The risks that sink a bank are usually sitting in plain sight: someone just stopped looking at them.
Senior treasury and asset liability management expert Svetlana Kardan joins Jennifer Geary to explore why spectacular banking collapses like Northern Rock and Silicon Valley Bank were technically visible long before they happened, and why nobody acted. Drawing on over 20 years in global banking and her forthcoming Psychology of Treasury book series, Svetlana unpacks the six cognitive traps behind treasury failures, why balance sheet risks stay hidden from the boardroom, and how she is coding her own simulators to make it all accessible.
You’ll learn how to:
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Spot the balance sheet risks that never reach the income statement
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Recognise the six cognitive traps that quietly undermine treasury decisions
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Ask the uncomfortable boardroom questions that others avoid
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Stress test for what might happen, not just the last crisis
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Read modern bank runs through the lens of deposit behaviour and technology
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Bring curiosity, kindness, and resilience to a demanding leadership career
About Svetlana:
Svetlana Kardan is a senior asset liability management (ALM) and treasury risk professional with over 20 years’ experience across global banking institutions. She has held senior leadership roles overseeing enterprise-wide interest rate risk, liquidity, and balance sheet management, with direct responsibility for regulatory engagement across multiple jurisdictions.
A recognised expert in behavioural modelling and hedging frameworks, Svetlana has led multi-million-pound transformation programmes and established ALM infrastructure for major international banks. A trusted advisor to executive committees and regulators, she is the author of the Psychology of Treasury book series and is completing a doctorate on the modelling of non-maturing deposits.
Chapters:
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00:00: Episode Begins
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02:09: Introducing Svetlana Kardan
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03:14: From a small village to the dealing room: an unconventional career
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07:39: Why write six books on treasury
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11:16: Why now: SVB, Credit Suisse, and a framework that did not hold
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13:11: Northern Rock: risks that were visible but unseen
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15:44: Why treasury failures are really about psychology
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17:54: The six cognitive traps, from normalcy bias to P&L pressure
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22:40: What the rest of the C-suite needs to understand about treasury
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23:44: Hidden balance sheet risk and the SVB capital lesson
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25:26: Building simulators to make treasury risk accessible
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30:31: The book series roadmap and how to join the launch team
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33:11: Impossible is nothing: leadership, resilience, and people
Resources & Links:
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C-Suite Framework courses & books: https://csuiteframework.co.uk/
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Connect with Svetlana on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/svetlana-kardan/
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The Psychology of Treasury book series, first volume expected October / November (link to follow once live)
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