Washington, D.C. (Sept. 10, 2026) — The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) expressed strong support for today’s joint interim final rule enacting an ICBA-advocated provision of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act increasing the number of community banks eligible for an 18-month examination cycle.
“ICBA and the nation’s community banks strongly support this interagency rule under the bipartisan housing law enacted earlier this year, which will provide needed exam relief to more low-risk, non-complex community banks,” ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey said. “We thank policymakers for prioritizing and enacting this bipartisan policy, which will help community banks promote access to credit in local communities nationwide.”
The interim final rule enacts a key ICBA-backed provision of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act that will expand eligibility for the extended 18-month examination cycle by approximately 188 community banks, bringing the total number of institutions that may qualify to 4,016. The ICBA-advocated housing legislation contains additional regulatory relief provisions targeting community banks, including policies to promote the formation of de novo institutions.
The policies are ICBA priorities laid out in its open letter to the 119th Congress and in Romero Rainey’s testimony last year at the House Financial Services Committee’s first hearing of the 119th Congress.
To continue providing needed regulatory relief, ICBA urges the Senate to take up and pass the Main Street Capital Access Act, comprehensive legislation already passed in the House with bipartisan support that includes more than two dozen community bank priorities. ICBA looks forward to continuing to work with Congress and the administration to advance this important measure to help community banks better serve consumers, small businesses, farmers, and local communities.
About ICBA
The Independent Community Bankers of America® has one mission: to create and promote an environment where community banks flourish. We power the potential of the nation’s community banks through effective advocacy, education, and innovation.
As local and trusted sources of credit, America’s community banks leverage their relationship-based business model and innovative offerings to channel deposits into the neighborhoods they serve, creating jobs, fostering economic prosperity, and fueling their customers’ financial goals and dreams. For more information, visit ICBA’s website at icba.org.