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Independent Banker

The Lending Outlook and Loan Growth Trends for Community Banks in 2026

Community banks kicked off 2026 with robust lending growth, despite economic challenges like higher interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty. Now, banks are leveraging regulatory shifts, disciplined strategies and strong relationships to drive lending while staying cautious amid the current landscape.
Ag LendingLending
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2026 Banking Trust & Technology Outlook: What Community Bank Leaders Need to Know

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CybersecurityCompliance & Risk

Driving Community Prosperity with Reciprocal Deposits

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Retail BankingDigital Banking

Strong Tech Provider Relationships, Faster Growth for Community Banks

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FintechGrowth

Three Questions to Ask About Moving Deposits Off Balance Sheet

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PaymentsPayments & Tech

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Advocacy

How to Advocate for the Industry During the August Recess

Grassroots ActionAdvocacy

How to Encourage De Novo Bank Formation

AdvocacyLegislation and Regulation

How ICBA is Fighting Fraud Through Advocacy

FraudAdvocacy

4 Government Regulations Driving ICBA’s Government Relations for Community Banks in 2026

AdvocacyLegislation and Regulation

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Payments & Tech

Do Paper Checks Have a Future?

Retail BankingPayments

Driving Community Prosperity with Reciprocal Deposits

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Retail BankingDigital Banking

How New Nacha Rules Help Fight ACH Fraud

PaymentsFraud

Jacob Eisen: 5 Benefits of Digital Wallet Adoption

PaymentsPayments & Tech

In Community Bankers' Own Words

“Given the industry loss rates, you have to be more cautious on ensuring your restaurant clients have the appropriate collateral and cash flow from other sources to assist them in assuming [their] debt service payments can be made and that they can make principal payments.”

David Saber

David Saber

CEO, Park State Bank

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Compliance & Risk

Fraud Moves Fast. Are You Keeping Up?

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FraudCompliance & Risk

Free IT Assessment for Banks—Limited-Time Offer

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SecurityCompliance & Risk

1025 Fannie Mae 2k

FHFA Updates Enable Faster, Fairer Mortgages

Compliance & RiskInsights

1025 Ponce Bank 2k

Fighting Fraud with Tech and Training

Compliance & RiskFeatures

Growth

Jennifer Harris of Mercantile Bank leads the community bank’s human capital management offering, MercForce.

Behind Mercantile Bank's Payroll and HR Solution

GrowthCommercial Banking

Skyline National Bank’s president and CEO Blake Edwards (right), shown with EVP and CFO Lori Vaught (left), says Skyline reaped rewards after it kept on high-performing employees when it acquired a smaller bank.

How Can Community Banks Best Manage Change?

GrowthLeadership and Succession

Playing Under Par: Bond Portfolio Strategies for Community Banks

GrowthInvestment and Insurance

Jim Reber: ICBA Securities’ New Endorsed Broker-Dealer

GrowthInvestment and Insurance

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People

40 Under 40: 2026's Community Bank Leaders

CulturePeople

Alice P. Frazier, Chair, ICBA

Alice Frazier: Redefining Succession as Legacy

PeopleLeadership and Succession

Randy Kleikamp, owner of Proformance Pros, is shown with Wes Stripling of First National Bank & Trust

First National Bank & Trust Awards $10,000 in Small Business Grants

Small BusinessCulture

Grand Savings Bank strives to make its blog content useful and focused on the community.

Grand Savings Bank's Blog Powers its Content Marketing

By Ed Avis

CultureMarketing

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NewsWatch Today

ICBA and CBAI Support Implementation Delay, Urge Illinois to Repeal Unworkable Interchange Law

June 01, 2026 | Press Release   Interchange 


ICBA supports OCC preemption of Illinois interchange law

June 01, 2026 | ICBA NewsWatch Today   Debit Cards OCC 


ICBA, other groups urge FHFA to tackle administration’s housing priorities

June 01, 2026 | ICBA NewsWatch Today   Mortgage Lending Capital Housing Finance/GSEs 



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