ICBA Community Launches with Nearly 1,000 Members in First Week

It’s been an exciting week at ICBA. After months of behind-the-scenes work to fulfill our vision of building an online national professional network exclusively for community bankers, our ICBA Community officially launched July 11. The numbers speak to its overwhelming reception by ICBA members. Within 72 hours of the launch, nearly 1,000 community bankers joined the platform, posting more than 100 messages about industry topics that are top of mind.

As the nation’s voice for community banks, ICBA remains committed to delivering relevant products and services for our members, so we’re thrilled to see this positive engagement in the initial rollout stage of our online community. Our goal is for those robust discussions to continue about issues that are affecting, and will affect, our industry. After all, it’s a community and community is all about getting to know one another, sharing, and helping each other out.

ICBA Community is designed to foster community banker connections, collaborations, and knowledge amongst peers throughout the country. Its rollout success is an indicator that ICBA Community is well on its way to fulfilling our three founding objectives, which include:

1. Driving peer-to-peer discussions related to industry news, best practices, laws, and regulations. The community banking landscape is constantly evolving, so having an online platform that encourages a free exchange of ideas and insights, is particularly valuable.

2. Enabling peer-to-peer networking and mentorship opportunities. ICBA already hosts several industry events throughout the year including ICBA LIVE and the ICBA LeadFWD Summit. Now those conversations can continue at the event’s conclusion, creating a steady stream of interactions.

3. Establishing a system of dialogue channels to capture community banker feedback. By providing our members with a platform to power their individual and collective progress, ICBA can also keep our finger on the pulse of what drives them to help guide future initiatives.

Accessing the Network

As ICBA members, community bankers have exclusive access to the platform—available via desktop or mobile device—at community.icba.org. For the best experience, we recommend downloading the ICBA Community mobile app on iOS for Apple or on Google Play Store for Android users.

Members simply use their ICBA login credentials to get started with creating profiles and crafting posts.

We're looking forward to seeing you in the community and are available should you need our assistance, but this forum was created with the idea that community bankers would drive the ship, offering users the ability to create and comment on posts, conduct polls, search content, and send direct messages to other ICBA members. So, community bankers, we encourage you to take this new community and truly make it your own.