ICBA continued to differentiate community banks from larger financial institutions in the news media following the failure of First Republic Bank.
Marketplace Radio: ICBA’s Senior Executive Vice President and Chief of Government Relations and Public Policy Anne Balcer told the Marketplace public radio show that it’s been largely business as usual for community banks, citing community banker social media posts that it was another day on Main Street despite the latest failure. The report—headlined “Small banks are doing just fine. Thanks for asking.”—notes that community banks have successfully communicated to their customers about how they differ from institutions such as First Republic and Silicon Valley Bank.
Additional Reports: Separately, The Hill cited ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey’s calls for policymakers to distinguish community banks from larger institutions. And ICBA Senior Vice President and Senior Regulatory Counsel Jenna Burke told American Banker that community banks should not have to pay higher deposit insurance assessment premiums due to the recent failures.
Background: Regulators closed the $230-billion-asset First Republic early Monday and entered purchase-and-assumption and loss-sharing agreements with JPMorgan Chase Bank. The FDIC said it estimates the failure to cost the Deposit Insurance Fund roughly $13 billion.
ICBA Response: In a national news release, ICBA said First Republic’s risky business model looks nothing like community banks’ relationship-based model. ICBA called on Washington to ensure any response to recent closures at larger institutions does not affect community banks, as advocated by the White House.
Industry Differentiation: In a recent blog post and video to community bankers, ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey said round-the-clock media outreach, the ICBA National Campaign, and focused advocacy efforts are helping to differentiate community banks from larger financial institutions among policymakers and the public.
