NewsWatch Today

ICBA Rural America and Agriculture Committee Chairman Gus Barker told Congress that community banks have served rural America well for decades and play a vital role in the economic prosperity of small businesses, farms, and families in thousands of local communities.

The persistent growth of romance confidence scams emphasizes the urgent need for policymakers to prioritize national security, counter illicit finance uses of cryptocurrency, and improve information sharing with community banks, ICBA told Congress.

The Federal Open Market Committee voted to cut target interest rates by 50 basis points due to improved confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward its 2% goal.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a circular that says a financial institution violates the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and Regulation E if “there is no proof that it has obtained consumers’ affirmative consent before levying overdraft fees for ATM and one-time debit card transactions.”

As advocated by ICBA, the FDIC approved a new statement of policy on bank mergers that for the first time explicitly states that additional scrutiny may be needed for deals involving tax-exempt credit unions.

The OCC approved a final rule updating its regulations for business combinations involving national banks and federal savings associations and a policy statement clarifying its review of applications under the Bank Merger Act.

The Justice Department announced that it is withdrawing its 1995 bank merger guidelines, saying its 2023 merger guidelines for all industries will be its sole and authoritative policy.

ICBA Rural America and Agriculture Committee Chairman Gus Barker is scheduled to testify before Congress this week on streamlining and coordinating support for rural small businesses.

More than 40 private-sector companies will join a group of central banks in Project Agorá, which will explore how tokenization and a wholesale central bank digital currency could enhance cross-border payments.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network called on small businesses to begin filing initial beneficial ownership reports under the Corporate Transparency Act.

ICBA issued a guide to help community bankers participate in the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act review process launched by banking regulators this year.

Federal banking regulators extended until Oct. 30 the comment period on a request for information on bank-fintech arrangements.