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Michael Benedict: Community Bank Growth in a New Rate Environment
A steeper yield curve brings growth strategies back into the fold.
Ways to Get the Most Out of Your AML/CFT Program
Anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism programs have become a priority for regulators. Here’s how to ensure your program is up to par.
ESSA Bank & Trust Is All in on Accessible Homeownership
ESSA Bank & Trust is committed to empowering first-time homebuyers and historically underserved communities with its financial education and loan programs.
Oxford Bank Celebrates 140 Years of Community Support
Oxford Bank in Oxford, Mich., celebrated its 140th anniversary by building relationships, investing in the community and exercising purposeful giving.
Marketing Personalization Is More Than Adding Names to Emails
The advent of data-focused, personalized marketing has opened up doors to deeper customer relationships for community banks.
Charles Potts: Putting the "Person" in Personalized Banking
Today, personalization reigns supreme. According to Deloitte, about half of Gen Zers and millennials find personalized experiences important in their banking and business relationships.
Incoming 2025/26 ICBA Chairman Jack E. Hopkins Will Bring Small-Town Sensibility to Washington
Jack E. Hopkins, president and CEO of CorTrust Bank in Sioux Falls, S.D., has been a strong voice for community banking for years.
Lindsay LaNore: How to Bridge Gaps With Fellow Employees
In a diverse world, one of the greatest skills a leader can have is the ability to talk to people with different perspectives.
How Marketing Can Win Over the C-Suite
Getting buy-in from the C-suite is essential in all facets of the bank, including marketing. Here are tips for how to get executives and the marketing team working toward the same goals.
Kari Mitchum: The Fedwire Transitions to ISO 20022
What community banks need to know about the Fedwire ISO 20022 switch.
Out of Office: Richard Thiessens
The EVP and chief technology officer at $746 million-asset FinWise Bank in Murray, Utah, makes his own wine, cider and mead.
Renovation Lending: The Solution to a Tough Mortgage Market?
With many prospective and first-time homebuyers buying fixer-uppers, community banks can tap into a new market to supplement their mortgage and construction portfolios.
Tips for Winning the Retail Banking Game
Technology continues to evolve, and community banks must do the same. To cater to and better support young, tech-savvy customers, these local banks are partnering with fintechs to revamp their...
Why Your Community Bank Needs a Disaster Recovery Plan
Community banks like Countybank face and overcome challenges every day, but what about the events banks don’t expect?
Powering Potential: Marketing Made Easier for Your Community Bank
The ICBA Marketing Resource Center delivers dynamic, evolving resources that can help you save time, elevate your messaging and win over current and prospective customers.
How Community Banks Are Fighting AI-Powered Elder Fraud
Generative AI has made scamming vulnerable people alarmingly simple. Banks must raise awareness among their senior customers of the dangers and help build financial security.
Streamline Your Bank’s Appraisal and Vendor Management with ValuTrac
Tired of juggling spreadsheets, emails, and phone calls to manage appraisals and vendors? ValuTrac offers a unified workspace that transforms how banks manage their appraisal and valuation processes.
IT MSP, Integris, Reveals Top IT Trends for the Second Year in New Report, “Understanding US Banks’ Annual IT Spend in 2025”
Discover where banks stand on technology in 2025! Our survey of 1,000+ bank executives reveals IT’s growing role, key infrastructure needs, cybersecurity concerns, and economic impacts.
Loan Pricing strategies: Don’t let your bank become a Castaway.
With rapidly changing market conditions, your bank could easily find itself isolated like Tom Hanks in Castaway, on a desert island alone.
Rebeca Romero Rainey: Marching to the Beat of Community Banking
There’s a rhythm to community banking, a steadiness amid a sea of change that keeps us centered and focused on the customers and communities we serve.
Jacob Eisen: The Difference Between Direct and Agent Bank Credit Card Programs
Credit cards remain the most widely used credit product in the U.S., and the Federal Reserve’s latest payments study points to a continued climb in the number of card transactions, their overall...
Preparing and Nurturing Future Bank Leaders
How can community banks foster future leaders and make sure they’re prepared to take on a managerial role? It takes a healthy dose of attention, understanding and room for trial and error.
Kick Lending Up a Notch With Digital Solutions
Increased efficiency and fewer errors are just two of the benefits of digitalizing your loan production process.
Lucas White: Tackling Fraud With Technology and Education
Community bankers consistently rank cybersecurity and fraud among our highest internal risks, and those risks are growing.
United Community Bank Helps Veterans Take Flight
On Oct. 4, United Community Bank in Perham, Minn., hosted a Tailgate for Troops event in the nearby city of Frazee to raise money for the Veterans Honor Flight of ND/MN.
Scott Anchin: A New Resource for Fighting Fraud
The rise in fraud has become one of the biggest concerns for community banks and their customers in recent years.
What Banks Need to Know About the CFPB's Open Banking Rule
ICBA’s advocacy efforts have affected the outcome of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s open banking rule. Learn about these changes and understand which guidelines apply to your bank.
Jim Reber: Spreading the Good News
Incremental yield can indicate relative value.
Michael Emancipator: ICBA Speaks Out Against One-Size-Fits-All Regulations
In the face of disproportionate compliance requirements, ICBA is advocating for threshold changes that would lighten community banks’ regulatory burden.
Find Your Rhythm at ICBA LIVE 2025
Do you hear that? That’s the sound of community bankers across the nation heading to Nashville to learn, network and enjoy all Music City has to offer.
Is Data the Key to Enhancing Bank Customer Relationships?
Conversion data from social media, websites and marketing platforms can help prove whether banks are successful in their personalization, outreach and differentiation.
Amplifying Nashville's Booming Businesses
ICBA members are coming to Nashville, Tenn., from across the nation for ICBA LIVE, but there are plenty of community banks already in Music City.
OneUnited Bank Uses Tech to Bridge the Racial Wealth Gap
OneUnited Bank’s AI-powered financial wellness tool is enabling the bank’s customers to make better financial decisions and build generational wealth.
Relief From the Aftermath of Hurricane Helene
Community banks around the country came together to help those affected by Hurricane Helene, assisting with cleanup, donating supplies and more.
Out of Office: Aaron Hines
The commercial loan manager and SVP of $500 million-asset Denali State Bank in Fairbanks, Alaska, has ridden his snowmobile through the state’s vast landscapes.
Future-Proofing Community Banks: Upgrading Check Processing to Enhance Security, Efficiency, and Remain Competitive
Checks remain vital, requiring banks to consolidate systems for better efficiency and fraud mitigation. Modern solutions enhance security, streamline processing, and provide real-time fraud detection.
7 Lessons Learned by FedNow® Service Participants
Financial institutions live on the FedNow Service have shared valuable lessons they learned along their instant payment journeys.
Insights from ICBA's Minority Bank Advisory Council
Minority depository institutions ensure their communities have access to the financial services that will help them succeed in the long term.
Powering Potential: Rethinking Your Payments Strategy With ICBA Payments
ICBA Payments hasn’t just rebranded. It has begun a multiyear phased investment strategy to modernize its technology and service offerings, which are designed to elevate your bank’s payments strategy.
Mitigating Risk in Construction Draw Loans
Construction projects hold great potential but also come with risks. Addressing these challenges head-on will help mitigate each loans risk.
Growth Goals: Navigating IPOs and OTC Trading
Is your community bank thinking about launching an initial public offering or over-the-counter trading of stocks to raise liquidity?
Smart Org Changes That Could Boost Your Bank’s Trajectory
As community banks face increased competition, emerging roles and employees’ desire for advancement, it could be the right time for your community bank to assess its organizational structure.
2025 Lending Outlook: Cautious Optimism
Falling interest rates are expected to fuel borrowing activity at community banks. We examine the prospects for commercial, consumer/mortgage and ag lending in the new year.
4 Regulatory Developments Coming in 2025
Community bankers have a variety of new regulatory changes to prepare for in 2025, across agencies and banking functions. As always, forewarned is forearmed.
2025 Community Bank CEO Outlook: Balancing Between Deposits and Loans
While the business of community banking is ongoing, a new year is always a good time to take stock of the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Michael Benedict: Make Portfolio Strategy Fun Again
Things are looking up for portfolio management in 2025.
Lance Noggle: It's Time to Bolster Cybersecurity Measures—Now and Forever
As the costs of data breaches continue to rise, it’s essential for community banks to access and use available federal cybersecurity tools for combating fraudsters and bad actors.
Lucas White: Why Advocacy Should Be a Top Priority in 2025
The start of the new year brings with it a fresh slate and a collective reset on priorities.
Out of Office: Kati LeBreton
The vice president and director of P.O.W.E.R., a program for women in business, at $1 billion-asset Fidelity Bank in New Orleans, hosts The Big Bad Boot, a podcast.
Community Bank Delaware Salutes Space Heroes
Last July, Community Bank Delaware in Lewes, Del., donated $3,000 to American Legion Post 28.
Rebeca Romero Rainey: Nurturing the Community Bank Ecosystem
The start of a new year brings with it opportunities, and as we enter 2025, we do so with an eye toward the potential that awaits.
Charles Potts: The Innovations We'll See in 2025
They say the only constant is change, and 2025 is shaping up to prove that point. We are in for a dynamic year, influenced by customer demand, product accessibility and partner potential.
How to Balance Human and Machine While Using Chatbots
Community banks’ reputations are built on personal connection. But with an effective chatbot, banks can free up staff to focus on customers’ more complex needs. It just takes effective training.
Stearns Bank Lays Groundwork in Minnesota's Hmong Community
Stearns Bank is fostering trust, financial empowerment and meaningful relationships with Minnesota’s sizable Hmong community by establishing a branch in one of their cultural hubs.
Equip Your Leasing Finance Operations
Discover how lenders can navigate the evolving landscape of equipment lease financing with insights on risk mitigation and operational readiness.
Rebeca Romero Rainey: Nurturing the Community Bank Ecosystem
As I reflect on the impact community banks have had this year, I revel in this notion that we have created something special, a dynamic ecosystem that centers on people.
Charles Potts: Banking and Staffing Gen Z Into the Future
As Gen Z graduates into the full-time workforce, they are looking to community banks as financial partners as well as potential employers.
The Year in Compliance: 6 Notable Updates for Community Banks
New guidance and proposed rules from regulatory agencies in 2024 have kept community banks on the alert for forthcoming changes to compliance processes.
Commercial Bank of Mott Helps Fund a Home Base for the Community
The Commercial Bank of Mott set out to plan, fund and build a community center that will serve as a new hub for all locals to enjoy.
How Can Community Banks Ride the Digital Wallet Wave?
Looking to drive card usage and ensure continued deposit recapture? As the use of digital wallets continues to accelerate, here’s how you can participate and benefit from this trend.