Search Articles
How to Dive into Innovation in 2023
When it comes to innovation, big picture ideas crystalize into concrete plans. Having the vision and enthusiasm for fresh solutions is just the start and drives the community bank journey to...
PPP Data Show Community Banks Acted Expeditiously to Save Small Businesses
The Paycheck Protection Program originated its final loans nearly three months ago. Over the preceding year, this Marshall Plan for small businesses provided critical financial assistance to nearly...
A Community Bank Primer on the TerraUSD Collapse
ICBA has closely watched the growth of stablecoins over the past year and repeatedly raised concerns about the risks these systems may pose. Earlier this month, those concerns manifested with the...
Encore Bank Shares Tips for Connecting with Underserved Hispanic Groups
Miguel Lopez, senior vice president and chief community outreach officer at the Little Rock, Ark.-based Encore Bank, shares some tips for reaching out to the Hispanic community in your local area.
How the TerraUSD Collapse Affects Stablecoin Regulation and Community Banks
The collapse of TerraUSD has affected the crypto sector and broader financial markets. But perhaps even more important for community banks, the market instability is fueling the policymaker push...
PPP Data Show Community Bank Pandemic Response Outperformed Larger Lenders
The Paycheck Protection Program offered millions of small businesses a critical financial lifeline to weather an extraordinary economic downturn engendered by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Year of Hiking Cautiously: What a New Cycle of Interest Rate Hikes Mean for Community Banks
The Federal Reserve recently took a major step toward curbing inflation by raising the effective federal funds rate by 25 basis points. Here’s a look at what this means for community banks and...
Community Banks Flock to ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator as Program Reaches Peak Capacity
They say, "success begets success" and in the case of the ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator program this timeless belief holds true. Before we even hit the halfway point on our fifth accelerator program...
Relationship Building: Insights from the ICBA Preferred Service Provider Engagement Forum
Ninety-two percent of ICBA member banks rely on at least one ICBA Preferred Service Provider (PSP), and 52% of ICBA members say they would not be able to provide some services without ICBA,...
‘Pig butchering’ crypto scams a growing concern
A new form of scam has skyrocketed in recent years as criminal syndicates target consumers through online channels. Called “pig butchering,” this new scam is increasingly relevant, including among...
‘Pig butchering’ links to crypto demand policy response
“Pig butchering” scams — in which victims invest in supposedly legitimate virtual currency enterprises before being conned out of their money — depend on cryptocurrencies to function....
Standing Up for Community Banking: A Call for Fairness in Credit Union Policies
As the number of acquisitions of community banks by credit unions skyrocketed at a shocking rate in 2024, ICBA has rightfully sounded the alarm to legislators and regulators.
From redlining to modernization: A CRA overview
From redlining to modernization: A CRA overview The Community Reinvestment Act was designed to stop redlining, the impact of which is still felt in metro areas today. We look at the past and...
Too-Big-To-Fail is NO Laughing Matter
Too-Big-To-Fail is NO Laughing Matter Isn’t it nice that we can all look back at the financial crisis of 2008-10 and just laugh? Isn’t it about time we forgive the too-big-to-fail financial...
Too Big To Jail?
Too Big To Jail? While senior Wall Street executives have been repeatedly tried in the court of public opinion and implicated by hundreds of whistleblowers within their own organizations, they have...
Megabanks Boost Business Portfolio—By Changing the Rules
Megabanks Boost Business Portfolio—By Changing the Rules When your competitors start moving the goalposts, you must be doing something right. A new report from one of the megabanks that contributed...
Main Street Heroes
Main Street Heroes Last week, Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and David Vitter (R-La.) showed that they stand with Main Street America by filing a bill that does something real and meaningful about...
Surprise, They’re At It Again
Surprise, They’re At It Again In the latest news from the “color me unsurprised” department, JPMorgan Chase is reportedly under investigation for manipulating energy prices and lying under oath...
Guest Blog: As the Wall Street World Spins
Guest Blog: As the Wall Street World Spins By Terry J. Jorde With too-big-to-fail financial firms getting soaked by bad press over their risky practices and preferential treatment, it should come...
Another Day, Another Fine?
Another Day, Another Fine? We’ve all been subject to countless articles and opinion pieces on the fifth anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Everyone wants to know what we’ve learned...
Wall Street, You Need Help
Wall Street, You Need Help If the first step in recovery is admitting that you have a problem, then Wall Street might need an intervention to wean itself from the too-big-to-fail problem. In the...
Doing the Right Thing
Doing the Right Thing My upbringing at home, at the military college I attended, as an officer in the Army and during my banking career infused in me the values I hold dear today—duty, honor,...
Credit Unions, Farm Credit System Should Be Weaned from Taxpayer Subsidies
Credit Unions, Farm Credit System Should Be Weaned from Taxpayer Subsidies In case you hadn’t noticed, the credit union industry has been making a big deal lately about its own tax subsidy. The...
Stage is Set for Key Congressional Battles
Stage is Set for Key Congressional Battles With the 113th Congress’ committee assignments and leadership structures in place, the legislative wheels for the next two years of policymaking are...
Public Growing Increasingly Sick of Too-Big-To-Fail Disease
Public Growing Increasingly Sick of Too-Big-To-Fail Disease Well, it’s official: the community banking industry’s push to end the too-big-to-fail plague once and for all has gained momentum. From...
Senate Letter on Too-Big-To-Fail, Basel a Solid Step Forward
Senate Letter on Too-Big-To-Fail, Basel a Solid Step Forward Community bankers received a double dose of good news this week with a letter from a bipartisan group of U.S. senators to financial...
Wall Street Lobbyists and Cicadas
Wall Street Lobbyists and Cicadas I have been in Washington for 10 years as CEO of ICBA, and I have seen everything from the Wal-Mart bank charter fight to the financial crisis and Wall Street...
Help Community Bank Voice Blossom in Washington
Help Community Bank Voice Blossom in Washington Spring is just about my favorite time of year in Washington. The weather warms and puts an end to the winter chill. The cherry blossoms bloom and...
Too Big to Ale: Megabank Anticompetitive Behavior Hard to Swallow
Too Big to Ale: Megabank Anticompetitive Behavior Hard to Swallow One of the many problems related to our nation’s proliferation of too-big-to-fail banks is that it distorts our otherwise...
Megabank Fines Today, Community Bank Regulations Tomorrow
Megabank Fines Today, Community Bank Regulations Tomorrow Well that didn’t take long. A week after JPMorgan Chase paid $410 million to settle allegations that it manipulated energy markets, the...
February 2021 - Online Training Newsletter
February 2021 - Online Training Newsletter When staffers are better at communication, projects and tasks are completed faster and more accurately without compromising quality. ICBA’s Community...
Online Training Newsletter - June 2022
Look for your renewal notices in July. See what courses have been added or updated and what's on the horizon.
February 2022 - Online Training Newsletter
Our Online training catalog continues to expand as we break down regulatory compliance courses into bite-sized sections. This month we tackled the Flood Disaster Protection Act and added four new...
Online Course Newsletter – April 2025
On April 6, 2025, the Online Course Learning Management System was upgraded. Now, when learners open a multi-module course, the first course will automatically launch. This includes certificate...
September 2019 - Online Training Newsletter
September 2019 - Online Training Newsletter It’s hard to believe there is only one quarter left of 2019 and then the new year starts all over again. You have three months to ensure your employees...
Online Training Newsletter – April 2022
I would guess that nearly every one of you have talked with Cathy VonWhalde here at Community Banker University at least once. I am excited, proud, and saddened to share the news that after 31...
Online Course Newsletter – May 2024
Previously, we mentioned that a report is available to see how many attempts learners took to pass a course. Recognizing this can be overwhelming, we have written easy-to-follow instructions on...
June 2019 - Online Training Newsletter
June 2019 - Online Training Newsletter It's subscription renewal time! If you’re a Bank Compliance Bundle subscriber or a Standard or Custom Plan subscriber, your subscription expires on Sept. 30....
TCM Bank N.A., promotes three leaders to executive level positions
TCM Bank, N.A., the credit card bank of ICBA Bancard®, announced the promotions of three of its executives, Terri Howard as EVP and chief people officer, C.J. Littrell as EVP and COO and David...
West Shore Bank and Timberland Bank Offer Unique Avenues for Charitable Giving
West Shore Bank and Timberland Bank are fostering generosity by giving their customers unique avenues to support local charities.
CFO Roundtable: Interest Rates, Tariffs, Examiners
Amid the difficult economic environment community banks face today, our 2025 CFO Outlook survey shows a shift in priorities and thoughtful insight into changes to come.
Community bankers learn to create a story that defines their corporate brand
Community bankers learn to create a story that defines their corporate brand By Judith Sears Brainstorming Branding—Community bankers talk about effective branding during a workshop by a marketing...
Community Bank Leadership Lessons
Community Bank Leadership Lessons A community bank’s success relies on steady, solid leadership forged from a shared vision and a goal to exceed customers’ expectations. That’s at least the way...
Pride and Optimism
Pride and Optimism Rebeca Romero Rainey: Today is particularly special because we have taken another step toward meaningful community bank regulatory relief by delivering our S. 2155 petition to...
Community Bankers: A Free Financial Technology Event Just for You
Community Bankers: A Free Financial Technology Event Just for You Kevin Tweddle: Regardless of your size, ICBA has resources to help your community bank develop a strategy for incorporating fintech...
Keep Going
Keep Going Rebeca Romero Rainey: We banded together, worked tirelessly for years on end, and achieved substantial regulatory relief via passage of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and...
Clearing the Air Over Cannabis Banking Legislation
Clearing the Air Over Cannabis Banking Legislation Aaron Stetter: ICBA recently supported legislation that would protect the traditional banking system when banking cannabis-related businesses in...
We’re Not Done Yet
We’re Not Done Yet The push for regulatory relief continues. We have a host of issues ahead of us, and community banker participation is essential in bringing them to the forefront of Congress...
New Analysis Shows Credit Union Acquisitions of Community Banks Harm the Communities That Can Least Afford It
New Analysis Shows Credit Union Acquisitions of Community Banks Harm the Communities That Can Least Afford It ICBA and community bankers have long warned about the dangers of tax-exempt credit...
Planning for success
Planning for success By Scott Heitkamp, chairman of ICBA I hope you all had a great summer. Hopefully, you got some well-deserved R&R following a very busy first half of 2017. We’ll certainly need...
Prioritize Leadership. Propel Your Career.
Prioritize Leadership. Propel Your Career. By stopping to focus on our own leadership, we generate the needed grit and creativity to lead forward. If it seems like a challenge to you, accept it. If...
Planning for Our Industry’s Bright Future
Planning for Our Industry’s Bright Future Rebeca Romero Rainey: As a third-generation community banker, I understand the importance of paving the way for future leaders. That’s why I’m excited to...
Lead With Vision
Lead With Vision Reimagining traditional leadership concepts and pushing the community banking industry forward is imperative to carrying on the incredible legacy of the community banking industry....
Let’s End Disparate-Impact Disparities
Let’s End Disparate-Impact Disparities HUD should amend its fair lending disparate-impact rule to meet the limitations imposed by the U.S. Supreme Court. By Lilly Thomas With policymakers reviewing...
Does Your Bank Have a Learning Culture?
Does Your Bank Have a Learning Culture? The community banking industry is accustomed to required annual training mandates but the recent evolution in employment benefits makes learning a compelling...
Open Your Eyes
Open Your Eyes The nation’s tax-exempt credit unions have big plans for their multi-billion-dollar tax subsidy—a nationwide marketing campaign funded by the rest of us. By Rebeca Romero...
Streamlining the Bank Secrecy Act
Streamlining the Bank Secrecy Act ICBA recently advanced the debate on modernizing the Bank Secrecy Act in a new white paper. By Lilly Thomas As ICBA continues working to build on the regulatory...
Relevant. Innovative. Motivating.
Relevant. Innovative. Motivating. Investing in education and leadership training is vital to preparing the next generation of community bankers and key to any community bank’s succession planning...
An Optimistic Future
An Optimistic Future As a well-known speaker and educator in the community banking industry, Barret Graduate School of Banking President and Director Chris Kelley knows all too well the importance...
ICBA Out Front on Community Bank Advocacy
ICBA Out Front on Community Bank Advocacy Just as community bankers establish symbiotic relationships with their customers and communities, ICBA and the community banking industry maintain strong...