Preferred Service Providers

ICBA Preferred Service Providers (PSP) have earned the highest level of affiliation with ICBA. The ICBA Bank Services Committee selects partners to provide unique solutions and education to ICBA member banks. PSPs offer unique benefits to ICBA members through discounts, special offers, and dividends.

ICBA routinely evaluates our providers’ existing products and services to satisfy banker needs. Banker needs are identified through committee meetings, surveys, and industry publications. Once needs are determined, ICBA will conduct a company discovery process which consists of the following:

• Reviewing existing Corporate Members

• Reviewing current PSP products

• Recommendations from our committees and ICBA leadership

• Surveys

• Issuing a Request For Proposal (RFP)

Once the ICBA Innovation department identifies a company, we will present it to the Bank Innovation & Solutions Committee, which will vote to officially recommend that company to become a PSP. After selection, we will begin contract negotiations with the company, and upon final approval, they will go through a thorough due diligence process.

ICBA members trust that vendors with the ICBA PSP designation are qualified service providers dedicated to the community banking industry. To be considered, they must demonstrate:

• The ability to serve ICBA members throughout the country.

• They are financially strong, as evidenced by audited financial statements from the last three years.

• Unique discounts and value adds that impact ICBA members’ bottom line.

• They offer an impactful solution that helps solve a critical need for ICBA members.

• Engagement and proven success with ICBA member banks.

• Marketing plan targeted to ICBA members (ensures vendor understands the level of commitment and marketing effort required for the program to be successful).

• Willingness to participate in a complete due diligence process.

ICBA has established a thorough due diligence process using a third-party vendor management partner that exceeds association industry standards. ICBA focuses on six areas when performing due diligence:

• Business Experience & Qualifications

• Financial Condition

• Legal & Regulatory Compliance

• Risk Management & Controls

• Information Security

• Operational Resilience

Five initial assessments are initiated through our third-party vendor management partner to address each area of focus. All documents submitted by the vendor are reviewed by SMEs, put into a review queue for quality control, and then assigned a risk rating based on the findings. ICBA will determine risk mitigation procedures as applicable.

Assessments containing “red flags” are investigated and noted in the final evaluation. The ICBA Innovation group will create a PSP recommendation memo that is consistent across each PSP and is provided to senior leadership for final approval.

ICBA has also implemented ongoing monitoring policies to enhance our ability to detect challenges in real-time and reduce risk.

ICBA does not provide a banker due diligence package because ICBA is not a bank, and the individual bank determines bank due diligence requirements. Although ICBA’s process satisfies our requirements, it is the bank’s responsibility to conduct their due diligence should they engage with any of our PSPs.

ICBA PSPs are the only vendors serving the community banking industry that ICBA officially recommends to member banks. Bankers expect that each of these services help community banks improve their business by increasing efficiencies and enhancing profitability by generating fee income, growing their lending portfolio, building customer relationships, identifying competitive advantages, and diversifying the services the bank offers.

ICBA has an established due diligence process designed to ensure that all PSPs are dedicated to the community banking industry, have national distribution ability, sound financials, and offer unique value to ICBA members. In addition to the inherent value of the service, each Preferred Service Provider provides a tangible benefit to ICBA members through a discount, dividend, or educational offering not available to non-members.