ICBA Newsroom
The ICBA Newsroom collects and centralizes all the NewsWatch Today articles, press releases, Main Street Matters blogs, advocacy letters and other news that impacts community bankers.
Romero Rainey named top Washington influencer
ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey was named to Washingtonian magazine’s list of the 500 Most Influential People in the nation’s capital.
April 28, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
SEC chair, commissioner push for rational crypto framework
In his first public remarks since being sworn in as Securities and Exchange Commission chair, Paul Atkins said he looks forward to working with market participants, the administration, and Congress to “establish a rational, fit-for-purpose regulatory framework for crypto assets.”
April 28, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Digital Assets
Romero Rainey Named to Washingtonian’s Top Influencers for Community Bank Advocacy
Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey has once again been selected for Washingtonian magazine's 500 Most Influential People feature, as part of the publication’s banking and finance list.
April 25, 2025 |
Press Release
Advocacy
After another acquisition, ICBA continues push on credit union tax breaks
Following the latest acquisition of a tax-paying community bank by a tax-exempt credit union, ICBA continued its call for Congress to eliminate the federal tax exemption for credit unions over $1 billion in assets.
April 23, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Credit Unions
ICBA urging grassroots outreach on ACRE Act
With Congress potentially taking up tax legislation when it returns from the current congressional recess, ICBA is calling on community bankers to urge their lawmakers to co-sponsor legislation that would provide tax relief to support rural lending.
April 23, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Agriculture Grassroots/Be Heard
House Democrats urge Treasury to exempt CDFI Fund from cuts
House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and 87 House Democrats asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to exclude the CDFI Fund from a recent executive order directing it to scale back operations.
April 23, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Department of Treasury
ICBA Continues Call to End Tax Breaks for Largest Credit Unions Following Latest Community Bank Acquisition
Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey issued the following statement following the latest acquisition of a tax-paying community bank by a tax-exempt credit union.
April 22, 2025 |
Press Release
Credit Unions
ICBA urging grassroots outreach on ACRE Act
With Congress potentially taking up tax legislation when it returns from the current congressional recess, ICBA is calling on community bankers to urge their lawmakers to co-sponsor legislation that would provide tax relief to support rural lending.
April 22, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Agriculture Grassroots/Be Heard
ICBA seeks participants for cross-border payments group
ICBA is seeking 12-15 community bankers to join its working group on cross-border payments.
April 22, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Payments
French Hill, Byron Donalds slated for ICBA Capital Summit
House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill (R-Ark.), Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), and Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender are scheduled to speak during next month’s ICBA Capital Summit in Washington, D.C.
April 22, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Community bankers to hear quick pitches from fintechs Thursday
ICBA ThinkTECH Connect—which provides a quick look at fintech companies that may be of interest to community banks—is scheduled for noon (Eastern time) this Thursday, April 24.
April 21, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
FDIC modifies resolution planning for large banks
The FDIC modified its approach to resolution planning for large banks.
April 21, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Fed proposes stress test changes
The Federal Reserve proposed changes that would reduce the volatility of capital requirements stemming from its annual stress test results.
April 21, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Federal Reserve
Independent Banker: Capital Summit shapes the future of community banking
At ICBA Capital Summit—slated for May 12-15 in Washington, D.C.—community bankers engage in important discussions about the future of community banking, advocate for policies that support local economies, and share best practices with peers, according to the latest Independent Banker magazine.
April 18, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
ICBA urges OCC to preserve dedicated supervision for community banks
In response to the OCC’s decision to combine its community, midsize, and large bank supervision functions, ICBA said merging supervisory functions threatens to dilute the nuanced oversight that effective community bank supervision requires in favor of a one-size-fits-all model.
April 18, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
OCC
Fed’s Barr: Banks are frontline defenders against deepfake-enabled fraud
Banks play a critical role in safeguarding against deepfake-driven fraud given their direct handling of financial transactions and sensitive customer data, according to Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr.
April 18, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Fraud
ICBA, other groups affirm support for legislation to prohibit mortgage trigger leads
ICBA and other groups expressed support for the reintroduction of legislation in the House and Senate to protect the financial privacy of mortgage applicants.
April 17, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Mortgage Rules
ICBA urges OCC to preserve dedicated supervision for community banks
In response to the OCC’s announced decision to combine its community, midsize, and large bank supervision functions, ICBA said merging supervisory functions threatens to dilute the nuanced oversight that effective community bank supervision requires and jeopardizes the tailored regulatory approach that community banks deserve.
April 17, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
OCC
Acquisition ignites calls to end tax exemption for large credit unions
ICBA reiterated its call for policymakers to eliminate the federal tax exemption for credit unions with more than $1 billion in assets following the fourth announced credit union acquisition of a tax-paying community bank this year.
April 17, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Credit Unions
ICBA Urges OCC to Preserve Dedicated Supervision for Community Banks
Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey issued the following statement in opposition to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s announced decision to merge its community, midsize, and large bank supervision functions into a single line of business.
April 16, 2025 |
Press Release
OCC
After community bank acquisition, ICBA urges end to tax exemption for billion-dollar credit unions
ICBA reiterated its call for policymakers to eliminate the federal tax exemption for credit unions with more than $1 billion in assets following the fourth announced credit union acquisition of a tax-paying community bank this year.
April 16, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Credit Unions
Judge scraps CFPB credit card late fee rule
A federal judge voided a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule capping credit card late fees at $8, after the agency agreed with opponents that the rule was illegal.
April 16, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
OCC releases bank letter on information security incident
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.
April 16, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
OCC
ICBA Urges End to Tax Exemption for Billion-dollar Credit Unions After Another Community Bank Acquisition
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.
April 15, 2025 |
Press Release
Credit Unions
Independent Banker details how banks can leverage FedNow
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.
April 15, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
ICBA seeks participants for cross-border payments group
ICBA is seeking 12-15 community bankers to join its working group on cross-border payments.
April 15, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Fed’s Waller: Tariffs could affect the FOMC’s economic objectives
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.
April 15, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Federal Reserve
New blog post highlights value of compensation data
Reliable competitive compensation and benefits data are crucial to securing and retaining top performers, according to a new Main Street Matters blog post.
April 14, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Bank Director/Board Member Human Resources
ICBA, other groups oppose efforts to increase income tax rates
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.
April 14, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Taxes & Budget
ICBA supports legislation to safeguard small business data
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.
April 14, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Privacy
ICBA Applauds House Passage of Resolution to Overturn Flawed CFPB Overdraft Rule
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.
April 09, 2025 |
Press Release
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Overdraft Services
ICBA updates Community Banking Month resources
To help community bankers make the most of Community Banking Month, ICBA continues to update the tools in its Marketing Resource Center.
April 08, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Community Bank Awareness
Independent Banker offers community banker advocacy guidebook
The latest Independent Banker magazine features the ultimate advocacy guidebook for community bankers featuring ICBA grassroots resources.
April 08, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
OCC issues guidance on rescinding CRA final rule
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.
April 08, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
OCC
OCC announces information security incident involving email
The OCC notified Congress of a major information security incident, as required by the Federal Information Security Modernization Act.
April 08, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Data Breach OCC
Independent Banker: ICBA’s new board gets to work
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.
April 07, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Executive Leadership/C-Suite Bank Director/Board Member
Romero Rainey: Committee markup a key milestone, but more work ahead
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.
April 07, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
CFPB says it will reopen 1071 rule
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.
April 07, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
ICBA urging overdraft outreach following House vote delay
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.
April 04, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Overdraft Services
Romero Rainey: Committee markup a key milestone, but more work ahead
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.
April 04, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Community Bank Awareness
Independent Banker
Independent Banker is the award-winning monthly member publication of ICBA. Continually rated the best news source by community bankers, IB provides timely, relevant information and insights to help community banks continue to flourish.
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