ICBA Bancard Names New Mexico Community Banker as Chairman While Michigan Community Banker Joins Board

Washington, D.C. (June 21, 2023) — ICBA Bancard, the payments-services subsidiary of the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), announced the election of Ruth Christopher, board member for Citizens Bank of Las Cruces, N.M., and secretary of its holding company, Amador Bancshares Inc., as chairman of the ICBA Bancard board of directors. Michael J. Burke, Jr., president of ChoiceOne Bank in Lapeer, Mich., was also elected to the board.

“Since its founding, ICBA Bancard has ensured community banks remain at the forefront of innovation and in step with their customers’ evolving payments needs,” ICBA Bancard President and CEO Tina Giorgio said. “We’re fortunate to have such experienced and visionary leaders like Ruth and Mike on our board to represent our clients across the country as we work to ensure community banks have a hand in shaping the future of payments.”

Christopher, a community banker for nearly 40 years, has been a passionate advocate for the industry. In addition to serving as ICBA Bancard chairman, she also serves as vice chairman of ICBA’s Bank Innovation and Solutions Committee. Also active at the local level, Christopher has served in leadership positions on many civic and community boards and is a past chairman of the Independent Community Bankers Association of New Mexico.

As chairman of the Bank Innovation and Solutions Committee, Burke serves on ICBA’s Board of Directors, the Federal Delegate Board and the ICBA Policy Development Committee, Burke is also a strong advocate for community banking. At the local level he serves as vice chairman for the Lapeer Development Corp. and of the Lapeer Community Foundation, and is a member of the University of Michigan Flint School of Management Advisory Board.

Serving on the ICBA Bancard board with Christopher and Burke are Jim Amundson, president and CEO, BankIn Minnesota in Bloomington, Minn.; Chris Doyle, president and CEO, Texas First Bank in Texas City, Texas; Sarah Getzlaff, ICBA treasurer and CEO of Security First Bank of North Dakota in Bismarck, N.D.; Gregory Hohl, chairman and CEO, Wahoo State Bank in Wahoo, Neb.; and William West, president and CEO of Tampa Bay Banking Co. in Tampa, Fla.

To learn more about ICBA Bancard, visit www.icba.org/bancard.

About ICBA Bancard

ICBA Bancard® is the wholly owned payment services subsidiary of the Independent Community Bankers of America. ICBA Bancard’s community bank issuers generated more than $43 billion in sales volume in 2022 and are ranked collectively as the 25th largest credit card portfolio and 11th largest debit portfolio in the United States. ICBA Bancard enables thousands of community banks to provide competitive payments solutions, including credit debit and merchant services. The company also provides exclusive services to issuers including its Fraud Loss Protection Plan, marketing support, and product education. For more information, visit www.icbabancard.org.