks rather than months or years.
“I think the way you look at your core competencies defines how you will navigate change.”
“We didn't evolve our business model and we kind of who are pretty much traditional bricks and mortar retail model video home entertainment based retail.”
“Netflix saw the potential in streaming video and jumped in whereas we saw it as a threat not an opportunity.”
“Coaching is a critical skill set in leadership and it's all about possibility.”
“The leader has to be or should be the one that can look and see that something is changing, set a tone for the organization, and rely on the talent and skills of the people around to act against that change.”
“If I don't see the change, I'm open to others seeing it because sometimes others see it before the leader and the leader must be open to that influence.”
“The pandemic forced organizations to transform overnight, and many changes like curbside pickup happened in two weeks instead of months or years.”
“Leadership today requires vulnerability and the courage to admit you don't know everything and to trust your team.”
“Don't define yourself narrowly; coaching is about curiosity and seeing the possibilities in people and situations.”
“Young leaders have a high level of accountability to those they lead and must be self-aware, work on their gaps, and embrace them as part of their journey.”
“We are just over a 10 year old startup bank that has now grown to 18 billion in assets ... we're trying to design a bank of the future but we're really at the intersection of banking and fintech.”
“Fintechs are doing everything that banks should be doing but aren't doing it right — choosing to do so is difficult operationally from a regulatory perspective and from an allocation and capital perspective.”
“We're not afraid — in fact we welcome — an opportunity to be a first partner or a fast follower; it comes with costs but it comes with tremendous amounts of benefits, including customization that looks and feels like a custom product.”
“We stood up a digital PPP application within 72 hours and began seeing many smaller loans — we recognized demand that was being unserved and ultimately did just under 400,000 loans and $11 billion of PPP funds dispersed.”
“When we entered the digital personal loan business we felt that there was alpha to be made — yes there would be charge-offs, but we felt we were disproportionately being paid for that risk.”
The Accidental Career Back in the 90's, I remember coming into the lunch room to get my coffee and there was Sam flipping ...
Customers Bank, with a revolutionary crossover between FinTech and traditional banking, is truly disrupting and innovating past ...
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