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Bank Insurance Strategy: A Holistic Approach to Community Bank Risk Management
Learn how community banks can build a unified bank insurance strategy that treats coverage as a strategic asset, closes insurance coverage gaps, and strengthens enterprise risk management.
Municipal Bond Credit Risk: Infrastructure Funding or Warning Sign?
With municipal bond issuance hitting $600 billion in 2026, community bank portfolio managers must evaluate credit risk indicators. Learn key metrics for assessing municipal debt quality.
Michael Benedict: Finding the Portfolio's Fit in Your Balance Sheet
Address common problems with creative solutions.
Michael Benedict: The Resilience of Agency MBS in a Shifting Financial Landscape
Agency mortgage-backed securities rise above the rest in this relative value update.
Michael Benedict: Community Bank Growth in a New Rate Environment
A steeper yield curve brings growth strategies back into the fold.
Jim Reber: Spreading the Good News
Incremental yield can indicate relative value.
Michael Benedict: Make Portfolio Strategy Fun Again
Things are looking up for portfolio management in 2025.
Jim Reber: Will the Wave Return?
Falling rates should boost cash flows.
Michael Benedict: Bridging the Gap
Rate cuts may not provide immediate margin relief, but you can take steps to reduce near-term pressure.
D&O, Liability and Cyber Insurance: How to Keep Up
Emerging threats make it important to update insurance coverage, whether it’s for directors and officers, cybersecurity or professional liability insurance.
Jim Reber: October, Effectively
How have the financial markets performed in the tenth month?
Michael Benedict: Too Much of a Good Thing?
Balance is key when it comes to capital and profitability.
Jim Reber: Moving on Up
Bond portfolios’ yields are beginning to catch up.
7 Steps to a Successful Regulatory Audit
Preparation is key to passing a regulatory exam with flying colors. These tips for the stages before, during and after an audit will ensure your bank and management impress regulators.
Michael Benedict: Are We There Yet?
Take a look at the nagging persistence of portfolio mark‑to‑market.
Jim Reber: The Fed Loosens Up
A slowdown in quantitative tightening has an element of policy easing.
Jim Reber: Rolling With the Curve
An upward slope can bolster market values.
Jim Reber: Dialing It Back
Simple bonds find favor with portfolio managers in 2024.
Jim Reber: Shop Talk 2024
Another conversation with our consummate community banker, Charlie Brown.
Jim Reber: The Big Chill
Might the bond market be range-bound in 2024?
Member Benefits: Educated Investing With ICBA Securities
In partnership with its exclusively endorsed broker Stifel, ICBA Securities offers practical and educational investment resources for community banks across the nation.
Regulatory Expectations for Compliance Are Evolving – Are You Keeping Up?
Regulatory Expectations for Compliance Are Evolving – Are You Keeping Up? 2025-12-01 AB_Lawyers_Sponsored A&B_ICBA_2025-BaseSet_ICBA_Featured_2000x1250 SPONSORED | As the regulatory landscape...
Portfolio Management: Lies and Statistics
Community bank bond portfolios have latent strengths.
Ladder vs. Barbell: Portfolio Management Tips
Learn how community banks can leverage barbell strategies to balance risk, improve yields and manage bond portfolios effectively.
Financial Wellness: Community Banking & Investments Services
Learn how First National Bank of Pasco connects banking, lending, and investment services under one roof, focusing on women investors, retirement, and business planning.
Jim Reber: Jonathan Swift on Community Banking
Through the lens of Jonathan Swift’s sharp observations, Jim Reber examines enduring truths about community banking—balancing risk and reward, managing portfolios, and navigating uncertainty with...
Fed Policy Outlook 2026: FOMC Changes & Rates
The Federal Reserve’s 2026 FOMC roster changes could reshape interest rate policy. Here’s what new leadership, voting shifts and market expectations mean for rate cuts, the yield curve and...
Community Bank Portfolio Management: 2026 Shop Talk Strategy
Explore 2026 community bank portfolio management strategies, including yield curve impacts, CBLR, and agency MBS, in this shop talk with ICBA's Jim Reber.
ICBA's New Endorsed Broker-Dealer: The Baker Group
Meet ICBA Securities' new endorsed broker-dealer, The Baker Group. Discover how they empower community banks through investment portfolio management.
Playing Under Par: Bond Portfolio Strategies for Community Banks
With the book price for bond portfolios having dropped for the first time in 17 years, community banks should take a page out of the golfer’s playbook.
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...
Jim Reber: Manage Interest Rate Risk With Strategic Portfolio Decisions
Yield curve shape reflects bond market’s mood.
Michael Benedict: Putting the 'Strategy' in 'Portfolio Strategy'
How can you use your portfolio to create operating leverage?
Jim Reber: The Rule of Three
Bond portfolio yields are at multiyear highs.
The Anatomy of a Rate-Cut Cycle
Examine the current Fed cycle versus the past to inform portfolio strategy.
Is Cybersecurity Insurance Worth the Higher Premiums?
Cybersecurity should be a foundational element of any community bank, but do you really need to be insured for it, especially as premiums rise? We spoke to experts to learn more about cyber insurance.
How Banks Can Combat Deposit Insurance Disruption
Following the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, community banks look to alternative deposit insurance options.
Jim Reber: Portfolio Power
Barbell structure may be the right regimen.
Jim Reber: Performance? Simple
Some of the least complex bonds now have attractive returns.
Jim Reber: Inversion investing
Upside-down yield curve offers some possibilities.
Does your bank need cyber insurance?
As digital crime evolves, cyber insurance could be part of the solution. We explore how it can protect banks against financial losses and provide resources in the event of a cyber attack.
Portfolio Management: What Bank Portfolio Managers Need to Know About Optionality Risk
Optionality risk is quietly costing you. Use these tips to identify extension, contraction and volatility risk—and build a more resilient investment strategy.
Portfolio Management: What the Bond Yield Curve Mean Reversion Means for Banks
The U.S. yield curve is finally normalizing. Here's what mean reversion means for community bank NIMs, portfolio strategy and 2026 opportunities.
AI Mortgage Lending: Refinance Trends, Prepayment Risk and MBS Impacts for Community Bank Mortgage Portfolios
AI mortgage lending is accelerating refinance volume and reshaping mortgage refinance trends. Learn how faster origination and AI in mortgage underwriting may increase prepayment risk, negative...