Tina Giorgio: In an e-book published last week by PYMNTS.com, “Fresh” is how I described payments in 2018. I can’t think of a time when we’ve seen as many innovations emerge in this industry than the past 11 months.

The adoption of the ICBA-backed legislation is quite remarkable given that community bankers and the agricultural community have been told for most of this year that the most likely outcome would be a one-year extension, thus pushing the legislation’s enactment into the next Congress. Passing a new farm bill is good for American agriculture and for community bankers’ ability to provide credit to support their local economies. Here are a few reasons why.

Learn what employee training is required by regulation, see what training examiners expect, and receive ideas to grow your employees’ knowledge and skills. With 2019 fast approaching this is the optimal time to ensure that you have a training strategy in place to achieve your community bank’s organizational goals for the new year.

With the holidays almost here, community banks recently received some good news that has been years in the making. The FDIC announced that the Deposit Insurance Fund reserve ratio has surpassed 1.35 percent, triggering approximately $750 million in assessment credits for community banks with assets under $10 billion.

The federal banking agencies recently responded to industry requests with a proposed rule to increase the threshold where bankers could use a property evaluation in lieu of a full appraisal—completed by a licensed or certified appraiser—for mortgage loans they retain in portfolio. The agencies are proposing to increase this threshold from $250,000 to $400,000.

Community bankers, you outdid yourselves in 2018. As we near the end of this significant year in community banking, it is worth taking a moment to look back and reflect on what we’ve achieved together.

Employees expect transparency and want to know their employers’ plans for growth and how they fit in. One way to address this shift in corporate ethos is to make sure that professional development is a part of your community bank’s compensation package.

Read about compensation packages and career development. Also inside: upcoming updates to Elder Financial Abuse.

Voters delivered narrow control of the House to Democrats, sharpening oversight of the Trump administration and bringing a raft of new policy initiatives. In a special post-election analysis, ICBA examines key results and what the divided Congress will mean for community banks and the 116th Congress.

ICBA this week kicked off the next chapter in our journey to create and promote an environment where community banks flourish with the launch of the ICBA ThinkTech Accelerator.