Florida Banking April 2023

STRAIGHT TALK FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK

PREPARING FOR ‘MORNINGS WITH MARIA’

BY ALEJANDRO “ALEX” SANCHEZ, FBA PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

A s the FBA has been called on to appear on FOX Business’ “Mornings with Maria,” hosted by Maria Bartiromo, I want to share with you the preparation it takes to be ready for my interviews on the show. It is always an honor when Maria calls to let me know she wants me back on the air to discuss an issue impacting our industry or our nation’s economy. She is the hardest working journalist in her profession by far. She hosts “Mornings with Maria” daily, as well as “Sunday Morning Futures” and “Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street.” Who hosts three different shows six days a week anymore? No one else! Maria is the best. Besides being a professional in what she does, she is also one of the nicest people you will ever meet. I never know when that call will come, so I must always be ready by knowing the topics of the day. When I receive an invitation to be on the show, it is with only a few days’ notice that I’m given the topic that will be discussed. The day before the interview, I prepare by reading as much as I can to be ready. It is also critical that I prepare by getting a good night’s sleep. Around 5:30 a.m. on the morning of the show, Maria’s producers send me two to three other subjects to discuss on air during the interview. They also send links to stories by major news outlets on each of the proposed issues or topics. I read these materials in preparation. If I am joining Maria in the studio in New York, the network sends an SUV to pick me up at my hotel at 6 a.m. for the 6:45 a.m. interview. I usually arrive in the FOX Business green room around 6:10 a.m.. I’ll typically have coffee and grab a snack while I continue to read my briefing materials. Then one of Maria’s producers stops by to welcome me and say hello. As I read and think about the issues and the questions that may come up, time zips by before

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