ICBA has compiled a guide to help community banks resume more normal operations and person-to-person services.

Community Banker University® has noted an uptick in the number of bankers completing online training. Unfortunately, we have also seen a few instances where bankers are completing courses, but the system is not marking them as closed.

On June 5, 2020, the Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) Flexibility Act was signed into law by the President. The PPP Flexibility Act could help organizations that may still be closed or partially closed meet the requirements for forgiveness.

ICBA is working to raise awareness of a special designation available to certain community banks – the Community Development Financial Institution.

What a difference three months make. In the fourth quarter of 2019, the outlook among bankers about the economy and the state of the industry was solidly positive. But as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty it has created, the view among bankers has sharply shifted direction.

If you are inclined to read bond analysts’ research reports, eventually you’ll chance upon some commentary that addresses the performance of mortgage securities.

While we have never before experienced anything quite like COVID-19, we can identify a bright spot: community banks rising to serve the needs of their communities.

Literally overnight — the night of March 26 — community banks answered the call to support small businesses fighting to survive COVID-19. In that one day, 3,700 institutions became new Small Business Administration lenders to support the Paycheck Protection Program.

With irrefutable evidence that the United States is in a recession, zealous market watchers are now searching for clues as to its size and scope. At ICBA, we took the liberty of crunching the numbers in search of some answers, and our conclusions point to a short, sharp, and spotty recession.

As ICBA’s Executive Brief on digital wallets demonstrated, consumer use of digital payments technology is increasing due to the convenience and speed these options offers. The same rings true when exploring digital payments apps.