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Heroes
Heroes Hero is defined as a person who has performed a heroic act or service and is regarded as a role model. On Monday and Tuesday of this week in southern Indiana, I looked into the eyes of and...
Credit Union Debate a Matter of Equity
Credit Union Debate a Matter of Equity Regarding the credit union push to more than double their commercial lending authority—TAX FREE—let me offer these examples. Two financial institutions sit...
It’s Not the Trade, It’s Too-Big-To-Fail
It’s Not the Trade, It’s Too-Big-To-Fail Many of us recall the now-famous campaign slogan from the 1992 Clinton campaign—“It’s the economy, stupid.” Bill Clinton used it to great effect. Recently,...
A Different Perspective
A Different Perspective I hold no animus toward anyone or any group that defends its members’ best interests. After all, that is the fundamental reason why associations are formed. That is why ICBA...
Déjà Vu All Over Again
Déjà Vu All Over Again As Yogi Berra said, “Its déjà vu all over again.” JPMorgan Chase recently announced that it lost more than $2 billion in trading complex derivatives. The news of reckless...
JPMorgan Redux
JPMorgan Redux I have gotten hundreds of emails from community bankers commenting on JPMorgan Chase’s $2 billion trading blunder. Below is just one example of an email I received from one of our...
Transaction Account Coverage an Urgent Issue
Transaction Account Coverage an Urgent Issue At ICBA’s recent Washington Policy Summit, I told community bankers gathered in the nation’s capital that our industry is full of passionate advocates....
Small Business is Our Business
Small Business is Our Business Community bankers have a positive story, and we love to tell it. So it’s always a pleasure when others help us get the word out about how community banks contribute...
Here They Go Again
Here They Go Again I’m sorry, but if you repeat a lie often enough, it still doesn’t make it the truth. That hasn’t stopped Wall Street apologists from continuing the stale assault that the...
Trillions for Wall Street, but not one cent for Main Street
Trillions for Wall Street, but not one cent for Main Street “Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute.” When Robert Goodloe Harper uttered that famous statement he was referring to...
The Antidote to Deposit Concentration? TAG
The Antidote to Deposit Concentration? TAG I recently wrote that extending full FDIC coverage of noninterest-bearing transaction accounts is a matter of urgency. And it is. Congress has to act by...
Ending Crushing Regulatory Burden Job #1 at ICBA
Ending Crushing Regulatory Burden Job #1 at ICBA Ending the crushing regulatory burden on Main Street community banks is and has always been Job #1 at ICBA. But over the past four years, our...
ICBA Welcomes ABA to TAG Extension Effort
ICBA Welcomes ABA to TAG Extension Effort This week’s American Bankers Association announcement that it will join the ICBA-led push for extending full FDIC coverage of noninterest-bearing...
FDIC TAG Preparation Now Essential
FDIC TAG Preparation Now Essential For all of us who’ve spent the better part of a year calling on Congress to extend the FDIC’s Transaction Account Guarantee program, last week’s Senate vote...
The Fair Lending Inquisition
The Fair Lending Inquisition There’s not much that Washington can do to surprise me. As a community banker for 25 years, and in my time here at ICBA, I’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly of...
Taking the Community Bank Message to Wall Street
Taking the Community Bank Message to Wall Street It’s always a privilege for me to engage in honest discussion and debate about the top issues facing our nation’s Main Street community banks. So a...
Basel III, Leverage Ratio Capitalize on Tiered Regulation
Basel III, Leverage Ratio Capitalize on Tiered Regulation It’s been a long time coming, with a few delays and several thousand comment letters, but regulators have finalized their key Basel III...
Seize the Month: April is Go Time for Community Banks
Seize the Month: April is Go Time for Community Banks Community bankers know we can’t rest on our laurels. We have to strike while the iron is hot—whether it is a loan to a local small business or...
The Dangers of Regulatory Overreach and Those Who Exploit It
The Dangers of Regulatory Overreach and Those Who Exploit It In case you missed it, American Banker this week launched a series that sheds some light on the unintended consequences that can result...
Too-Big-To-Jail Talk is Cheap
Too-Big-To-Jail Talk is Cheap Here in Washington, I hear a lot of talk. People will say just about anything and claim it’s the truth, no matter what the record shows. Well, I’m from the Show-Me...
Free Societies and the Rule of Law
Free Societies and the Rule of Law Operation Choke Point is a U.S. Department of Justice-led joint effort with federal regulators designed to choke off access to banking services by businesses...
Making Progress on Making News
Making Progress on Making News What a difference a year makes. Last summer I embarked on a media tour of New York City. Joined by ICBA’s media expert, Senior Vice President of Media and Public...
Antonio Weiss Not Right for Treasury Post
Antonio Weiss Not Right for Treasury Post Reasonable people can disagree. I’ve always firmly believed that individuals can look at the same set of facts and come to differing conclusions without...
Regulatory Relief Push in Full Swing with Committee Markup
Regulatory Relief Push in Full Swing with Committee Markup The House Financial Services Committee last week advanced five ICBA-advocated bills to provide regulatory relief to community banks. The...
Big Banks' Swaps Push-Out Repeal Is a Pyrrhic Victory
Big Banks' Swaps Push-Out Repeal Is a Pyrrhic Victory The following post first appeared on American Banker’s BankThink blog. It is reprinted below with American Banker’s permission. By Cornelius...
Doing the Right Thing is in the Community Bank DNA
Doing the Right Thing is in the Community Bank DNA Happy 2015. I am humbled and grateful for the opportunity to kick off another year representing the nation’s community banks, an industry that has...
Some Banks More Equal Than Others
Some Banks More Equal Than Others I read the other day that the six largest U.S. bank holding companies have paid more than $150 billion in fines since 2009. Yet, at the same time, not a single...
Accounting Standards Next in Long Line of Cookie-Cutter Regulations
Accounting Standards Next in Long Line of Cookie-Cutter Regulations You’ve heard the old line that an elephant is a mouse built to government specifications? We’re all familiar with how government...
This Month, There’s No Place Like Home
This Month, There’s No Place Like Home It’s hard to believe that the August congressional recess is already upon us, but in many ways the community banking industry is well-positioned to take...
Let’s Put a Stop to Credit Union End Run Around Congress
Let’s Put a Stop to Credit Union End Run Around Congress The United States has three branches of government to prevent any one from having too much power. The tax-exempt credit union industry...
Banks: An Eponym of Epic Proportions
Banks: An Eponym of Epic Proportions When most people want a tissue, they say they need a Kleenex. When you cut your finger, you don’t say you need an adhesive bandage—you need a Band-Aid! When you...
Staying True to Our Mission
Staying True to Our Mission In an era of seemingly perpetual political gridlock, it’s important to pause on occasion to consider why we community bankers put so much effort into political advocacy....
Mortgage Relief Recognizes Community Banks’ Unique Role
Mortgage Relief Recognizes Community Banks’ Unique Role It was a long time coming, but persistence paid off when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently updated its mortgage regulations...
Digging Deep and Making a Difference This Holiday Season
Digging Deep and Making a Difference This Holiday Season While many Americans are gearing up for the holiday season, ICBA and community bankers are gearing up for a bustling couple of weeks in...
In ILC Fight, Community Banks Will Not Stand Down
In ILC Fight, Community Banks Will Not Stand Down Since I arrived at the Independent Community Bankers of America in 2003, the conversation about the mixing of banking and commerce has heated up,...
At Our Best in the Worst of Times
At Our Best in the Worst of Times I never cease to be amazed by how community bankers dig the deepest when they are subject to the very worst conditions, as evidenced by the industry’s recent...
Short-Term Investments That Yield Enduring Gains
Short-Term Investments That Yield Enduring Gains As a former community banker, I understand the importance of succession planning as a vital part of an organization’s overall strategy for the...
A Union for the Ages
A Union for the Ages We are in an era of innovative collaborations—where the marriage between technology and service holds the promise of helping community banks deliver more personalized...
The Good Fight
The Good Fight Rebeca Romero Rainey: We need a regulatory environment that supports and encourages community banks like Abacus Federal Savings Bank and we need community bankers like the Sung...
Taking Stock of Your Core Processor Relationship
Taking Stock of Your Core Processor Relationship Three banks sound off on using ICBA's Core Processor Resource Guide as a blueprint for managing this complex, critical and expensive technology...