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SouthState Bank turns swag into art
After a recent merger, SouthState Bank had hundreds of unused T-shirts featuring its old logo. Rather than send them to the landfill, it donated them to a community textile arts project that...
Jim Reber: Floating rate assets are back
Floaters are gaining popularity. Again.
Lindsay LaNore: Strategic training initiatives
The workplace is in constant flux, business goals are growing, and employee preferences are evolving. Ensure that your professional development programs support your strategic goals.
Charles Potts: Strengthening human connections
Community banks are the lifeblood of communities, but people are the lifeblood of community banks.
Brad M. Bolton: Retaining the best
Community bank employees fill a special role, unlike no other position in the market today, and we must do a better job of telling that story.
Rebeca Romero Rainey: Budget prioritization
Community banks stand out in today’s financial services space because our business model depends on an ecosystem where the bank only benefits when customers do.
The community banks beating the Great Resignation
A mass exodus of the U.S. workforce during the pandemic brought challenges in recruiting entry- to mid-level staff. These community banks share how they have (or haven’t) altered their hiring...
Member Milestones: Landmark anniversaries
From centennials to dodransbicentennials (that’s 175 years), 36 community banks are marking significant anniversaries in 2022. Four presidents and CEOs reflect on how their banks survived the past,...
Jim Reber: Three chords and the truth
Country music evokes portfolio management themes.
Lindsay LaNore: Getting more out of virtual learning
Whether you are in the learner’s or supervisor’s seat, the phrase “You only get out what you put into it” should be top of mind as every community bank looks to continue enriching its professional...
Brad M. Bolton: Working through difficult times
Working through any difficulty or crisis at your community bank won’t be a walk in the park, but it may lead to an experience for which you’re truly grateful.
Rebeca Romero Rainey: Shifts in lending
Loan providers are multiplying, and we cannot underestimate the need for a frictionless loan, one that removes hoops for our customers and feels simple, efficient and effective.
Introducing the 2022 ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator finalists
The 2022 ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator spotlighted some of the most innovative fintech providers. We asked this year’s cohort how community banks can harness today’s technologies and solutions to...
40 Under 40: Emerging Community Bank Leaders in 2022
Our fourth annual 40 Under 40: Emerging Community Bank Leaders competition highlights the achievements of young community bankers across the nation, who are leading the charge on the future of...
How gamification can be a boon for community banks
Community banks are getting into gamification—and it’s been better for business. Introducing gaming elements into apps and company training tools can result in cost savings, increased...
Brad M. Bolton: Community continuation
Community continuation is not about checking a regulatory box; it means putting a name to the people who will be the future of our banks.
Customer Understanding Deepens Relationships
SPONSORED | Investing in your tech stack has never been more important. Hear from Horicon Bank how they have positioned themselves to grow using the Total Expert platform.
Rebeca Romero Rainey: The power of discussion
Healthy debate helps us achieve an outcome where we’re all pushed to think beyond what might be readily in front of us.
Lindsay LaNore: Managing remote employees
As life settles into a new rhythm, you may find that some team members continue working remotely permanently or shift to a hybrid model. What are some best practices for managing this new...
Charles Potts: Being comfortable with discomfort
We live in unprecedented times, filled with new challenges and opportunities for small businesses. Fortunately, community banks have greater access than ever before to advanced solutions and...
Aaron Stetter: Start planning for August recess
With the congressional summer break right around the corner, now is the time to connect with legislators in their home districts and advocate for the issues important to community banks.
Unexpected allies
Meeting serendipitously at a ThinkTECH Accelerator showcase, Fintel Connect and Finzly prove that the best relationships allow both partners to complement each other’s strengths.
Out of Office: Tyrone Beatty
After becoming a fan of The Great British Baking Show, Tyrone Beatty, assistant branch manager at $2.3 million-asset 1st Security Bank of Washington in Mountlake Terrace, Wash., added baking to his...
These Asian-American led banks are helping their communities
May marks Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month—and these Asian American-led community banks are adding to that heritage every single day by helping bring dreams within reach.
Out of Office: Justin Kitzinger
Justin Kitzinger, a private banking officer at $6 billion-asset Bankers Trust in Des Moines, Iowa, dedicates 200 hours each year to volunteer firefighting.
Rhonda Thomas-Whitley: Defending overdraft protection for consumers
Overdraft programs and policies are once again in the sights of officials in Washington. ICBA takes on the fight.
Charles Potts: Back-office innovation
Community bankers are embracing innovation like never before—with impressive results. But with so much emphasis placed on customer-facing products and technologies, innovating back-office...
Brad M. Bolton: Educating future leaders
Focusing on the ‘whys’ helps employees see how decisions fit together in a perfect puzzle for high-performing success, and it motivates them to be contributors to that success.
Rebeca Romero Rainey: Community bankers are all in
Everything feeds into the customer experience, and that ability to meet and exceed customer expectations is what distinguishes us as community bankers.
Kentucky banks stand tall
After a historic tornado rocked western Kentucky last December, a host of community banks banded together in the spirit of generosity, using their financial power to start relief funds and bolster...
Lindsay LaNore: All in. All heart.
There’s nothing like going above and beyond—but being recognized for it feels pretty great, too.
Charles Potts: Growing small business banking
We live in unprecedented times, filled with new challenges and opportunities for small businesses. Fortunately, community banks have greater access than ever before to advanced solutions and...
Rebeca Romero Rainey: Stories worth telling
This Community Banking Month, I invite you to try something new to spread your story. Share a new development, community project or initiative.
Long-serving community bankers and their stories
What’s the secret to professional longevity? Four long-serving community bankers share the many ways they’ve grown in their respective careers, how the industry continues to evolve and, most...
The ICBA 22/23 executive committee is all in
The 2022/23 ICBA Executive committee members tell us what advocacy issues they’ll be focused on during their terms, while board members share their words of wisdom for up-and-coming community...
Brad M. Bolton: Advancing our communities
My bank’s tagline is ‘Where dreams meet solutions,’ and it serves as my guiding inspiration at the bank and, now, at the national level. As community bankers, our customers depend on us to keep...
Three Essential Strategies for a Winning Contact Center Culture
SPONSORED | Contact centers are increasingly expected to deliver more, often with less time and fewer resources. Keeping pace requires going back to employee engagement. Employee and customer...
It’s Time for a Shift: From Transactional to Relational
SPONSORED—While transactions are essential and can exist almost entirely online, the business of banking is about more than transactions. Forward-looking banks are following three guiding...
A community bank-fueled payments rail
A secure, open-loop, cost-saving, customer-accessible, multiplatform P2P payments network might sound too good to be true, but community bank consortium Alloy Labs Alliance hopes to achieve just...