OCC releases bank letter on information security incident

Apr 16, 2025 | NewsWatch Today
The OCC released a letter sent to supervised institutions regarding unauthorized access to OCC email systems. The letter included background on the February incident, the OCC’s response, and what financial institutions could expect going forward.

ICBA Urges End to Tax Exemption for Billion-dollar Credit Unions After Another Community Bank Acquisition

Apr 15, 2025 | Press Release
Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey issued the following statement in response to the latest acquisition of a tax-paying community bank by a tax-exempt credit union.

Independent Banker details how banks can leverage FedNow

Apr 15, 2025 | NewsWatch Today
FedNow, the Federal Reserve’s instant payments system, wrapped up 2024 with more than 1,000 financial institutions participating, and 68% of community banks offering or planning to offer FedNow, according to the latest Independent Banker magazine.

ICBA seeks participants for cross-border payments group

Apr 15, 2025 | NewsWatch Today
ICBA is seeking 12-15 community bankers to join its working group on cross-border payments.

Fed’s Waller: Tariffs could affect the FOMC’s economic objectives

Apr 15, 2025 | NewsWatch Today
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said large, broadly applied tariffs could significantly affect the economy and the Federal Open Market Committee's pursuit of economic objectives.

New blog post highlights value of compensation data

Apr 14, 2025 | NewsWatch Today
Reliable competitive compensation and benefits data are crucial to securing and retaining top performers, according to a new Main Street Matters blog post.

ICBA, other groups oppose efforts to increase income tax rates

Apr 14, 2025 | NewsWatch Today
ICBA and other groups said recent proposals to raise the top individual income tax rate to 40% would disproportionately harm hundreds of thousands of pass-through businesses organized as S corporations, partnerships, and sole proprietorships.

ICBA supports legislation to safeguard small business data

Apr 14, 2025 | NewsWatch Today
Rep. John Rose (R-Tenn.) introduced ICBA-supported legislation—the Bank Loan Privacy Act—aimed at reforming the CFPB’s Section 1071 small business reporting rule. The bill would require the CFPB to undergo a formal rulemaking process to determine how the small business loan data it collects will be shared and used.

ICBA Applauds House Passage of Resolution to Overturn Flawed CFPB Overdraft Rule

Apr 9, 2025 | Press Release
Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey issued the following statement on House passage of a Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s final rule on overdraft services.

ICBA updates Community Banking Month resources

Apr 8, 2025 | NewsWatch Today
To help community bankers make the most of Community Banking Month, ICBA continues to update the tools in its Marketing Resource Center.

Independent Banker offers community banker advocacy guidebook

Apr 8, 2025 | NewsWatch Today
The latest Independent Banker magazine features the ultimate advocacy guidebook for community bankers featuring ICBA grassroots resources.

OCC issues guidance on rescinding CRA final rule

Apr 8, 2025 | NewsWatch Today
The OCC issued guidance on the federal banking agencies’ March 28 announcement that they plan to rescind the Community Reinvestment Act final rule issued in October 2023 and reinstate the prior CRA framework.

OCC announces information security incident involving email

Apr 8, 2025 | NewsWatch Today
The OCC notified Congress of a major information security incident, as required by the Federal Information Security Modernization Act.

Independent Banker: ICBA’s new board gets to work

Apr 7, 2025 | NewsWatch Today
The latest issue of Independent Banker magazine reports that while ICBA’s 2025-2026 board members hail from all parts of the country, they share a common focus: helping community banks succeed.

CFPB says it will reopen 1071 rule

Apr 7, 2025 | NewsWatch Today
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it will open a new rulemaking to implement Section 1071 data collection and reporting requirements for small-business loans.

Romero Rainey: Committee markup a key milestone, but more work ahead

Apr 7, 2025 | NewsWatch Today
The explosion of pro-community bank policy reforms from the first quarter of the year culminated in last week’s House Financial Services Committee markup, but there is still significant work to do, ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey said in a message to community bankers.

Romero Rainey: Committee markup a key milestone, but more work ahead

Apr 4, 2025 | NewsWatch Today
The explosion of pro-community bank policy reforms from the first quarter of the year culminated in this week’s House Financial Services Committee markup, but there is still significant work to do, ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey said in a message to community bankers.

Senate panel advances financial nominations

Apr 4, 2025 | NewsWatch Today
The Senate Banking Committee voted to advance several nominations out of committee.

ICBA urging overdraft outreach following House vote delay

Apr 4, 2025 | NewsWatch Today
With the House vote on an ICBA-advocated resolution to overturn the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s overdraft rule delayed until next week, ICBA is calling on community bankers to continue urging lawmakers to vote in favor of the measure.

Bill to establish stablecoin regulatory framework passes House committee

Apr 3, 2025 | NewsWatch Today
The House Financial Services Committee voted to pass legislation to establish a federal supervisory framework for stablecoins and their issuers.