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.
ICBA Urges True Short-Form Call Report
ICBA expressed disappointment in federal regulators’ insufficient proposal to reduce reporting burdens and repeated its call for a true short-form call report. Following its weeks-long grassroots advocacy campaign, ICBA said the call report for the first and third quarters should consist of a balance sheet, income statement, and statement of changes in shareholders’ equity.
January 22, 2019 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Call Report
ICBA Seeks Hearings on ‘Emergency’ CU Merger
ICBA called on key congressional committees to hold hearings on the National Credit Union Administration’s approval of an “emergency merger” between Pentagon Federal Credit Union and Progressive Credit Union.
January 22, 2019 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Credit Unions
Wolters Kluwer Launches Online Applications Capability for Community Banks
TCM Bank Supports Customers Affected by Government Shutdown
TCM Bank, N.A., a subsidiary of ICBA Bancard, announced that it is supporting its community bank partners and helping their cardholder customers who may be experiencing financial hardship during the government shutdown.
January 05, 2019 |
Press Release
Site visits still matter. Here’s why
Site visits are the key to protecting your community bank’s commercial and industrial portfolio. Here’s why.
January 01, 2019 |
Independent Banker
Compliance Lending
Community Spirit: Dennis Frandsen
After a lengthy entrepreneurial career, Dennis Frandsen of Frandsen Bank & Trust is giving back by helping Minnesota students pay their tuition.
January 01, 2019 |
Independent Banker
Community Bank CEO Outlook 2019: What’s on your peers’ to-do list?
Independent Banker’s inaugural Community Bank CEO Outlook survey asked community bank CEOs how they plan to meet their challenges this year. Read on for a glimpse of their to-do lists for 2019, from increasing deposits to tackling digital marketing.
January 01, 2019 |
Independent Banker
ICBA Applauds House Passage of Farm Bill
ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey issued the following statement on the House of Representatives’ passage of the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 (H.R. 2).
December 12, 2018 |
Press Release
Farm Bill
Independent Banker Profiles Community Bankers of the Year
The December issue of Independent Banker® magazine features profiles of ICBA’s Community Bankers of the Year. The profiles of Ken LaRoe, Scott McComb, Josh Rowland, and Stan Wilmoth feature their views on values, human connections, civic partnership, and community service.
December 10, 2018 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Wolters Kluwer and CRMNEXT Form Expere Services Partnership
Congress Extends Flood Program Until Friday
Congress extended the National Flood Insurance Program through this Friday. With the program set to expire at the end of last week, the last-minute vote averted a lapse.
December 03, 2018 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Flood Insurance Compliance
Podcast Features Community Bank Payment Trends
ICBA Bancard’s Tina Giorgio and TCM Bank’s Damon Moorer were featured in the latest This Month In Banking podcast by the Kafafian Group. The 30-minute recording discusses how Bancard and TCM support community banks’ credit card offerings and offers insight on trends affecting payments.
November 30, 2018 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Payments
Agencies Planning Resolution Reform: McWilliams
The FDIC and Federal Reserve are reviewing resolution-planning regulations for bank holding companies, FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams said. McWilliams said that while the largest financial institutions remain an untested resolution challenge, the agencies are looking to make resolution planning more targeted and will release a proposal in the coming months.
November 30, 2018 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Too-Big-To-Fail/Systemic Risk
Visa: EMV Shift Crushing Counterfeit Fraud
The shift to EMV chip technology has reduced card-present counterfeit payment fraud by 82 percent at chip-enabled merchants, Visa said. More than 3.1 million merchants are now accepting chip cards—67 percent of U.S. storefronts—and 98 percent of U.S. payment volume in September was on EMV cards.
November 30, 2018 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Payments
Court Delays Bureau’s Small-Dollar Rule
A federal court this week granted the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection’s request to delay the effective date of its rule on small-dollar loans. The decision delays the August 2019 compliance date as the bureau plans to issue proposed rules in January that will reconsider the rule. The bureau plans to propose revisiting only the ability-to-repay provisions, which it said have greater consequences for consumers and the industry than the payment provisions.
November 09, 2018 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Compliance
ICBA Statement on FDIC Call Report Proposal
ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey issued a statement on federal regulators’ proposed rule to implement quarterly reporting relief required by the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (S. 2155).
November 07, 2018 |
Press Release
Call Report Regulatory Relief
Digital marketing tools your bank should know about
Digital marketing is evolving rapidly to meet customers where they are. We look at how remarketing, geofencing and other techniques can help your community bank get the word out.
November 01, 2018 |
Independent Banker
Growing the Community
FDIC Call Features S. 2155 Consumer Compliance Provisions
The FDIC is hosting an upcoming teleconference on consumer compliance topics related to the S. 2155 regulatory relief law. Scheduled for 2 p.m. (Eastern time) Thursday, Oct. 25, the teleconference will feature a formal presentation on provisions of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act as well as a question-and-answer segment.
October 15, 2018 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Compliance
FinCEN Issues Advisory on Iran
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an advisory to help financial institutions better detect and report potentially illicit transactions related to Iran. The advisory provides information on the threats the Iranian regime poses to the U.S. financial system, describes deceptive financial strategies that the Iranian regime uses to evade sanctions, and provides red flag indicators related to specific malign activities and typologies.
October 15, 2018 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Compliance
FHFA Seeks Input on ‘Duty to Serve’ Modifications
The Federal Housing Finance Agency is seeking input on proposed modifications to the Underserved Markets Plans for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The “duty to serve” plans require the enterprises to serve three specified underserved markets—manufactured housing, affordable housing preservation, and rural housing.
October 04, 2018 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Housing Finance/GSEs
The Bank of Elk River wins two National Awards for Video Production featuring Elk River residents
The American Bankers Association (ABA) announced the winners of the third annual ABA Bank Marketing Video Awards this week during the Bank Marketing Conference in Baltimore. The Bank of Elk River was one of four banks honored at the conference and took home the “Best in Show” award for its video spotlighting how a local family collaborated with The Bank of Elk River to build their dream home. The video was also the winner in the category for banks with less than $500 million in assets.
October 01, 2018 |
News
Fannie, Freddie Update PMI Standards
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac revised eligibility requirements for private mortgage insurers, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced. The updates include changes to: risk-based asset requirements, the treatment of approved risk-transfer transactions, and risk-transfer credit arising from counterparty risk associated with reinsurance transactions. The standards establish minimum financial and operational requirements for doing business with the enterprises.
October 01, 2018 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Housing Finance/GSEs
Agencies Issue Customer Identification Program Exemptions
Federal regulators exempted loans for property and casualty insurance policies from Customer Identification Program rules. Banks engaging in insurance premium finance lending must continue to comply with all other regulatory requirements implementing the Bank Secrecy Act, including the requirement to file suspicious activity reports.
October 01, 2018 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Compliance
Boston Fed Encourages Tokenization Collaboration
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston researchers encouraged stakeholders to continue collaborating on the development of payment tokenization. Noting that tokenization mitigates risk by eliminating the need to store and transmit a customer’s primary account number, a new paper says that collaboration will help expand its use in e-commerce, evaluate third-party token service providers, educate consumers, and anticipate future innovations.
October 01, 2018 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Payments
FinCEN Wants to Talk BSA Reporting with Hurricane-Affected Banks
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said financial institutions affected by Hurricane Florence should contact FinCEN and their functional regulator as soon as practicable to discuss any delays in their ability to file Bank Secrecy Act reports. FinCEN can be reached at FRC@fincen.gov.
October 01, 2018 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Advocacy
Facebook Breach Affects 50M Users
Facebook announced a security breach affecting nearly 50 million accounts.
October 01, 2018 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Data Breach Data Security/Fraud
‘Tax Reform 2.0’ Passes House
The House passed legislation to permanently extend the lower individual tax rates included in the tax reform law signed late last year. Known as “Tax Reform 2.0,” the package of bills would lock in lower rates set to expire at the end of 2025, though it is not expected to be taken up by the Senate. In addition to cutting the top C-corp rate, the ICBA-supported Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 reduced the individual rates affecting Subchapter S banks.
October 01, 2018 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Taxes & Budget
DOJ Indicates Support for ADA Website Flexibility
The Justice Department told members of Congress that it is evaluating whether to issue guidance on web accessibility standards under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Responding to a bipartisan letter from 103 members of Congress requesting clarity, the DOJ stood by its interpretation that the law applies to websites, but left room for a flexible approach.
September 28, 2018 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
ADA
Contactless Payments Reboot: Get Ready, Get Set
The time has come for community bank card issuers to begin ramping up their contactless payments strategy. More than half of the top 100 U.S. merchants are already contactless enabled and smaller merchants are also speeding to adopt contactless point-of-sale technology in a bid to improve the cusotmer experience.
September 26, 2018 |
Payments Quarterly
Free Credit Freezes Are Here
A provision of S. 2155 requiring credit reporting agencies to freeze consumer credit reports at no charge took effect Friday. These security or credit freezes restrict access to credit files to reduce identity theft.
September 24, 2018 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Chelsea Groton Bank Named a Winner of the 2018 Top Workplaces Award for Third Straight Year
Chelsea Groton Bank has been awarded a 2018 Top Workplaces honor by The Hartford Courant, for the third year in a row. The Top Workplaces lists are based on the results of an employee feedback survey administered by Energage, formerly WorkplaceDynamics, a leading research firm that specializes in organizational health and workplace improvement. Several aspects of workplace culture were measured, including alignment, execution, and connection.
September 24, 2018 |
News
Bureau Opening Regional Office in Atlanta
The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection said it will relocate its southeast regional office from Washington, D.C., to Atlanta, Ga., in late 2019. The bureau already has regional offices in New York, Chicago and San Francisco that host supervision staff, enforcement attorneys and other personnel. The southeast regional team has been temporarily based out of the bureau’s D.C. headquarters since its inception.
September 24, 2018 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
ICBA to IRS: Maximize Sub S Access to Tax Deduction
ICBA and other banking groups called on the IRS to reconsider its approach to implementing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s 20 percent tax deduction for pass-through businesses. In a joint comment letter, ICBA said the agency should allow all permissible banking activities to be eligible for the deduction.
September 24, 2018 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Wolters Kluwer Announces Interoperability with RSA Archer to Provide Regulatory Data Feed
Are You Leveraging Your Card’s Core Benefits?
ICBA Bancard’s Senior Vice President of Card and Payment Products, Julie Hanson, says that many times when she is discussing debit and credit card portfolio strategies with community bankers, they are unaware of the many core benefits that are baked into their Visa and Mastercard programs.
September 10, 2018 |
Payments Quarterly
Chelsea Groton Bank Proudly Introduces A Switch Hotline
In order to assist individuals and families in switching to a better banking experience, Chelsea Groton Bank is pleased to introduce a new Switch Hotline, which will provide prospective customers the convenience of switching to Chelsea Groton Bank over the phone, during and after hours, by calling 860-448-4195 (Monday – Friday: 8am – 7pm, Saturday: 9am – 1pm).
September 07, 2018 |
News
OneRD Guaranteed Loan Rule
How to build a successful payments strategy
Customer expectations and fierce competition—it’s never been more important to think strategically about your payments offering.
September 01, 2018 |
Independent Banker
Payments Growing the Community
Meet the winners of ICBA’s 2018 National Community Bank Service Awards
Whether they are overhauling local education, main streets or even their own reputation, ICBA’s 2018 National Community Service Award winners were unafraid to dig deep—figuratively and sometimes literally—to effect change.
September 01, 2018 |
Independent Banker
USDA Details Trade Payments Alongside Mexico Deal
Roselle Bank Begins Renovations of Operations Center
Roselle Bank, which has served central and northern New Jersey for nearly 130 years, has begun renovating its operations center, located at 108 West Third Avenue, Roselle, NJ across from the bank’s main branch. The facelift is part of Roselle Bank’s comprehensive initiative to enhance customer convenience and overall banking experiences.
August 27, 2018 |
News
Community Bank Income Rises 21 Percent
Crestmark Closes 18 Transactions Totaling More Than $46.9 Million in the First Half of August
Crestmark secured a total of $46,935,891 in financial solutions with 18 transactions for 14 new clients in the first half of August.
August 24, 2018 |
News
Agencies Advance 18-Month Exam Cycle
Federal regulators issued interim final rules to enact an ICBA-advocated provision of the S. 2155 regulatory relief law expanding eligibility for the 18-month exam cycle. As authorized by the ICBA Plan for Prosperity-inspired law, the interim final rules generally apply the extended exam cycle to institutions with less than $3 billion in total assets.
August 24, 2018 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
Lenders Increasingly Ready for Single Security: Survey
Fannie, Freddie Ending Rental-Market Expansion
United Bankers’ Bank Promotes Mary Williams to SVP, Chief Operations Officer
United Bankers’ Bank (UBB) has promoted Mary Williams to SVP, Chief Operations Officer, effective August 6. Williams succeeds Anne Hofstede who retired after 41 years of service at UBB.
August 17, 2018 |
News
Visa Examines Digital Trends and Consumer Expectations
A Visa study examines how digital trends are reinventing consumer expectations. This shift in the ecosystem is driven by universal connectivity, prevalent social media use, the rise of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and increasingly interactive user experiences along the entire customer journey and across all channels.
August 15, 2018 |
Payments Quarterly
Automated Systems, Inc. Announces Gold Level Envision Partner Status
Bureau Offers HMDA Verification Tool
Consumer Bureau Joins Innovation Network
Tell HUD to Amend Disparate-Impact Rule
ICBA Collecting Stories on Benefits of S. 2155
Roselle Savings Bank Announces Name Change, New Logo, Branch Upgrades, and New Products
Roselle Savings Bank, which has served central and northern New Jersey for nearly 130 years, has changed its name to Roselle Bank as part of its initiative to further enhance customers’ overall banking experience. The change is part of the bank’s strategic repositioning, as its functions extend well beyond the parameters of a typical savings bank. The brand refresh will focus on outlining new capabilities and debuting an array of new banking products for both business and consumer. The bank also has plans for renovations to its company headquarters, new operations center and main office branch located in Roselle, NJ
August 08, 2018 |
News
Meta Financial Group, Inc.® Completes Acquisition of Crestmark® Bancorp, Inc.
Meta Financial Group Inc.® (Nasdaq: CASH) ("Meta" or the “Company”) the holding company for MetaBank®, announced today that it completed the previously announced acquisition of Crestmark® Bancorp Inc. and its Michigan state-chartered bank subsidiary, Crestmark Bank. Crestmark has provided business-to-business commercial financing for over 21 years.
August 01, 2018 |
News
ICBA Meets with White House, OMB on Sub S Deduction
ICBA met with staff from the White House and the Office of Management and Budget on the Treasury Department’s proposed regulation to implement a 20 percent tax deduction for shareholders in Subchapter S banks and other pass-through entities.
July 31, 2018 |
ICBA NewsWatch Today
ICBA Grows Advocacy, Member Relations and Marketing Departments with New Hires
ICBA today announced three new hires. David “Chip” Bartlett will serve as vice president of congressional relations, Sean Murphy as vice president of member relations for the Midwest region, and Leela Vosko as director of marketing engagement.
July 30, 2018 |
Press Release
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.
Marketing Resource Center
Visit this page regularly for new customizable press releases, opeds, tutorials, sharable videos, tip sheets, and sample social media posts which are available exclusively for ICBA members.
Access the toolkit
Example Text
ICBA NewsWatch Today
ICBA offers numerous specialty newsletters related to the community banking industry. Sign up for ICBA's daily email news bulletin for current and breaking industry news
Read Articles
Example Text
Subscribe to Independent Banker Magazine
Independent Banker® is the monthly publication of the Independent Community Bankers of America, recognized as the number one source ICBA members rely on for community banking news.
Subscribe Now
Example Text
Manage Your Email Notifications and Subscriptions
Sign up to receive or manage your email messages from ICBA. Questions? Contact ICBA.
Subscribe Now
Example Text