Around the Industry – January 2017

ICBA sues Equifax over data breach

On Nov. 30, 2017, ICBA filed a lawsuit on behalf of community banks against Equifax Inc. as a result of the data breach that exposed 145.5 million consumer records and 209,000 payment cards. Two community banks, Bank of Zachary, La., and First State Bank in Barboursville, W.Va., joined ICBA in the suit.

In its class action complaint, ICBA states that it brought the suit “on behalf of financial institutions that suffered, and continue to suffer, financial losses and increased data security risks that are a direct result of Equifax’s egregious failure to safeguard, and affirmative mishandling of, the financial institutions’ customers’ highly sensitive, personally identifiable information.” ICBA president and CEO Cam Fine noted that the breach resulted from Equifax failing to follow instruction from security experts to properly secure its U.S. website.

The lawsuit asks the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia to require Equifax to compensate all community banks harmed by the breach, and to improve its security to prevent future harm to consumers and local communities. To read Fine’s perspective on the lawsuit.

Quick Fact

$6 billion

Q3 net income reported among 5,294 community banks

---

Winners

Survey prize draw

Thank you to everyone who took the ICBA State of Community Banking survey and told us about their growth plans for 2018. Six lucky respondents were chosen as winners of $100 Visa gift cards. They are:

• Tim Kluender, president and CEO, Community Bank, Owatonna, Minn.
• Shelly Childers, director, Lakestone Bank & Trust, Lapeer, Mich.
• Donna Beckett, president, Community National Bank, Monett, Mo.
• Brent E. Davis, CEO, First State Bank, Waynesboro, Miss.
• Brad Eckhoff, SVP compliance/BSA officer, Sentry Bank, St. Joseph, Minn.
• Steve Dehnert, president, Badger Bank, Fort Atkinson, Wis.

---