ICBA Newsroom
The ICBA Newsroom collects and centralizes all the NewsWatch Today articles, press releases, blog posts, advocacy letters and other news that impacts community bankers.
Coming soon: Analysis of 2024 election impact on community banking
With Election Day 2024 in the books, ICBA will release an analysis of the pending election results and their impact on community banks.
November 06, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
ICBA matches $25k donation for Hurricane Relief Fund
The ICBA Foundation’s Hurricane Relief Fund—which is dedicated to supporting community bankers, their employees, and communities—continues to grow with generous support, including a $25,000 match from ICBA.
November 06, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Romero Rainey: ICBA Looks Forward to Working with Election Winners on Community Bank Policies
ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey issued the following statement on the 2024 elections. “ICBA and the nation’s community bankers congratulate the winners of last night’s elections and look forward to working with them on the key policy issues affecting community banks and the communities they serve.
November 06, 2024 |
Press Release
Community Bank Awareness
New op-ed: Don't fix what isn't broken at Federal Home Loan Banks
The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s regulatory crackdown on the Federal Home Loan Banks threatens the housing finance system at a time of high prices and limited supply, ICBA wrote in a new op-ed.
November 04, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Federal Housing Finance Agency
Federal working group designed to boost CDFI access to capital
The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund and the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced the formation of a working group to increase capital for affordable housing lending from the Federal Home Loan Banks.
November 04, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
CDFI Federal Housing Finance Agency
Former NCUA official profiles rogue credit union
A new blog post spotlights a growth-focused credit union that has rapidly expanded its footprint and obscured its declining net worth by acquiring smaller credit unions and issuing subordinated debt.
November 04, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Credit Unions
ICBA: Credit union penalty exemplifies consumer impact of lagging oversight
ICBA said a new regulatory action against VyStar Credit Union for harming consumers through its botched rollout of a new online banking system exemplifies the risks posed by lagging credit union regulation.
November 01, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Credit Unions
ICBA calls for additional EGRPRA outreach meetings
ICBA commended the federal banking agencies for hosting a virtual community banker outreach meeting under their current regulatory review and called for at least three more meetings.
November 01, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
EGRPRA s.2155
Community Bank Tactics for Recruiting Tech Superstars
The battle for tech talent continues to be a difficult one for community banks. But with the right approach, bank leadership can appeal to a segment of tech-savvy individuals fit for the job.
November 01, 2024 |
Independent Banker
Easing the Way: Current and Upcoming Banking Technology Trends
The best technology is the kind that supports both the customer and the community bank. We look at some key industry challenges and where tech could potentially ease pain points. Importantly, we encourage banks to ask one essential post-implementation question: Is this technology getting the job done?
November 01, 2024 |
Independent Banker
Payments
How to Prepare for a Potential 1071 Implementation
While ICBA continues to challenge the 1071 rule’s legality, community banks must prepare for its potential passage.
November 01, 2024 |
Independent Banker
Compliance
Alternative Credit Scoring Models: Beyond FICO
Community banks can expand access to capital by looking at other factors for loan approval. Here’s what to consider.
November 01, 2024 |
Independent Banker
Lending
Tim Roy: Pushing Back Against Upcoming FHLB Regulations
Significant changes could be in store for the Federal Home Loan Bank system, with possible negative effects for community banks.
November 01, 2024 |
Independent Banker
Advocacy
Native American Bank Dedicates a Day to Gratitude
On June 28, Denver-based Native American Bank, N.A., hosted a Customer Appreciation Day at Yellow Bird Woman Park near its Browning, Mont., branch.
November 01, 2024 |
Independent Banker
Out of Office: Rachell Bilbrey
The senior vice president and director of treasury at $1.8 billion-asset Builtwell Bank in Chattanooga, Tenn., finds creative fulfillment through conceptualizing, creating and styling home interiors.
November 01, 2024 |
Independent Banker
Lucas White: Staffing for the Digital Future
We can teach technology, but we can’t teach the passion that comes with community banking. It has to be inherent.
November 01, 2024 |
Independent Banker
Ion Bank: A Reflection of the Customers It Serves
Ion Bank makes a point of fostering a diverse workplace and supporting local communities through its multilingual staff, fundraising efforts and inclusive outreach.
November 01, 2024 |
Independent Banker
Powering Potential: A Guide to In-Person ICBA Events
ICBA’s in-person events offer unparalleled opportunities for professional growth. Discover how stepping out of the office and into a collaborative environment can enhance understanding, retention and network building.
November 01, 2024 |
Independent Banker
5 Tips for Handling Fintech Partnership Contracts
Go into fintech contract negotiations with clear intention to save your community bank from future conflict.
November 01, 2024 |
Independent Banker
Compliance
You’ve Launched a New Website—What Happens Now?
SPONSORED | “Build it and they will come” is great for a baseball field. But when you’ve just put your all into a new website, find out how to generate ROI, produce actionable results and more.
November 01, 2024 |
Independent Banker
Growing the Community
Rebeca Romero Rainey: AI, the New Frontier
To safeguard our banks, we must understand how AI is being used today for the good and the bad, then evolve our risk management procedures accordingly.
November 01, 2024 |
Independent Banker
Independent Financial: A New Model for Expanding Healthcare Access
Independent Financial asked what its community needed most, then undertook an innovative approach to supporting public health.
November 01, 2024 |
Independent Banker
Lindsay LaNore: How To Be a Memorable Leader
Is Your Bank's Website Accessible To All?
Ensuring people with disabilities can access all corners of your bank’s digital properties is more than just a legal requirement. Here are tips on how to keep your content within reach of everyone.
November 01, 2024 |
Independent Banker
Compliance
Charles Potts: Driving Strategy With AI as a Tool
How Can Community Banks Attract Gen Z Customers?
While youth accounts are a great value-add for parents, younger customers are looking for offerings with a few key characteristics.
November 01, 2024 |
Independent Banker
Portfolio and Loan-Level Stress Testing: Be Proactive & Examiner-Ready
SPONSORED | Regulators are increasingly mandating stress testing, with growing expectations for community banks to take a more proactive approach. Banks should consider easier and more affordable methods to conduct both portfolio- and loan-level stress testing for more comprehensive risk management.
November 01, 2024 |
Independent Banker
Compliance
Rethink Your Digital Banking Experience to Retain Customers
SPONSORED | Retain customers, enhance efficiencies, and compete effectively by leveraging cutting-edge technology and a powerful digital banking experience.
November 01, 2024 |
Independent Banker
Time’s Up for Excel & Managing Credit Risk
SPONSORED | For 45 years spreadsheets have dominated business tasks from bookkeeping and inventory management to advanced data analysis. The problem is the overuse of Excel leads many community banks to embrace terrible tradeoffs – especially in commercial lending. It’s time to ditch your spreadsheets.
November 01, 2024 |
Independent Banker
Payments
Here Comes the Snow: Lending Support for Winter Businesses
Rain or shine, community banks are there to serve their communities. But how about snow? For some, the cold weather is more than welcome. We talked to four community banks located in winter-centric areas—Alaska, Minnesota, Colorado and northern New York—about how they take advantage of seasonal snowfall and lend to meet the needs of those at the cold front.
November 01, 2024 |
Independent Banker
Lending
Michael Benedict: Bridging the Gap
Rate cuts may not provide immediate margin relief, but you can take steps to reduce near-term pressure.
November 01, 2024 |
Independent Banker
Growing the Community
FSB concerned about lack of stablecoin regulation
The Financial Stability Board reiterated its calls for countries to regulate stablecoins due to concerns about users losing confidence in stablecoins, which could lead to runs on issuers.
October 31, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Digital Assets
CFPB Penalty Against VyStar Credit Union Exemplifies Consumer Impact of Tax-Exempt Industry’s Lagging Regulatory Oversight
Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey issued the following statement after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took action against VyStar Credit Union for harming consumers through its botched rollout of a new online banking system.
October 31, 2024 |
Press Release
CFPB Technology
ICBA: Agencies should publish supervisory highlights on bank-fintech partnerships
To counteract “regulation through enforcement,” ICBA urged federal banking regulators to periodically publish supervisory highlights on key examination findings related to bank-fintech partnerships, similar to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s.
October 31, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
CFPB
Task force updates AML-deficiency jurisdiction list
The Financial Action Task Force—a global anti-money-laundering watchdog—updated its lists of jurisdictions with AML deficiencies.
October 31, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
FinCEN
EGRPRA grassroots letters due today
ICBA is urging community bankers to use its Be Heard grassroots action center to submit comments on the current Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act review ahead of today’s deadline.
October 30, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
EGRPRA s.2155
Blog: ICBA Payments entering a new era
ICBA Payments has a 40-year history of innovation and growth with a successful brand, steady business, and loyal clients—but it’s time for a transformation, according to a new blog post.
October 30, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Gruenberg: Orderly resolutions without systemic risk exception needed
FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg said there is a need for meaningful action to improve the likelihood of orderly resolutions of large regional banks without the expectation of invoking the systemic risk exception.
October 30, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
FDIC
Hurricane Relief Fund surpasses $100,000, continues vital support for community banks
The ICBA Foundation’s Hurricane Relief Fund—which is dedicated to supporting community bankers, their employees, and communities—has surpassed $100,000 in donations across five states.
October 29, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
EGRPRA grassroots letters due tomorrow
ICBA continues urging community bankers to use its Be Heard grassroots action center to submit comments on the current Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act review.
October 29, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
EGRPRA s.2155
Pew research: Americans don’t think crypto is safe
More than six in 10 Americans (63%) say they have little to no confidence that investing in, trading, or using cryptocurrencies is reliable and safe, according to the Pew Research Center.
October 29, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Digital Assets
Independent Banker: Faster payments don’t have to lead to faster fraud
Addressing real-time payments fraud requires a combination of techniques—there's no silver bullet—according to the latest Independent Banker magazine.
October 25, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Technology Faster Payments
FHA seeks feedback on housing proposals
The Federal Housing Administration posted two draft mortgagee letters on its Drafting Table for feedback:
October 25, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Mortgage Lending FHA/HUD
CFPB: Companies must follow FCRA rules when tracking employees
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a circular that said that companies using third-party consumer reports must follow Fair Credit Reporting Act rules.
October 25, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
CFPB Compliance
ICBA: Latest Credit Union Acquisition Shows Why a Federal Response Is Needed
Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey today issued the following statement after the 19th acquisition of a tax-paying bank by a tax-exempt credit union in 2024, which expands on this year’s annual record.
October 23, 2024 |
Press Release
Credit Unions
ICBA Remains Concerned with CFPB’s 1033 Rule Despite Community Bank Exemption
Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey issued the following statement on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s 1033 final rule released today.
October 22, 2024 |
Press Release
Privacy
ICBA Foundation raising relief funds for multiple states
The ICBA Foundation’s Hurricane Relief Fund continues requesting tax-deductible donations to assist community bankers in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
October 22, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Report: Tokenization’s impact remains uncertain
A new report outlines the opportunities, risk, and future considerations for tokenization, or the process of generating and recording a digital representation of traditional assets on a programmable platform.
October 22, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Mutuals launch ‘Mutuals Matter’ campaign
An association of banking leaders from mutual banks across the country launched a new campaign highlighting the community-minded benefits offered by mutuals.
October 22, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
ICBA Foundation distributing hurricane relief funds across multiple states
The ICBA Foundation’s Hurricane Relief Fund continues requesting tax-deductible donations to assist community bankers in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina affected by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.
October 21, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
ICBA requests extension for comments on FDIC’s proposal on custodial accounts
ICBA and other groups asked for a 60-day extension to the comment period for the FDIC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Recordkeeping for Custodial Accounts, which would establish new recordkeeping requirements for “custodial deposit accounts with transactional features” at insured depository institutions.
October 21, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Fed’s Waller: DeFi’s tech innovations could improve centralized finance
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said the technological innovations stemming from decentralized finance are largely complementary to centralized finance and can help improve it.
October 21, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
FinCEN: Certain telecommunications service providers are exempt from beneficial ownership requirements
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued a final rule to clarify that certain telecommunications service providers qualify as “regulated public utilities” and are exempt from the Corporate Transparency Act’s beneficial ownership information reporting requirements. The final rule is effective immediately upon publication in the Federal Register.
October 18, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Compliance
FDIC says DIF goal is ahead of schedule
The FDIC said the reserve ratio for the Deposit Insurance Fund remains on track to reach the statutory minimum of 1.35% as early as 2026, and ahead of the Amended Restoration Plan deadline of Sept. 30, 2028.
October 18, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Report: Stablecoins do not act as safe havens during crypto market stress
Stablecoins do not act as “safe havens” during crypto market stress, but their market capitalization drops after significant shocks, according to a Bank for International Settlements working paper.
October 18, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Digital Assets
FDIC extends compliance date for some signage rules
The FDIC announced that it is extending the compliance date for the new signage and advertising rule from Jan. 1, 2025, to May 1, 2025.
October 18, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Compliance
ThinkTECH Solutions Forum on data today
ICBA’s ThinkTECH Solutions Forum: Data is scheduled for noon (Eastern time) today. Community bankers can attend live or get the recording. Registration is free for ICBA members.
October 17, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
ICBA updates advocacy dashboard
ICBA updated its “Advocacy in Action” government relations dashboard for the fourth quarter with the latest community banking advocacy successes and priorities.
October 17, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Advocacy
ICBA: FHFA guidance on FHLBank liquidity won’t work
ICBA and state community banking associations told the Federal Housing Finance Agency that its recent Advisory Bulletin to the FHLBanks regarding credit risk management expectations for member institutions lacked both clarity and statutory authority.
October 17, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Federal Housing Finance Agency
Independent Banker: ICBA continues amplifying concerns in stablecoin debate
As lawmakers continue to debate a regulatory framework for stablecoins, the latest Independent Banker magazine highlights how ICBA remains engaged to ensure that policymakers address the concerns of community banks.
October 16, 2024 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Digital Assets
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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