Main Street Matters Blog

Since we started seeing Halloween decorations in August, I felt it was high time we started thinking about the Holiday season. More specifically, as it relates to community banking. And still more specifically, about a checklist for the balance sheet. There are some seasonal items that bear attention prior to, and immediately after, year end. So let’s take a look at what may be on the radar for the fourth quarter.

The large bank failures of 2023 demonstrated the clear need to reform the nation’s deposit insurance system. With lawmakers working to gather input and offer deposit reform proposals, ICBA has worked with community bankers to shape recommended reform principles to inform this much-needed debate.

With the federal government discontinuing new penny production, community bankers and the consumers they serve have many questions about what the change will mean for them.

Last month, ICBA’s legislative team conducted a community bank briefing to help familiarize community banks with the ins and outs of the recently passed GENIUS Act, which introduced a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins.

Get to know the staff members that support your bank and its payments business. We’re here to power your potential. See how our talented staff are well positioned to help.

Battling fraud in today’s environment resembles the itsy bitsy spider climbing up the waterspout: just as you think you’ve reached a point of effective mitigation, a new scam emerges, dousing you in a new attack approach that can wash you out. And then you have to start that risk-mitigation ascent all over again.

My colleague Rhena Leitermann, treasury management operations manager at Citizens Bank of Las Cruces, and I recently sat down to discuss the state of fraud at our bank, in our market, and around the country. While I knew the level of sophistication had risen dramatically, it’s alarming to hear the lengths fraudsters are going through to obtain personal information. We now have seen fraudulent texts followed up with a FaceTime call to get a screenshot of the customer’s face and a snippet of their voice.

ICBA and community bankers have long warned about the dangers of tax-exempt credit unions acquiring tax-paying community banks, a concerning trend that peaked last year and has continued in 2025.

In just a few short weeks, the fixed-income market’s expectations for monetary policy have done a virtual about-face. This is not to say that investors are fickle. Some of this change in sentiment is data driven; some is Trump administration officials’ cajoling; and some is Federal Reserve Board chairman Jay Powell’s comments in Jackson Hole, Wyoming on August 22. Regardless, market indicators have shifted from zero or one rate cuts for the rest of 2025, to as many as four.

Every great leader has a moment when they’re called to step up—to lead with clarity, purpose, and excellence. For the next generation of community bank leaders, that moment is now.