Community banks must engage customers on new IRS reporting mandates

Aug 19, 2021
If community bankers weren’t busy enough continuing their heroic economic response to the pandemic, a recent proposal to impose new IRS reporting mandates on customer bank accounts has become a major advocacy priority.

Slippery Slope

Aug 19, 2021
In a new column, ICBA Securities' Jim Reber discusses the ever-popular slope of the yield curve and the implications for community banks.

Maximizing Your Credit Card Portfolio in a COVID-19 Environment

Aug 19, 2021
COVID-19 has created financial strain for millions of Americans. In the wake of this need, credit cards have the potential to become an important form of cash management.

Employment Advice When You Need It

Aug 19, 2021
The ICBA Bank Director Program has an amazing new exclusive benefit! Community Banker University has teamed with national employment law firm Jackson Lewis P.C. to bring members of the Bank Director Program a complimentary employment law hotline!

Reviewing Branch Strategies for 2021 and Beyond

Aug 19, 2021
Between 2012 and 2019, banks eliminated approximately 2,700 branches a year. In 2020, as the global health pandemic set in, banks shuttered more than 3,500 branches. And if the pace of branch closures—more than 1,700 so far in this calendar year through May—continues to hold, 2021 could see more closures than 2020.

Why Community Banks Should Play an Important Intermediary Role with a CBDC

Aug 13, 2021
While policy and technology questions continue to be debated around the digital dollar, the vital role that community banks need to play in this next evolution of money is indisputable.

Community Banks Leading with an Innovation Mindset

Aug 6, 2021
For $3.1 billion-asset Blue Ridge Bank, innovation is priority number one. Yet in a recent interview, the Luray, Va.-based community bank quickly pointed out that innovation is not as much about the technology investment as it is about the cultural one.

Banking on people: TCM Bank’s people-first culture key in handling pandemic disruptions

Jul 29, 2021
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 Decentralized Finance Means for Community Banks

Jul 28, 2021
As discussed in ICBA’s first Crypto Chronicles blog post, cryptocurrency emerged from Satoshi Nakamoto’s desire to create a “purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash.”

4 Ways to Increase the Impact of Your Customer Feedback

Jul 22, 2021
Testimonials have long been a crux of an effective communications effort in helping to articulate and demonstrate a community bank’s value proposition to customers and its community. Here are a few tips to help community bankers make the most out of this important and effective tool for sharing their positive story.

July 2021 - Online Training Newsletter

Jul 19, 2021
Attention Standard Plan, Custom Plan, and Bank Compliance Bundle Subscribers! Did you know that it’s time to renew your ICBA Community Banker University Online Training Subscription?

Faster Payments Have Arrived — Now What About Competition, Fraud, and Strategy? Part 2

Jul 12, 2021
Here's part two of a continuing conversation on faster payments, diving into Same Day ACH, competition, fraud, and strategic vision.

LIBOR Transition Heats Up for Community Banks as Deadline Nears

Jul 7, 2021
With the London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR, set to be largely discontinued in a few months, federal regulators are increasingly vocal about the need for financial institutions to be ready for the transition.

Digital Dollar Design Specifics Community Bankers Should Know

Jul 7, 2021
As the globe focuses on the rise of digital assets, the Federal Reserve is cautiously weighing whether to build a central bank digital currency (CBDC), which raises complex policy and technical considerations.

How Community Banks Can Prepare for the End of Microsoft Internet Explorer

Jul 2, 2021
Microsoft is discontinuing its Internet Explorer browser in less than a year, requiring community banks and vendors to start preparing now.

June 2021 - Online Training Newsletter

Jul 1, 2021
Occasionally, we hear from bankers who tell us that a completed course is not moving from the Current Enrollments tab to the Completed Courses tab. To help you and your staff troubleshoot why this might be happening, we’ve compiled a system checklist and more.

Faster Payments Have Arrived — Now What?

Jun 17, 2021
Faster payments have arrived. Accelerated by the pandemic, the growth in digital and contactless payments has pushed consumer and business expectations toward the real-time movement of money.

Crypto Chronicles: Agencies Coordinate Crypto Approach Amid Ransomware Escalation

Jun 16, 2021
In the past several months, bad actors have escalated their attacks against critical infrastructure and industries. These actions are bringing renewed focus to the role of cryptocurrencies in facilitating criminal activity and helping foreign governments evade sanctions and to the resultant need for heightened regulatory intervention.

Three Ways Community Bankers Can Increase Their Innovative Thinking

Jun 11, 2021
According to the 2020 Global Innovation Barometer from GE, COVID-19 had a significant downward influence on innovation. However, community banks found themselves in a different category—increasing their innovative thinking during the pandemic.

Liquidity Strategies for Illiquid Community Bank Stocks

Jun 8, 2021
The fundamental duty of community bank directors and executive officers is to enhance shareholder value. One of the key tenets of enhancing shareholder value is providing actual common stock liquidity. In this regard, liquidity is defined as the ability of a shareholder to convert their shares to cash at a fair price in a timely manner.