At Community Banker University, this is the time of year that we evaluate our online course offerings to ensure that we are providing you with timely and relevant learning opportunities.

A semiconductor chip shortage has emerged as a real challenge for banks. Industries from automobile manufacturing to consumer electronics have been reporting issues for months, and now the effects have spread to the payments industry.

ICBA has for months strongly objected to a Washington proposal that would require financial institutions to report information on customer bank accounts to the IRS, which Congress could soon pass with a simple majority vote.

With the recent stablecoin surge raising risks for consumers and the financial system, regulators and Congress are increasingly concerned about the risks these digital currencies pose to consumers and the overall stability of financial markets.

The Crypto Chronicles series began with a primer on stablecoins, a type of digital currency designed to maintain a relatively stable value by being backed by fiat currencies, commodities, or other assets. In the months since that article was published, stablecoins have become a hot topic due to an incredible surge in activity—and affiliated risk.

ICBA’s Online Training Course Catalog and system give employees many opportunities to turn “IDK” into “I know where to find that” or “Let me refresh my memory” or “I’m curious and want to learn more.”

If community bankers weren’t busy enough continuing their heroic economic response to the pandemic, a recent proposal to impose new IRS reporting mandates on customer bank accounts has become a major advocacy priority.

While policy and technology questions continue to be debated around the digital dollar, the vital role that community banks need to play in this next evolution of money is indisputable.

For $3.1 billion-asset Blue Ridge Bank, innovation is priority number one. Yet in a recent interview, the Luray, Va.-based community bank quickly pointed out that innovation is not as much about the technology investment as it is about the cultural one.

As discussed in ICBA’s first Crypto Chronicles blog post, cryptocurrency emerged from Satoshi Nakamoto’s desire to create a “purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash.”