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ICBA Statement on Bipartisan Deal to Reopen Government
The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) issued the following statement on bipartisan Senate efforts to reopen the federal government.
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.
Fines, Penalties and Settlements—Oh My!
Fines, Penalties and Settlements—Oh My! Or, How the Smalls Pay for the Sins of the Bigs A quick check of the records reveals that since the financial crisis began in 2008, Bank of America has been...
Why Not Get Behind “CFA”?
Why Not Get Behind “CFA”? Why is ICBA the only national banking trade group to push, and push hard, for passage of the Communities First Act regulatory-relief legislation (S. 1600/H.R. 1697)? And...
Time for a Divorce?
Time for a Divorce? In a recent edition of the American Banker “Bankthink” section, Mr. Robert H. Smith, former chairman and CEO of Security Pacific Corp., wrote an opinion piece titled “Community...
Note to Regulators: Exercising Fiduciary Responsibility is Not a Community Bank Board Problem - But You Might Make It One!
Note to Regulators: Exercising Fiduciary Responsibility is Not a Community Bank Board Problem - But You Might Make It One! As community bankers we have a fiduciary responsibility to our customers...
Happy Birthday TCM!
Happy Birthday TCM! Damon Moorer: This week TCM Bank celebrates 20 years of service to community banks. It’s remarkable how far we’ve come over this time—providing professionally managed...
“Wall Street (and the Government) Get the Gold; Main Street Gets the Shaft”
“Wall Street (and the Government) Get the Gold; Main Street Gets the Shaft” It seems that Wall Street can take billions of taxpayer dollars on a phone call to Treasury and that Wall Street...
eMortgage Benefits – Customer Satisfaction is Key!
eMortgage Benefits – Customer Satisfaction is Key! In today’s business environment, mortgage lenders are looking for a way to grow and retain their customer base by both providing better products...
Arundel Federal Savings Bank Welcomes Teresa Meley!
Arundel Federal Savings Bank Welcomes Teresa Meley! (GLEN BURNIE, Maryland – Tuesday, August 01, 2017) Arundel Federal Savings Bank President Dave Costello has announced that Teresa Meley has...
Gerrish’s Musings on BHC debt, M&A, incentive compensation & more (2)
Gerrish’s Musings on BHC debt, M&A, incentive compensation & more (2) May 31, 2017 Gerrish’s Musings on BHC formation, shareholder cash out, M&A and more 2017-05-31
Jim Reber: Buying time (maybe)
A sell-off in 2022 isn’t following previous bear markets.
Community Banks and the Power of Leveraging X (Formerly Twitter)
In the rapidly evolving landscape of digital marketing and customer engagement, community banks often find themselves facing unique challenges. Traditional marketing methods are no longer as...
Visa Global Economic Insights (March 2021)
Visa Global Economic Insights (March 2021) Last year as millions sheltered at home, e-commerce proved crucial to keeping retail sales flowing. Now, as outbreaks begin to subside and mobility...
Visa U.S. Economic Outlook (April 2021)
Visa U.S. Economic Outlook (April 2021) Over the last month, the contours of growth for 2021 came into sharper focus. Nonfarm employment rose by 916,000 in March, while consumer confidence hit its...
ICBA Connect is Here!
ICBA Connect is Here! The ICBA Connect event site is ready! Prepare yourself by logging in now and taking a spin around the site to familiarize yourself with it, so you’re ready to go. The ICBA...
Visa Prepaid Manual Cash Advances (March 2021)
Visa Prepaid Manual Cash Advances (March 2021) Visa requires that all U.S. Visa bank branches must honor and enable cash disbursements for all valid Visa Prepaid cards, whether or not the card is...
Visa U.S. Small Business Outlook (Fall 2020)
Visa U.S. Small Business Outlook (Fall 2020) Wayne Best, Chief Economist at Visa, shares that “small businesses are far less likely to be delinquent on their credit cards. See full report for...
Visa American Mood Trends Report (November 2020)
Visa American Mood Trends Report (November 2020) The Visa Business and Economics Insights team reports on consumer confidence in October. The Visa Business and Economics Insights team reports on...
Visa Global Economic Insights (Nov. 2020)
Visa Global Economic Insights (Nov. 2020) This month’s report includes details on: how advanced economies have recovered faster from the economic downturn; three distinct ways in which consumers...
Visa U.S. Economic Outlook (September 2020)
Visa U.S. Economic Outlook (September 2020) Visa economists report on GDP growth, labor market conditions, home sales, and trade. They also provide a view of longer-run GDP growth with their 2022...
Visa Global Economic Insights (Oct. 2020)
Visa Global Economic Insights (Oct. 2020) The latest Global Economic Insights report from Visa provides a COVID-19 Economic Impact Index, plus insights on travel and tourism recovery and small and...
Visa Global Economic Insights report (August 2020)
Visa Global Economic Insights report (August 2020) Visa economists report that COVID-19’s impact on consumer spending is similar to consumer spending in retirement. Visa economists report that...
Visa U.S. Economic Outlook (August 2020)
Visa U.S. Economic Outlook (August 2020) After solid job growth and robust consumer spending readings in May and June, the U.S. economy was cruising along at a decent speed of recovery. After solid...
Visa Monthly Consumer Monitor (August 2020)
Visa Monthly Consumer Monitor (August 2020) Visa’s economists provide a look at consumer spending, including retail sales (excluding autos), personal disposable income data, and labor market...
Happy Birthday CCB! 35 Years in Randolph!
Happy Birthday CCB! 35 Years in Randolph! LITTLE VALLEY, NY – Management and staff at Cattaraugus County Bank (CCB) are proud to announce the 35th anniversary of their Randolph branch. The actual...
Visa’s U.S. Economic Outlook (July 2020)
Visa’s U.S. Economic Outlook (July 2020) Though there are few changes to note since the June Outlook report, the downside risks to the outlook are clearly rising. Though there are few changes to...
Visa American Mood Trend (July 2020)
Visa American Mood Trend (July 2020) Visa economists report that consumer confidence is slowly rebounding, Gen Z consumers worry about public health than the economy or their own health, and more....
Michael Benedict: Putting the 'Strategy' in 'Portfolio Strategy'
How can you use your portfolio to create operating leverage?
October Updates to Online Training Courses (All Plans)
October Updates to Online Training Courses (All Plans) Major updates to the Online Training Subscription including a revamp of RegZ courses. Read more about the changes and enhancements for...
Who Is Really Dividing the Banking Industry?
Who Is Really Dividing the Banking Industry? Since my blog is still very new, I thought I would remind everyone that each week I will be sharing some of my thoughts with you on an informal basis....
Wells Fargo is What?
Wells Fargo is What? Wells Fargo is now calling itself the world’s “largest community bank” in commercials airing during the Olympics. So does that mean that Wells Fargo is suddenly NOT...
Corporate governance and employment law help is on the way!
With your ICBA Bank Director Program subscription you have access to attorneys from Jackson Lewis and Gerrish Smith Tuck for help with your employment law and corporate governance questions.
NEW and UPDATED Online Courses Added to Bank Director Program!
The 20 online training courses that are included in your Bank Director Program subscription are a great tool to onboard new bank directors while also ensuring your seasoned directors are up-to-speed.
Is that a light at the end of the tunnel?
Is that a light at the end of the tunnel? The light you see at the end of the tunnel may or may not be a train. We will know shortly. Last evening Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) began circulating a...
Who's on First?
Who's on First? In just a 12-hour period on Monday, March 1, at least four proposals for where to house the consumer-protection function of the larger financial-reform bill were floated on Capitol...
Social Agenda???
Social Agenda??? “Once Congress changes the base to an asset test, what is to stop them from thinking up other kinds of incentives that meet whatever social agenda they might have?" [emphasis...
What’s There to Like?
What’s There to Like? The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post and just about every other newspaper in the country are calling the “Wall Street Reform Bill” a win for...
Do You Ever Wonder What It Is All About?
Do You Ever Wonder What It Is All About? Ever wonder about the millions, nay hundreds of millions, in Wall Street and megabank dollars spent on countless legions of lobbyists? For Wall Street and...
Yes, But is it Right?
Yes, But is it Right? “The problem for Tourre—and Wall Street—is that they're so intent on proving that what they did was legal that they can't see that what they did was wrong.” “With Financial...
Overdraft Guidance No Holiday Treat, or The Death of Common Sense
Overdraft Guidance No Holiday Treat, or The Death of Common Sense Happy holidays, folks. In case you missed it, on the day before Thanksgiving, the FDIC released final guidance on...
Big Day for Community Banks: Finally Assessment Parity!
Big Day for Community Banks: Finally Assessment Parity! It’s been years coming. Some said it would never happen, some laughed at our attempts and some heaped scorn on us for even trying. But ICBA...
Is this Justice?
Is this Justice? A recent New York Times article exposes the double standard in regard to enforcement actions between community banks and too-big-to-fail institutions. The article finds that...
“Denver Credit-Union CEO David Maus' $11 Million Pay Package Stuns Industry”
“Denver Credit-Union CEO David Maus' $11 Million Pay Package Stuns Industry” The “industry” to which the above headline refers is the credit union industry. Even they are stunned. But we bankers...
By God, That is Enough! It is Time to Stop the Madness!
By God, That is Enough! It is Time to Stop the Madness! In G.K. Chesterton’s short story titled “The Three Tools of Death,” a character named Patrick Royce says, “I give myself to the gallows; and,...
Diversity? Really?
Diversity? Really? In recent days there has been some buzz from various quarters about what a "diverse" banking system we have in the United States. In fact, not long ago a writer pointed out that...
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...
ICBA’s 2021/22 executive committee: Close the distance (part 2)
These online-exclusive interviews with the 2021/22 ICBA executive members gets their thoughts on their goals, on innovation at their banks, and on effective advocacy.
Let's define 'unfair, deceptive or absuive'
More than its predecessors, the Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices can be a murky regulation for compliance officers. How well do you know the ins and outs of UDAAP?
New ICBA White Paper Calls on Policymakers to Close Industrial Loan Company Loophole
New ICBA White Paper Calls on Policymakers to Close Industrial Loan Company Loophole The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) today released a comprehensive white paper detailing why...
ICBA Urges FDIC to Reject Applications Under Industrial Loan Company Loophole to Prevent Risks to Consumers
ICBA told the FDIC that it has a statutory duty to reject the applications of industrial loan companies (ILCs) that pose undue risks to the Deposit Insurance Fund and that fail to serve the...
ICBA issues new white paper calling on policymakers to close ILC loophole
ICBA published a new white paper detailing why policymakers should close the industrial loan company loophole, which allows ILCs and their parent companies to skirt regulatory oversight,...
New ICBA White Paper Calls on Policymakers to Close Industrial Loan Company Loophole
ICBA today released a comprehensive white paper detailing why policymakers should close a legal loophole that allows industrial loan companies and their parent companies to skirt regulatory...
ICBA welcomes efforts to end shutdown
ICBA welcomed a bipartisan Senate effort to end the federal shutdown and reopen the government.
Independent Banker details law that safeguards borrower data
The latest Independent Banker magazine breaks down an ICBA-supported law to rein in the sale of mortgage “trigger leads.”
Tax-exempt credit unions shouldn’t access public funds: letter to the editor
In a new letter to the editor, ICBA community banker Jeff Dick says that credit unions wanting access to municipal deposits without contributing back to the communities they claim to serve is a bad...
ICBA Statement on Bipartisan Deal to Reopen Government
The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) issued the following statement on bipartisan Senate efforts to reopen the federal government.
Atlanta Fed examines rounding scenarios without pennies
A new blog post from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta examines possible rounding methods the United States could use when penny production is phased out.
ICBA urges OCC to reject Sony Bank national trust bank charter application
ICBA urged the OCC to reject Sony Bank’s application for a national trust bank charter for a proposed subsidiary—its latest response to the sudden influx of applications from nonbank fintechs.
ICBA signals support for FHFA strategic plan
ICBA said it supports U.S. Federal Housing’s plan to focus on safety and soundness of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks.