Search Articles
Unlimited Webinar Pass
One price for the whole bank
Do You Ever Wonder What It Is All About?
Do You Ever Wonder What It Is All About? Ever wonder about the millions, nay hundreds of millions, in Wall Street and megabank dollars spent on countless legions of lobbyists? For Wall Street and...
Taking Responsibility and Standing Tall
Taking Responsibility and Standing Tall Last week, as the great financial reform debate went into extra innings, temperatures were rising and everyone was tense and tired. When the conference...
Real Facts, and Beer
Real Facts, and Beer Lots of Washington, D.C., "pundits" and some association executives are sending out messages and summaries opining on the Dodd/Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection...
Reputations Intact: Proud To Be a Community Banker
Reputations Intact: Proud To Be a Community Banker One of the sad facts of this modern world in which we live is that we are bombarded with "messaging" nearly 24 hours a day. Our senses are...
Wanted: Sanity in the Exam Environment
Wanted: Sanity in the Exam Environment Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Given that definition, to many observers ICBA’s...
Persistence Pays Off on Small Business Jobs Act
Persistence Pays Off on Small Business Jobs Act The long and winding road of passing legislation to stimulate the small-business sector came to a successful end this week as the House voted to send...
Credit Unions Having Their Cake and Eating it Too
Credit Unions Having Their Cake and Eating it Too It’s official: The nation’s credit unions get to have their tax-exempt cake and eat it too! Federal regulators last Friday afternoon announced a...
A Robo-Sign of the Times
A Robo-Sign of the Times The so-called Masters of the Universe are at it again. Some of the same large financial institutions that caused the financial crisis have engaged in practices that could...
We the People
We the People We the People go to the polls today to engage in our sacred, inalienable right. The outcome of today’s midterm congressional elections will select the citizens who will come to...
A Sea Change
A Sea Change Acting Comptroller of the Currency John Walsh called it a “sea change.” He’s right. Today the FDIC board of directors voted to base assessments on assets minus tangible capital instead...
Overdraft Guidance No Holiday Treat, or The Death of Common Sense
Overdraft Guidance No Holiday Treat, or The Death of Common Sense Happy holidays, folks. In case you missed it, on the day before Thanksgiving, the FDIC released final guidance on...
Deal on Tax Extenders Could Offer Holiday Cheer
Deal on Tax Extenders Could Offer Holiday Cheer Bipartisanship can be hard to come by in Washington, but there are encouraging signs that Congress and the administration have heard the voice of...
Recalling the Harsh Lessons of the Past
Recalling the Harsh Lessons of the Past More than three years ago I wrote the following article on the dangers of uncontrolled competition and overconcentration in the financial markets. Having...
ICBA United to Work with Divided Congress
ICBA United to Work with Divided Congress Congress will have a new look when it returns to Washington this week. With a Republican House and Democratic Senate following November’s elections, many...
Regulatory Review Must Deliver Results
Regulatory Review Must Deliver Results It sounds like a step in the right direction. President Obama recently ordered federal agencies and departments to review regulations and to consider ways to...
Big Day for Community Banks: Finally Assessment Parity!
Big Day for Community Banks: Finally Assessment Parity! It’s been years coming. Some said it would never happen, some laughed at our attempts and some heaped scorn on us for even trying. But ICBA...
“Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,” and Neither Does ICBA
“Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,” and Neither Does ICBA Usually the time I spend on a plane is a way to lose myself in a book, reflect, catch up on work or perhaps enjoy a movie. On a recent trip,...
Stop Punishing Main Street Banks and Their Customers
Stop Punishing Main Street Banks and Their Customers Hey, here’s an idea. Let’s punish the thousands of small community banks that played by the rules and stuck by their customers during the...
Love is in the Air for Community Banks
Love is in the Air for Community Banks I’m not one for schmaltzy dramas. For those of you who don’t know, I’m more likely to take in a movie with scenes from Gettysburg or Omaha Beach. But this...
ICBA Convention Recognizes America’s Financial Foundation
ICBA Convention Recognizes America’s Financial Foundation Last week several thousand community bankers met in San Diego at the national convention of the Independent Community Bankers of America....