2025 Pub. 4 Issue 4

NICB Endorsed Partners Bankers Compliance Consulting — Dave Dickenson Barret Graduate School of Banking — Memphis, Tennessee Community Bankers Webinar Network — Financial Ed Dell Computers ICBA Securities — Jim Reber ICBA Bancard NICB-CBAK Liquidity Program Spectrum Financial — Fee Income with Credit Insurance Products/Services, Identity Theft Program, Flood Determinations — Scott Votava Travelers Insurance […]

Fraud isn’t only a risk to manage within financial institutions; it’s quickly becoming one of the most critical tests of trust between banks and their clients.

With rising consumer expectations, growing competition and ongoing economic uncertainty, banks can no longer rely on outdated, one-size-fits-all overdraft programs or legacy small-dollar loan offerings. Yet many institutions are still using ad hoc or legacy systems that lack transparency, adaptability and actionable insight.

The evolution of banking and risk management over the past few decades has been nothing short of remarkable. From paper-ledger loan reviews to digital spreadsheets and now to artificial intelligence, each leap has brought efficiencies that reshape how financial institutions assess credit risk.

We are suddenly mid-decade of the 2020s, and if there’s a recurring theme, it’s “anomaly.” First, record low yields and rates. (Remember the 10-year treasury note hitting 0.55% in July 2020?) Then, record rate hikes of 525 basis points concentrated in a torturous 16-month window, followed by the longest-ever inverted yield curve of well over

When it comes to community banking, we are a nation unto ourselves. When I traveled to the World Savings Bank Institute Conference, attendees from other countries were shocked to hear about the number of community banks we have and how our model fuels the success of our small business economy. Globally, no other country can boast such a robust business environment, one driven by nearly 35 million small and micro-organizations, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration, and enabled by our community banking model.