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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.
3 Major Community Bank Compliance Challenges (and Solutions)
The regulatory compliance burden is a big and growing consideration for community banks. Thankfully, there are plenty of techniques and resources for keeping on top of this ever-changing task.
Jenna Burke: The Supreme Court of the United States Is Reshaping Administrative Law
Three recent SCOTUS decisions could affect the community banking sector.
Members Tee Up at ICBA PAC's 19th Annual Golf Classic
On June 17, the ICBA political action committee (PAC) hosted its 19th Annual Golf Classic at the Minneapolis Golf Club in St. Louis Park, Minn.
When Should Your Community Bank Use a Staffing Agency?
If your community bank doesn’t have the time or resources to recruit for open or hard-to-fill positions, a staffing agency is one way to take the burden off your shoulders.
Jim Reber: Moving on Up
Bond portfolios’ yields are beginning to catch up.
Richwood Bank Cultivates Community with Each Cup
Richwood Bank brews up both coffee and funding for the community through its one-of-a-kind bank-owned coffee chain. Here’s how it worked with the Fed to make it happen.
Rebeca Romero Rainey: Remaining Nimble Against a Litany of Regulation
Flexibility: It’s one of the characteristics that sets our community banks apart, enabling us to meet the needs of distinct communities in unique ways.
Powering Potential: Special Assessment Success Sparks Membership Momentum
ICBA’s success in achieving a community bank exemption from the FDIC’s special assessment leads to expanded membership.
7 Steps to a Successful Regulatory Audit
Preparation is key to passing a regulatory exam with flying colors. These tips for the stages before, during and after an audit will ensure your bank and management impress regulators.
Charles Potts: 4 Natural Advantages of Solution Provider Partnerships
I have been evangelizing for a while about the importance of strategic partnerships, and now, we’ve come to a place where these very relationships are bolstering community banks’ businesses.
Elkhorn Valley Bank & Trust: The Bankers Behind the Screen
Elkhorn Valley Bank & Trust strikes a balance between personalized service and quick convenience with its growing collection of Teller On Demand kiosks.
Lindsay LaNore: 7 Essentials for Your Leadership Backpack
It’s August, and for many, it’s time to get back to school. Supply lists are on their way, reminding us to get organized for the coming year.
A Compelling Employee Perk: Education Benefits
Investing in employees’ professional growth has proven to contribute to their success and retention rates. What steps can banks and their leadership take to help employees along their career paths?
Lucas White: Getting Comfortable With Fintechs
When I first got involved with ICBA’s ThinkTECH Accelerator, I must admit that I believed fintechs were scary.
8 Budgeting Ideas That Support Growth
Smart budgeting allows for adaptation to changing financial and economic conditions. But the most important thing, say experts, is that community banks focus on investing in what’s working for them.
Powering Potential: Fuel Your Team's Career Growth
ICBA Education’s Professional Development Planner provides clear direction for community banks aiming to support the career growth of their staff.
Out of Office: Rich Ohnmacht
The executive vice president and chief commercial banking officer of $425 million‑asset Woodsboro Bank in Woodsboro, Md., shares his passion for the saxophone and what keeps him playing.
6 Things to Consider Before Opening a New Branch
A new branch can present new opportunities for community banks—if you plan thoroughly and calculate the risk involved.
Charles Potts: Making the Case for Responsible Innovation
The rapid pace of today’s financial services landscape pulls community banks in varied directions. You must balance technology upgrades with budgetary constraints and identify pressing priorities.
CFO Roundtable 2024: Preparation, Perspective, Diligence
This past year has been one of fluctuation for many community banks, amid inflation, rule changes and other uncertainties.