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.
Out of Office: Richard Thiessens
The EVP and chief technology officer at $746 million-asset FinWise Bank in Murray, Utah, makes his own wine, cider and mead.
March 01, 2025 |
Independent Banker
Renovation Lending: The Solution to a Tough Mortgage Market?
With many prospective and first-time homebuyers buying fixer-uppers, community banks can tap into a new market to supplement their mortgage and construction portfolios.
March 01, 2025 |
Independent Banker
Lending
Powering Potential: Marketing Made Easier for Your Community Bank
The ICBA Marketing Resource Center delivers dynamic, evolving resources that can help you save time, elevate your messaging and win over current and prospective customers.
March 01, 2025 |
Independent Banker
Growing the Community
Streamline Your Bank’s Appraisal and Vendor Management with ValuTrac
SPONSORED | Tired of juggling spreadsheets, emails, and phone calls to manage appraisals and vendors? ValuTrac offers a unified workspace that transforms how banks manage their appraisal and valuation processes
March 01, 2025 |
Independent Banker
Lending
IT MSP, Integris, Reveals Top IT Trends for the Second Year in New Report, “Understanding US Banks’ Annual IT Spend in 2025”
SPONSORED | Discover where banks stand on technology in 2025! Our survey of 1,000+ bank executives reveals IT’s growing role, key infrastructure needs, cybersecurity concerns, and economic impacts. Compare insights from 2024 and see what’s ahead. Get the full report today!
March 01, 2025 |
Independent Banker
Payments
Loan Pricing strategies: Don’t let your bank become a Castaway.
SPONSORED | With rapidly changing market conditions, your bank could easily find itself isolated like Tom Hanks in Castaway, on a desert island alone. Overlooking your biggest resource to build a raft to freedom, can make escaping your island impossible.
March 01, 2025 |
Independent Banker
Lending Payments
Michael Benedict: Community Bank Growth in a New Rate Environment
A steeper yield curve brings growth strategies back into the fold.
March 01, 2025 |
Independent Banker
Growing the Community
Oxford Bank Celebrates 140 Years of Community Support
Oxford Bank in Oxford, Mich., celebrated its 140th anniversary by building relationships, investing in the community and exercising purposeful giving.
March 01, 2025 |
Independent Banker
Incoming 2025/26 ICBA Chairman Jack E. Hopkins Will Bring Small-Town Sensibility to Washington
Jack E. Hopkins, president and CEO of CorTrust Bank in Sioux Falls, S.D., has been a strong voice for community banking for years. As ICBA’s 2025/26 chairman, he plans to advocate for the industry to Congress and the public, bringing a small‑town sensibility to D.C.
March 01, 2025 |
Independent Banker
Why Your Community Bank Needs a Disaster Recovery Plan
Community banks like Countybank face and overcome challenges every day, but what about the events banks don’t expect? Natural disasters can be devastating, which is why it’s important to have a business continuity plan in place and know where to find support in the aftermath.
March 01, 2025 |
Independent Banker
Tips for Winning the Retail Banking Game
Technology continues to evolve, and community banks must do the same. To cater to and better support young, tech-savvy customers, these local banks are partnering with fintechs to revamp their retail banking offerings.
March 01, 2025 |
Independent Banker
Optimize Your Community Bank's Treasury Management Offerings
These four community banks compared the costs and use cases for adding treasury management to their services and streamlining them. Now, they’re seeing the benefits.
March 01, 2025 |
Independent Banker
Growing the Community
Rebeca Romero Rainey: Amplifying the Community Bank Difference
“We must both acknowledge competitive headwinds and know that we have tailwinds to drive us forward when it comes to what we do at a local level.”
March 01, 2025 |
Independent Banker
With CFPB in spotlight, ICBA urging grassroots outreach on overdraft rule
With Washington focused on reforming the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, ICBA is calling on community bankers to tell their members of Congress to support legislative efforts to stop the bureau's overdraft rule.
February 28, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
McKernan, Pulte vow to streamline CFPB, FHFA activities
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will center its regulation on real risks to consumers and focus its enforcement on bad actors, CFPB director nominee Jonathan McKernan told Congress.
February 28, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Bowman: Rightsized regulations key to bright community banking future
The future of community banking is bright as long as regulators focus on appropriate regulations and guidance and recognize that investment in innovation and growth is a necessity, not a roadblock, according to Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman.
February 28, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
ICBA opposes consolidation of banking regulators
ICBA said it opposes calls from Wall Street bank executives and others to consolidate the nation’s banking regulators.
February 27, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Agencies/Regulators
ICBA: Stablecoin legislation must protect role of community banks
ICBA told Congress that any legislation establishing a regulatory framework for stablecoins must address stablecoin risks without disintermediating community banks.
February 27, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Digital Assets
ICBA continuing grassroots push on CFPB overdraft rule
ICBA continues calling on community bankers to tell their members of Congress to support legislative efforts to stop the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's overdraft rule.
February 27, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
ICBA Statement Opposing Consolidation of the Nation’s Banking Regulators
Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey issued the following statement opposing the consolidation of the nation’s banking regulators.
February 26, 2025 |
Press Release
Regulatory Compliance
Independent Banker: How community banks are fighting AI-powered elder fraud
Community banks are working to combat fraudsters using artificial intelligence to target seniors, according to the latest Independent Banker magazine.
February 26, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Fraud
Romero Rainey: ICBA letter to Trump administration key to reform push
ICBA’s recent letter urging the Trump administration to advance several needed reforms is essential to supporting community banks while avoiding unintended consequences, ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey said this week.
February 26, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Government Banks
ICBA Strongly Supports Bipartisan ACRE Act Offering Lower-Cost Credit to Rural Americans
The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) today expressed strong support for the Senate introduction of the Access to Credit for our Rural Economy (ACRE) Act to support farmers, ranchers, and rural homeowners.
February 26, 2025 |
Press Release
Agriculture Lending Agriculture Rural Development
Community bank net income declines in Q4
Community bank net income fell 6.5% in the fourth quarter and was down 2.4% in 2024 from the previous year, according to the FDIC’s latest Quarterly Banking Profile.
February 26, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
ICBA urges Trump administration to advance pro-community bank reforms
ICBA urged the Trump administration to advance key policies under its “Repair, Reform, and Thrive” plan to continue advancing policies that support community banks.
February 24, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
ICBA urging grassroots outreach to stop CFPB overdraft rule
ICBA is calling on community bankers to tell their members of Congress to support legislative efforts to stop the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's overdraft rule.
February 24, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
ICBA, U.S. Postal Inspection Service partner to combat check fraud
ICBA announced a partnership with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to combat the threat of check fraud.
February 24, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Fraud
ICBA, U.S. Postal Inspection Service partner to combat check fraud
ICBA announced a partnership with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to combat the threat of check fraud.
February 21, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Fraud
ICBA urging community banker outreach on stopping CFPB overdraft rule
ICBA is calling on community bankers to tell their members of Congress to stop the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's overdraft rule.
February 21, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Latest ILC application brings total pending bids to three
With auto company Stellantis last week applying to form an industrial loan company in Utah, the number of pending ILC applications now stands at three.
February 21, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
New op-ed urges Illinois lawmakers to rethink credit union tax exemption
A new op-ed from Community Bankers Association of Illinois Chairman David Stanton calls on policymakers to tax credit unions like every other business in the state.
February 20, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Credit Unions
ICBA and U.S. Postal Inspection Service Partner to Help Community Banks Combat Check Fraud
The Independent Community Bankers of America® (ICBA) today announced a partnership with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to combat the threat of check fraud.
February 20, 2025 |
Press Release
Fraud Postal Service Banking
FinCEN: BOI reporting requirements back in effect with extended deadline
Following a court decision, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network announced that beneficial ownership information reporting requirements are back in effect, with a new deadline of March 21 for most companies.
February 20, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
Trump directs independent agencies to run proposals through White House
President Donald Trump issued an executive order requiring independent agencies to submit rules to the White House before publishing them in the Federal Register.
February 20, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Agencies/Regulators
Independent Banker: ICBA speaks out against one-size-fits-all regulations
The latest Independent Banker magazine details how ICBA is advocating for threshold changes that would lighten community banks’ regulatory burden.
February 19, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Hood: OCC will push to include credit union data in merger reviews
Acting Comptroller of the Currency Rodney Hood said he wants to revisit how credit unions affect regulatory reviews of bank mergers, as advocated by ICBA.
February 19, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
OCC
ICBA, farm groups continue to urge support of crop insurance
Farm and rural groups joined ICBA in urging the new leaders of the Agriculture Department and Office of Management and Budget to protect crop insurance from harmful cuts that would undermine U.S. farmers and ranchers and rural economies.
February 19, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Agriculture
New blog post offers steps to a smooth ISO 20022 transition
After the Federal Reserve delayed the Fedwire Funds Service’s conversion to the ISO 20022 message format until July 14, a new ICBA blog post spotlights resources to help community banks prepare.
February 18, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Federal Reserve
ICBA supports resolutions to scrap CFPB overdraft rule
ICBA expressed support for a new congressional effort to invalidate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s final rule on overdraft protection programs, saying it is a deeply flawed and harmful rule.
February 18, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
ICBA: Community banks need be integral part of cyber incident response
ICBA commended the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s efforts to create a better framework for responding to significant cyber incidents, but said community banks need to be an integral part of a coordinated cyber defense plan.
February 18, 2025 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Cybersecurity
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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