Search Articles
Alternative Credit Scoring Models: Beyond FICO
Community banks can expand access to capital by looking at other factors for loan approval. Here’s what to consider.
Tim Roy: Pushing Back Against Upcoming FHLB Regulations
Significant changes could be in store for the Federal Home Loan Bank system, with possible negative effects for community banks.
Native American Bank Dedicates a Day to Gratitude
On June 28, Denver-based Native American Bank, N.A., hosted a Customer Appreciation Day at Yellow Bird Woman Park near its Browning, Mont., branch.
Out of Office: Rachell Bilbrey
The senior vice president and director of treasury at $1.8 billion-asset Builtwell Bank in Chattanooga, Tenn., finds creative fulfillment through conceptualizing, creating and styling home interiors.
Lucas White: Staffing for the Digital Future
Digital banking is here to stay, and everything from our online banking to our mobile apps needs to speak to that customer journey.
Ion Bank: A Reflection of the Customers It Serves
Ion Bank makes a point of fostering a diverse workplace and supporting local communities through its multilingual staff, fundraising efforts and inclusive outreach.
Powering Potential: A Guide to In-Person ICBA Events
ICBA’s in-person events offer unparalleled opportunities for professional growth.
5 Tips for Handling Fintech Partnership Contracts
Go into fintech contract negotiations with clear intention to save your community bank from future conflict.
You’ve Launched a New Website—What Happens Now?
“Build it and they will come” is great for a baseball field. But when you’ve just put your all into a new website, find out how to generate ROI, produce actionable results and more.
Rebeca Romero Rainey: AI, the New Frontier
If you’ve ever watched an episode of “Star Trek,” you’ve heard its famous introduction proclaiming we must “boldly go where no man has gone before.”
Independent Financial: A New Model for Expanding Healthcare Access
Independent Financial asked what its community needed most, then undertook an innovative approach to supporting public health.
Lindsay LaNore: How To Be a Memorable Leader
Managing people is hard work, no matter what level of management you’re at. There are expectations from above and below, with never enough time to meet them all.
Is Your Bank's Website Accessible To All?
Ensuring people with disabilities can access all corners of your bank’s digital properties is more than just a legal requirement. Here are tips on how to keep your content within reach of everyone.
Charles Potts: Driving Strategy With AI as a Tool
Artificial intelligence has become the buzzword for financial services, but it’s moved beyond just hype.
How Can Community Banks Attract Gen Z Customers?
While youth accounts are a great value-add for parents, younger customers are looking for offerings with a few key characteristics.
Portfolio and Loan-Level Stress Testing: Be Proactive & Examiner-Ready
Banks should consider easier and more affordable methods to conduct both portfolio- and loan-level stress testing for more comprehensive risk management.
Rethink Your Digital Banking Experience to Retain Customers
Retain customers, enhance efficiencies, and compete effectively by leveraging cutting-edge technology and a powerful digital banking experience.
Rebeca Romero Rainey: Communication Is Key to Mitigating Fraud
Cybersecurity and fraud mitigation remain significant priorities for community banks as attacks get more creative and targeted.
Lucas White: Conquering Check Fraud One Check at a Time
We have seen check fraud ramp up over the past two years. Fraudsters have turned their attention to check rails, reintroducing older forms of attack. And check imaging drove the shift.
Technology Is Revamping Equipment Financing
From 3D printers to robotic feeders, equipment has shifted toward tech-savvy solutions that require community banks’ equipment financing expertise.
Specialize and Thrive: Community Banks Find Success Lending to Niche Markets
When it comes to organic growth, niche lending is one way to reach lucrative new markets.
Fidelity Bank Is Transforming Women's Entrepreneurship
By promoting education, advocacy, networking and financial support, Fidelity Bank's P.O.W.E.R. program is setting a new standard for financial institutions.
Establishing the Right Dynamic at Family-Owned Banks
Family-run community banks, like any family business, come with both strengths and challenges.
Time’s Up for Excel & Managing Credit Risk
The problem is the overuse of Excel leads many community banks to embrace terrible tradeoffs – especially in commercial lending. It’s time to ditch your spreadsheets.
Grand Savings Bank Lends a Hand After the Storm
On June 5 and 6, employees at Grand Savings Bank in Grove, Okla., volunteered to serve meals to families and volunteers cleaning up after two tornadoes hit Decatur, Ark., on May 26.
Can Faster Payments Lead to Faster Fraud?
Community banks can thwart criminals’ attempts to scam people via instant payments by deploying multilayered controls, including educating customers on how to not fall for scams.
The Pros and Cons of Offering Trust Services
Offering fiduciary services can add depth to your wealth management offerings, but it won’t be right for every community bank. Bankers and other experts weigh in.
D&O, Liability and Cyber Insurance: How to Keep Up
Emerging threats make it important to update insurance coverage, whether it’s for directors and officers, cybersecurity or professional liability insurance.
Is Your Bank Compliant With New Email Authentication Rules?
Recent updates regarding email standards will require additional oversight from community banks to ensure customers receive important email communications.
Jim Reber: October, Effectively
How have the financial markets performed in the tenth month?
Susan Sullivan Kinney and Brian Laverdure: The Cryptocurrency Debate
Despite its popularity and precarity, cryptocurrency remains mostly unregulated at a government level.
Helpful Tips for Streamlining the Core Conversion Process
At each step of the process, a core conversion will hold new challenges. Make sure you have the tools and knowledge to address these issues and support your employees through it all.
How Generative AI Can Revolutionize Cybersecurity in Community Banking
As AI grows in prominence, it’s spreading across different facets of the banking industry and its operations.
United Bank: Incubating Success for Local Businesses
United Bank’s Church Street Incubator serves as a launchpad for budding companies by reducing their financial burden and building community.
Powering Potential: ICBA Certification Q&A with Ryan Capouch
Ryan Capouch, BSA and compliance officer at Reliabank in Sioux Falls, S.D., boasts more than a decade of experience.
Charles Potts: Tackling Fraud With Technology
For years, community banks have made digital transformation a priority.
Lindsay LaNore: 5 Values to Look for in Prospective Leaders
When it comes to identifying future leaders within any organization, it’s easy to resort to clichés.
The Independent Banker Reader Survey Results Are In
We asked, and you answered. Earlier this year, Independent Banker ran a readership survey asking you—our audience of community bankers across the nation—for your thoughts about the...
Out of Office: Kelsey Goates
After she found a passion for fitness, the central Texas community banker and ICBA 40 Under 40 2024 honoree began hosting weekly workouts to share her passion with her community.
Will AI Supercharge Regtech for Community Banks?
By harnessing artificial intelligence’s power, regtech has greater potential to streamline regulatory compliance and offer cost savings for community banks that use it, say experts.
Out of Office: Kaitlyn Dummitt
As a seasoned painter, AVP of marketing at $1.73 billion-asset Waterford Bank, N.A. in Toledo, Ohio, continues to discover new ways to enhance her artistic prowess.
5 Ways to Make a Good Digital Impression on Your Bank Website
A website isn’t just for location, hours and product information. It’s often a prospective customer’s first view of your community bank.
Michael Benedict: Too Much of a Good Thing?
Balance is key when it comes to capital and profitability.
Endeavor Bank Turns Business Banking into a Conversation
Endeavor Bank’s consultative banking model boosts business banking with tailored meetings, onboarding roadmaps and community connections.
Advanced Cybersecurity Considerations for Community Banks
Discover how cybersecurity advancements like Extended Detection and Response leverage AI and machine learning for superior threat detection.
United Bank Helps a Plant Nursery Grow
As of 2024, United Bank in Atmore, Ala., has worked with Slay’s Nursery in nearby Elberta, Ala., for two decades, having helped its owners launch and grow their nursery and gardening store.
Powering Potential: Strengthening Community Banking State by State
ICBA’s links with state banking associations help shape organizational growth and drive powerful collaborations.
Charles Potts: How Fintech Relationships Can Lessen Compliance Burdens
Compliance consistently ranks as one of the highest business expenses for community banks, and that cost is expected to climb.
Is Your Community Bank Ahead of the Pack on Instant Payments?
Whether it’s through RTP or FedNow, many community banks are still exploring how instant payments rails can fulfill the needs of and benefit their customers.
Tips For Sending Transactions Over The FedNow® Service
By enabling customers to send instant payments via the FedNow® Service versus only receive, banks can gain a faster, stronger ROI.
Lindsay LaNore: The 5 Ws of Goal Setting
As we look at budgets for the coming year, it’s a great time to think about how we set goals.
Umpqua Bank Supports Affordable Housing Initiatives
Umpqua Bank and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines recently partnered to award $160,000 in grant money to 13 affordable housing nonprofits in Oregon.
How Community Banks Can Nurture Relationships With Next-Gen Customers
With the “great wealth transfer” approaching, now’s the time for community banks to plan with individuals passing on their generational wealth and to connect with those who will receive it.
Lucas White: Tenacity for the Regulatory Win
When I’m asked about necessary skill sets for community banking, I talk about problem-solving and a passion for helping people.
Community Banks Support Ag Lending, Rain or Shine
Farming is never without its ups and downs, but whatever the weather, ag-focused community banks are there for farmers.
Rebeca Romero Rainey: Leveling the Playing Field
They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery, but when it comes to financial services, it doesn’t make for a fair banking environment.
How Bigger Community Banks Maintain a Local Feel
It’s in the name—community banks are all about building community. So, when they expand into other markets, how do they continue to make the authentic connections they’re known for?
2024 National Community Bank Service Awards
Phelps County Bank and Woodsboro Bank’s outstanding charitable work has earned them recognition as ICBA’s 2024 National Community Bank Service Award winners.
Ease Reporting with Automation
Routine reporting can be time- and paper-intensive—but automation can take mundane tasks off your team’s plate and create all kinds of other efficiencies.
Out of Office: Ben Nelson
The senior vice president of residential mortgage lending at $3.1 billion‑asset D.L. Evans Bank in Burley, Idaho, found community theater in 2017 after taking on an acting role alongside his daughter.