Romero Rainey recaps extraordinary year, thanks bankers for “selfless response”

ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey recaps the year’s challenges and accomplishments in a message to community bankers.

“You have shown the world what community banking is, and what it means,” said Romero Rainey noting community banks’ outsized role as Paycheck Protection Program lenders. In her address she also noted several advocacy successes this year, including:

• Earned community bank-advocated provisions in the latest stimulus bill including extended TDR relief and EIDL Advance fix. 
• Procured robust CECL, community bank leverage ratio, and tax relief. 
• Ensured $60 billion in PPP funding dedicated to community bank lending to small businesses. 
• Secured better PPP loan terms for borrowers and lenders
• Blocked credit union efforts to raise their business-lending cap. 
• Advanced beneficial ownership reporting relief. 
• Achieved regulatory asset threshold relief for many community banks so they would not be penalized for PPP lending. 
• Convinced regulators to delay new Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan fees. 
• Successfully advocated higher asset thresholds in the OCC's Community Reinvestment Act final rule, the Fed's elimination of Regulation D account transfer restrictions, and the codification of the "valid when made" doctrine. 
• Successfully urged the Fed to adopt a phased approach to launching FedNow to ensure quicker implementation.  
• Supported community bank-friendly candidates with a 94 percent election success rate for ICBPAC contributions.