I started my conversation with Ron Lieber by reading him a little bit of a press release.

Ron writes the Your Money column for The New York Times, and I wanted his take on an announcement

from September of 2021.

An announcement from JP Morgan Chase, the country's biggest bank, saying it was buying a startup

called Frank.

Frank's business was supposedly built around helping students navigate the financial aid

system, and JP Morgan Chase wanted in.

So much so that they reportedly paid $175 million for Frank.

Here's the part I read to Ron.

Frank offers a unique opportunity for deeper engagement with students.

Together, we'll be able to expand our capabilities for students and their families, helping them

financially prepare for college and other major moments in their future.

How much do you think JP Morgan Chase regrets those words now?

Well, think about it this way, Lizzie.

They don't regret trying to chase after 20-somethings who might have a half-century of financial

services customer-dom in their future.

This is something they very much want to do, but I think they deeply regret not having

asked another five to ten relatively basic questions about the enterprise that they were

purchasing and the founder behind it.

Because according to JP Morgan, Frank was not all it seemed, nor was Charlie Javise,

the woman who started it.

In fact, JP Morgan says pretty much the whole thing was a lie.

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