ICBA

More than a decade ago, bankers fought Walmart tooth and nail as it made forays into banking. But with Amazon making more moves into financial services, the reaction is very different.

Rebeca Romero Rainey, while known as compassionate banker and less of a firebrand than her predecessor at the trade group, will take firm stands for small banks on reg relief, innovation and fair play, say those who know her.

Independent Community Bankers of America CEO Camden Fine said his group “will not participate in making the perfect the enemy of the good” when it comes to further amending the regulatory relief bill.

With substantial regulatory relief within reach, community bankers should use their clout to shape cybersecurity policy and ensure a level playing field for banks and nonbanks, retiring ICBA chief Cam Fine says.

Timothy Zimmerman is optimistic about regulatory relief and the capabilities of the association's next CEO, but he remains wary of nonbank competition and cybersecurity risk.

Financial institutions and retail companies are trading barbs over which industry poses greater risk to sensitive customer information just as lawmakers are planning to take another stab at a data security bill.

Camden R. Fine and the Independent Community Bankers of America would be better off if they spent more time protecting community banks and less time attacking credit unions.

Credit union groups were scrambling Wednesday to respond to a letter from Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch questioning whether the industry had outgrown its income-tax exemption.

Four financial trade associations sent a letter to Senate leaders touting the regulatory relief bill as "example of how our elected leaders can advance necessary solutions by working together and across the aisle."

Twenty-two trade groups, including seven financial trade groups, sent a letter to House lawmakers calling for new data security standards that would preempt state law.

A regulatory relief package is likely to come out of the Senate in the new year, and lawmakers could follow it up with a housing finance reform push. But the midterm elections could cause some reform initiatives to grind to a halt.

Seven trade associations — including those representing banks and credit unions — sent a joint letter to Congress outlining data security standards for entities that handle financial data.

Credit union trade associations lauded lawmakers while bankers -- predictably -- lamented the news.

The trade group wants Equifax to reimburse community banks for costs tied to the massive data breach at the credit bureau this year. The ICBA also wants a court to order Equifax to improve its security measures.

Bankers are generally happy with the House Republican tax plan released last week, but one provision of the proposed overhaul is likely to give them pause: a cutback in the deduction for deposit insurance premiums.

CUNA and NAFCU cautioned, however, that the bill is by no means final and could still change.

Discussions on a regulatory relief package between the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Banking Committee broke down late Tuesday, but members from both parties remain hopeful they can reach a bipartisan deal.

Discussions on a regulatory relief package between the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Banking Committee broke down late Tuesday, but members from both parties remain hopeful they can reach a bipartisan deal.

In a moment of rare unity, the Independent Community Bankers of America and National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions sent a joint letter to FHFA arguing to stop the GSEs' profit sweep.

The Independent Community Bankers of America is formally opposing a bank charter application by payments processor Square, accusing it of trying to “avoid” certain “legal prohibitions and restrictions.”