There are plenty of ways that lawmakers could help community bankers. Raising federal deposit insurance limits by a factor of 40 isn't one of them.

Top SBA lenders are warning about the impact of a prolonged shutdown. NewtekOne skipped providing fourth-quarter guidance after its CEO said the situation was too cloudy to forecast.

Brian McEvoy, chief retail banking officer at Webster Five in Central Massachusetts, says community banks are in a unique position to serve more small businesses. He was a speaker Tuesday at American Banker's 2025 Small Business Banking conference.

Park National Corp's $317 million, all-stock deal for First Citizens Bancshares would give the buyer a presence in markets that are expected to grow faster than its legacy Ohio footprint.

Nicolet Bankshares has agreed to buy MidWestOne Financial in an $864 million, all-stock deal. The acquisition will move the Wisconsin-based buyer into Iowa and the Twin Cities, while also allowing it to vault past a key regulatory threshold.

The American Bankers Association's assessment of the Biden administration's fair lending enforcement efforts makes questionable claims about a practice that remains a major problem in some U.S. communities.

Farmers National Banc Corp. in Ohio plans to acquire in-state rival Middlefield Banc Corp. in a deal that will deepen the buyer's footprint in Columbus.

A proposal before Congress to raise the federal deposit insurance cap to $10 million for non-interest-bearing business accounts would help community banks continue recycling deposits into local lending.

The president of the planned Georgia Skyline Bank says he's cautiously optimistic that his group can raise $35 million of startup capital in time for an opening early next year.

The parent company of Heartland Bank and Trust plans to acquire a smaller bank based in Carlinville, Illinois. The acquisition would give the buyer added heft in Central Illinois, as well as the Chicago and St. Louis metro areas.

Spring Bank CEO Barry Mann has accumulated a 6% stake in New York City-based Carver Bancorp. Carver has a history of underperforming, but Mann is optimistic about its chances under new CEO Donald Felix.

Treasury laid off all of its Community Development Financial Institution Fund staff on Friday, with the reduction in force notices saying that the department plans on abolishing the fund.

A former chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. argues that community banking in the U.S. is being slowly strangled by regulations that place heavier burdens on small banks than on giant ones.

A number of banks experienced major increases in 7(a) lending activity during SBA's recently completed fiscal year, as program-wide loan volume topped $37 billion for the first time.

Federal Reserve Gov. Michael Barr is warning small banks about the growing threat from fraudsters' use of AI-generated deepfakes. But he also says AI may be able to help community banks fight fraud more effectively.

In a new survey, 28.4% of community banks said that regulation represented an "extremely important" risk, down from 44.1% last year.

The Fairmont, West Virginia, bank is taking a $7.6 million hit to rid itself of $73 million in long-duration, low-yielding securities, though the sale of its payments subsidiary the week before cushions the blow.

The fund is designed to generate a financial return, as well as Community Reinvestment Act credit, for TD. Its inaugural investment is in a mixed-use project that will include 49 affordable housing units.

In a break from a 20-year history marked by losses and scandal, California International Bank in Westminster is on pace for its biggest-ever profit, its CEO says.

Though small banks have a durable customer base in the small-business sector, the decades-long consolidation trend will likely speed up, according to a new report from Morningstar DBRS.