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How to get featured in American Banker

How to get featured in American Banker: how its banking desks work, the BankThink op-ed rules, the paid press release section, and what editors reject.

Website
americanbanker.com
Owner
Arizent
Lead time
News: same day to days. BankThink: a response within about five business days, publication after editing.
Last verified

At a glance

Audience. Bank executives, regulators, fintech leaders, and financial services professionals.

  • Banking and community banks
  • Payments
  • Fintech
  • Regulation and policy
  • Risk and compliance
  • Cybersecurity
  • AI in banking
  • Mortgage
Staff reporting
Editors and reporters cover banking by desk, including payments, technology, policy, regulation, and community banking, and publish rankings and awards.
Contributed articles
Outside authors publish through BankThink, the op-ed section, which has published submission guidelines and a dedicated inbox.
Opinion and op-eds
BankThink accepts opinion-driven pieces, ideally under 1,000 words, sent as full drafts to the submissions box; submissions must be exclusive and non-promotional.
Press releases
American Banker offers sponsors a paid route to publish press releases in a dedicated Press Releases section, separate from the newsroom's reporting.

Pitching American Banker, step by step

  1. Use the Contact Us page to find the editor or reporter for your desk, such as payments or technology.

  2. Pitch news that matters to bank decision-makers: regulation, deals, risk, technology adoption, and results.

  3. For BankThink, write a full draft with a strong point of view and send it only to the BankThink submissions inbox.

  4. Disclose any financial ties to companies mentioned, as BankThink requires.

  5. Wait up to five business days for a BankThink reply before offering the piece elsewhere.

How American Banker decides what to cover

American Banker is a trade publication for the US banking industry, published by Arizent. Its newsroom is organized by desk, covering commercial, consumer, and community banking, payments, fintech, regulation and policy, risk and compliance, cybersecurity, AI, and mortgage. It also runs rankings and awards such as The Most Powerful Women in Banking and The Best Banks to Work For.

Stories are written for bank executives and regulators. News that matters there includes regulatory actions, deals, earnings, technology adoption by real banks, fraud and risk developments, and leadership changes at significant institutions.

How to pitch American Banker

The Contact Us page lists editors and reporters by desk with their public contact details, which makes targeting straightforward. Pitch the person who covers your area with a short note that leads with the banking implication. Vendor news works best when a named bank customer is involved and willing to talk, and when the story is about a measurable change rather than a product launch.

Contributed articles and op-eds

BankThink is American Banker’s op-ed section, and its published guidelines are specific. Send full drafts to the BankThink submissions inbox only; pieces sent to individual editors will not be considered. The section values opinion-driven pieces over advice, asks for submissions under about 1,000 words, and forbids promotional content, including conclusions that point to a product category the author sells. Conflicts of interest must be disclosed at submission. Submissions must be exclusive. The editors aim to respond within five business days, after which authors may take the piece elsewhere. Headlines are written by staff.

Frequently asked questions

Not in news coverage or BankThink. American Banker does offer sponsors a paid program to publish press releases in a dedicated Press Releases section, which is separate from editorial reporting.

Does American Banker accept guest posts?

Yes, through BankThink, under its published submission guidelines.

Who should I pitch at American Banker?

The reporter or editor for your desk, as listed on the Contact Us page, or the BankThink inbox for op-eds.

A PR-led agency approaches American Banker by pairing vendor news with real bank customers and drafting BankThink pieces that argue a point without selling. See how we run media relations for fintech and financial services.

Mistakes that get pitches ignored

  • Sending BankThink pieces to individual editors; the guidelines say these will not be considered.
  • Promotional op-eds that conclude your product category is the answer.
  • Jargon such as calling software 'solutions,' which the guidelines call out.
  • Treating the paid Press Releases section as earned coverage.

Keep going

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Sources for this profile (3)

Profiles describe public editorial processes and are reviewed periodically. Digitize is not affiliated with American Banker. Spot something out of date? Email [email protected].