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LIBOR Transition Heats Up for Community Banks as Deadline Nears
LIBOR Transition Heats Up for Community Banks as Deadline Nears With the London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR, set to be largely discontinued in a few months, federal regulators are increasingly...
Community Banks Leading with an Innovation Mindset
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.
All Eyes on Stablecoin: Regulatory Scrutiny Intensifies
With the recent stablecoin surge raising risks for consumers and the financial system, regulators and Congress are increasingly concerned about the risks these digital currencies pose.
Reaching out to Unbanked and Underbanked Hispanic Customers
As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, community bankers continue to discuss new ways of reaching out to the Hispanic community in their local areas and offer tips to connect with this diverse...
Key Take-Aways from Federal Reserve Report on Community Bank Innovation
High-tech, high touch. That phrase has been a rallying cry for community banks for years, emphasizing the blending of the relationship banking model with the technology fueling today’s digital era....
Continuing Your Community Bank’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Journey
A new educational webinar series hosted by ICBA and Jackson Lewis starts tomorrow. This series will provide greater insights into both the why and how behind diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
4 Ways to Increase the Impact of Your Customer Feedback
4 Ways to Increase the Impact of Your Customer Feedback Testimonials have long been a crux of an effective communications effort in helping to articulate and demonstrate a community bank’s value...
What Decentralized Finance Means for Community Banks
What Decentralized Finance Means for Community Banks As discussed in ICBA’s first Crypto Chronicles blog post, cryptocurrency emerged from Satoshi Nakamoto’s desire to create a “purely peer-to-peer...
Why Community Banks Should Play an Important Intermediary Role with a CBDC
Why Community Banks Should Play an Important Intermediary Role with a CBDC While policy and technology questions continue to be debated around the digital dollar, the vital role that community...
Stablecoin Surge Raises Consumer and Systemic Risks
In the months since our Crypto Chronicles series began, stablecoins have become a hot topic due to an incredible surge in activity—and affiliated risk.
5 Ways Community Banks Can Manage the Card Chip Shortage
A semiconductor chip shortage has emerged as a real challenge for banks. Industries from automobile manufacturing to consumer electronics have been reporting issues for months, and now the effects...
ICBA campaign opposing new bank IRS reporting generates passionate consumer response
ICBA has for months strongly objected to a Washington proposal that would require financial institutions to report information on customer bank accounts to the IRS, which Congress could soon pass...
Community Bank Resources to Help Customers Bounce Back from Natural Disasters
As National Crisis Preparedness Month draws to a close, ICBA continues to reinforce the importance of proper preparedness to combat unforeseen natural disasters and keep local banks and communities...
Where Does the U.S. Stack Up in the Race for a Central Bank Digital Currency?
As more people chase the unregulated crypto market of rising stablecoins, an emerging shadow bank ecosystem threatens community banks’ business models.
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.
ICBA Research Reveals Characteristics of Today’s Community Bank Customers
he actions and activities of customers you have known have evolved, and potential new customers are now seeking different products and services than they would have just two years ago.
Three Proven Factors in Fintech Success with Community Banks
In this latest blog, ICBA senior vice president and chief innovation officer Charles Potts, writes about the key factors that lead fintechs to success in the community banking space.
IRS Reporting Grassroots Campaign Evolves with Congressional Debate
ICBA’s campaign against Washington’s IRS reporting proposal helped consumers speak out against the plan. As the debate evolves, the campaign now demands that community bankers increase their outreach.
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...
How Open Banking Can Help Community Banks Deliver on Digital Expectations
Have you ever been ready to jump into your next meeting only to notice you didn’t have your mobile phone? If so, I’m betting you felt a sense of panic. Because without it, you’d lost your lifeline.
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.
PPP Data Show Community Banks Served Those Most in Need
Paycheck Protection Program lending data continue to demonstrate that community banks are justifiably recognized as leaders of the financial response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Challenges and Risks of Smart Contracts
Smart contracts — blockchain-based programs that operate when predetermined conditions are met — offer potential use cases as well as risks for community banks evaluating their payments processing...
2021: The Year of Community Bank Innovation—with More to Come
In the innovation world, 2021 may go down in history as the year of community bank innovation. Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and associated challenges thrown in our path, community banks...
Is Your Community Bank Watching Social Payments? Five Questions to Guide Your Path Forward
The average person spends nearly two and a half hours on social media per day, so it’s no wonder social payments have started to infiltrate the financial services industry.
Trust in Code? Smart Contracts, DeFi, and Use Cases for Community Banking
Smart contracts — computer programs that automatically execute specific actions — are becoming increasingly relevant to community banks. Here’s a breakdown of smart contracts and how they could...
Three Principles to Drive Community Bank Innovation
For $200 million-asset First Community Bank and Trust in Beecher, Ill., having an innovation mindset means being open to explore new ways to solve for business challenges and opportunities.
Reconciliation Update: IRS Reporting, Tax Hikes, and Needed Grassroots
Community bankers are witnessing the fruits of their labor in ICBA’s months-long campaign opposing the onerous IRS bank reporting proposal. However, the grassroots push must continue.
4 Ways Community Banks Can Attract Gen Z Customers
With the eldest members of Gen Z clocking in at age 24, they represent a market ripe for targeting with banking services. But what they are looking for differs from what Millennials and Gen X...
How and Why We’re Updating Our Twitter Strategy to Better Serve Members
For more than 90 years, ICBA has provided value to our membership in a wide variety of ways and places. Today, we are refocusing efforts to better serve our members on Twitter.
Putting Innovation to Work in Community Development
While all community banks place a firm focus on serving, when you are a CDFI, serving is at the very core of your business identity. Couple that with an increased desire to think creatively, and...
Why Core Providers Attend the ThinkTECH Accelerator—And Why It Matters
The third quarter of 2021 yielded the second-highest quarter for fintech financing, up 147%. Despite this growth, an analysis by EY research of 45 banks revealed only one-quarter had deep...
Why Core Providers Attend the ThinkTECH Accelerator—And Why It Matters
As more community banks engage with fintechs to support their business plans, due diligence continues to become an even bigger piece of the puzzle. There are several questions every community bank...
Three Reasons First-Time Registrations are Spiking for ICBA LIVE 2022
With time ticking down until ICBA LIVE, schedules are solidifying, speeches are taking shape, details are firming up, and hotel rooms are filling up. The energy and momentum around coming together...
How the 8-Digit BIN Standard Impacts Your Community Bank
In less than two months, the ISO standards update for 8-digit Bank Identification Numbers, or BINs, takes effect. This new standard means that card processors must be able to accommodate and manage...
How Expanding the Durbin Amendment Would Further Harm Community Banks and Their Customers
ICBA is reminding policymakers that the Durbin Amendment has distorted the debit card and consumer checking markets to the detriment of community banks and consumers nationwide.
What’s Next in the Stablecoin Debate—and What it Means for Community Banks
While stablecoins have drawn increased scrutiny from policymakers in Washington, the policy response has only just begun. Here’s a look at the policy outlook and what it means for community banks.
Regulators Tout Responsible Innovation, Collaboration at ICBA ThinkTECH Event
Bank innovation continues to be a central focus for regulatory agencies. From the launch of innovation offices and office hours to policy statements encouraging innovative approaches.
A Seat at the Payments Table: How Bancard Is Working for Community Banks
As we usher in 2022, community banks face a new sense of urgency around their payment products.
ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator Selection Committee: “We need to keep innovating.”
It’s hard to believe that we recently kicked off our fourth ThinkTECH Accelerator and even more astonishing that the caliber of companies applying to help community banks’ greatest pain points...