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Banks that found their niche lending markets
Technology has blurred community banks’ geographic borders for some lending niches—but for others, face-to-face remains the gold standard. These community banks know one size doesn’t always fit all.
How to defend your bank from ransomware
Cybercriminals take advantage of ransomware’s low barrier of entry to compromise data and networks from banks, service providers and even customers. Community banks can protect themselves with...
3 ways to protect your bank’s customer data
Community banks collect more customer data than ever before. A data security plan will ensure this valuable information is kept safe from hackers.
Community Bank CEO Outlook 2020: How your peers plan to grow
Independent Banker’s Community Bank CEO Outlook survey asked community bank leaders how they plan to grow their institutions this year. This year’s survey reveals what community bankers have...
Why these banks are supporting women entrepreneurs
In the past 50 years, women have gone from a small part of the business community to a significant—and fast-growing—segment. How can community banks form mutually beneficial relationships with this...
Preventing and detecting mortgage fraud
Many compliance functions are needed to detect mortgage fraud, from FACTA and FCRA to the SAFE Act. Here’s a look at the requirements.
The juicy story behind First Citrus Bank
Established 21 years ago, First Citrus Bank’s strategic planning is now bearing fruit. At the core of the Tampa, Fla., community bank is a set of fundamental values that define how its associates...
How the world's banks are using the IoT
Banks and fintechs are experimenting with web-connected devices—collectively, the Internet of Things (IoT). While some experiments have worked and some have failed, their efforts offer a glimpse...
What you need to know about instant issue cards
Adoption of instant issue cards has never been easier thanks to new technology. But community banks should ensure best practices for protecting cardholders and staying compliant.
Secrets of 4 community bank–fintech partnerships
Community banks and fintechs are working together to boost internal efficiency and improve the customer experience. But good partnerships don’t just run like clockwork. They require close...
FedNow is coming. Here’s what you need to know
Years of advocacy culminated in the Fed’s announcement of a real-time payments and settlement service. Here’s what to know about FedNow and what remains to be answered.
How your bank should handle consumer complaints
It’s important for community banks to understand and respond to customer complaints. But what should a complaint program include, and how might complaint data be an opportunity to improve your...
How your bank can stay compliant on social media
It’s common for community banks to have a presence on one, two or up to half a dozen social media platforms to engage with customers. But what does being an active social media user mean for...
Why your bank should be budgeting for the big picture
Your community bank’s strategic plan often takes things like innovation, growth and succession planning into account, but does the budget? How can your bank plan for these often unpredictable...
Meet the winners of ICBA’s 2019 National Community Bank Service Awards
Whether they’re helping their community recover from devastating forest fires, or investing in first responders, ICBA’s 2019 National Community Bank Service Award winners are rolling up their...
Community banks keep customers safe through shredding
When your customers leave their personal information intact, whether at home or in the recycle bin, fraudsters could use that sensitive data to commit identity fraud. Many community banks offer...
Who made our list of top industry loan producers for 2019?
Meet ICBA’s top industry loan producers for 2019. Whether they specialize in agricultural, consumer or commercial lending, they’re keeping America’s economy moving.
How to build the board your bank needs
Board succession planning is important for all banks, but getting the right board members is crucial—and complicated—for larger banks. Here’s how several community banks approached the tall task of...
How to create an effective digital payments strategy
Faster payments. p2p. It would be easy to feel overwhelmed at the speed of change. The key, say experts, is to ensure your payments strategy aligns with your corporate strategy.
How your bank can benefit from EXIM
The Export-Import Bank of the United States can assist your community bank in increasing its profits and providing more services to your existing customers while also attracting new ones.
Protect your bank from remote deposit capture risks
Despite the advancements of today’s banking industry, checks remain a common part of the customer experience, and remote deposit capture (RDC) has followed. What risk management strategies should...
Five steps to building an effective deposit strategy plan
SPONSORED | Building an effective deposit strategy plan is an integral tool to acquiring new, and retaining existing, deposits. Here are the five steps for designing, organizing and implementing a...
Why your bank needs dedicated cyber insurance
Some banks have relied on their existing insurance policies to protect them from today’s security threats. But as the amount of data that community banks amass grows, they should consider dedicated...
40 Under 40: 2019’s Emerging Community Bank Leaders
Independent Banker asked community bankers to nominate emerging leaders under the age of 40 in 2019. Here are short profiles of 40 young innovators who are making waves in the industry but still...
Why banks are becoming B Corps
With a commitment to better business practices, B Corps, designated by the non-profit B Lab, are a growing force that count many financial institutions and household brands as members. Could being...
Let's define 'unfair, deceptive or absuive'
More than its predecessors, the Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices can be a murky regulation for compliance officers. How well do you know the ins and outs of UDAAP?
Community Bank CFO Outlook 2019: What are your peers forecasting?
Independent Banker’s Community Bank CFO Outlook survey asked community bank C how they plan to tackle financial challenges, from complying with high-profile accounting standards to utilizing...
Revealed: ICBA’s best-performing community banks 2019
Our annual list of the year’s go-getters is here! Read on to see the 75 community banks that took the crown, and hear from nine that shined because of their cutting-edge technology, strategic...
What’s in your bank’s swag bag?
Forget toasters. Community banks are standing out from the competition and luring new customers with innovative incentives.
Ways to avoid flood insurance compliance violations
Avoiding flood insurance-related violations requires understanding loans, notifying customers and/or assessing insurance coverage requirements.
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.
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.
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.
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,...
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.
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...
The pros and cons of niche lending
In niche lending, your community bank’s fate comes down to expertise and passion for the work.
ICBA’s 2018 top lenders: Who made the cut?
Every year, ICBA calculates the top community bank loan producers in the agricultural, commercial and consumer categories. This year’s lending leaders point to many different success factors, but...
Revealed: ICBA’s best-performing community banks 2018
Our annual coast-to-coast roster of high achievers is here! Read on to see the 75 community banks that made the cut, and hear from nine we’ve highlighted for their consistent high performance and...
Community banks get creative with unused branch space
As branch square-footage requirements shrink, community banks are reserving extra space for everything from community events to small-business meetings.
10 tips to boost cross-selling
Throw your sales goals out the window. Help customers get what they want, and your bottom line will take care of itself.
Two approaches to overdrawn accounts
What community bankers should know about overdraft and sweep account rules.
Inside the new style of leadership
Successful community bank leaders inspire from the top while putting the team first. Here’s how.
Focus: The Right to Financial Privacy Act
What community bankers need to know about protecting and disclosing customers’ financial records.
ICBA’s top loan producers for 2017: Find out who made the list
Every year, ICBA calculates the top community bank loan producers in the agricultural, commercial and consumer categories, broken down by asset size. Read about 2017's lending leaders.
Who are ICBA’s best-performing community banks 2017?
Independent Banker’s annual listing of America’s best-performing community banks
Best practices for fighting counterfeit bills
Cash may no longer be king in the U.S., but millions of dollars in counterfeit bills make their way into the system each year. Fortunately, there are some simple ways community banks can stop...
ICBAs State of Community Banking survey results are in
Our annual State of Community Banking Survey of ICBA member banks reports that you’re planning to grow through creating efficiencies, introducing new technology, and investing in digital marketing....
What exactly is encryption, and how does it work?
Whether data is in storage or being beamed across the internet, the security expert’s motto is “Encryption everywhere” to ensure that information is safe. But what exactly is it, and how does it...
Internal audit: in-house or third-party?
An internal audit reveals opportunities for improvement across the board, making your community bank safer and more efficient. Take a look at the pros and cons of conducting an internal audit...
Timeline: 180 years of banking technology
A look at the history of retail banking technology—and where it’s going.
2017 ICBA National Community Bank Service Award Honorees
In extraordinary circumstances, this year’s National Community Bank Service Award honorees have gone the extra mile for their communities.
How to boost creativity at your bank
Large corporations that lack the agility of startups often turn to “intrapreneurship” to make time and space for creative development in the workplace. Should community banks be doing the same?
Qualitative ALLL
Considering qualitative factors in calculating loan-loss allowances
What happens when a bank hits $10 billion?
How—and when—should you prepare for the regulatory and cultural aftershocks? And can smaller but ambitious community banks learn from these best-practice preparations?
E-Signature Approval
Legally and operationally, digital John Hancocks come of age in lending.
ICBA Payments and TCM Bank Welcome Kelly Kroskie as EVP of Digital Transformation
ICBA Payments and TCM Bank Welcome Kelly Kroskie as EVP of Digital Transformation ICBA Payments®, the payments subsidiary of the Independent Community Bankers of America® (ICBA), today announced...
Ken Singh Named to ICBA Independent Banker’s 40 Under 40: Emerging Community Bank Leaders List
Independent Banker magazine, the award-winning monthly publication of the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), unveiled its annual 40 Under 40: Emerging Community Bank Leaders list.
Banking on people: TCM Bank’s people-first culture key in handling pandemic disruptions
For the banking and finance sector, the pandemic ushered in a wave of disruption that forced clients and businesses of all sizes to rely on digital offerings and industry professionals more than ever.
What will bank customers be looking for in 2022?
Despite evolutionary changes since 2020 in how people earn and spend, the key to a community bank’s success in 2022 will be a few things: personalization of products and services and ease of doing...