Starion Bank’s Kindness Cash Project—Each year on International Pay It Forward Day, April 28, Starion Bank in Bismarck, N.D., places hundreds of wallets in parks, stores and other spots throughout North Dakota, each containing $20 and instructions to use the money to help a friend, neighbor or local organization. In 2017, more than 600 wallets were distributed. Residents found myriad ways to use the money for good, including buying gas for a stranger, gifting supplies to a young mom and showing appreciation to a WWII veteran.

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.

Winners take all

ICBA employees traveled to the hometowns of the ICBA Community Bankers of the Year 2017 to present them with their awards. They were joined by representatives of Shazam, which sponsored this year’s awards. Read about the winners in the December 2017 issue of Independent Banker.

National winner—Joe Fazio, CEO, chairman and cofounder of Commerce State Bank in West Bend, Wis., received his award from Patrick Dix, vice president of public relations at Shazam, and Jana Jurukovska, vice president of marketing and creative director at ICBA.

Central region winner—Peter Nelson, president of Glenwood State Bank in Glenwood, Minn., received his award from Steve Heston, executive vice president and chief of sales and marketing officer at Shazam, and Brandy Smallbrock, vice president, member relations at ICBA.

Western region winner—Christopher Palmer, president and chief operating officer of Pioneer Bank in Roswell, N.M., posed for a photo next to Melinda Shaffer, who nominated him for the award, and award presenters Chip Lynch, Southwest Region senior vice president for ICBA, and Patrick Dix, vice president of public relations at Shazam.

Eastern region winner—Kathy Underwood, president and CEO of Ledyard National Bank in Hanover, N.H., received her award from from Patrick Dix, vice president of public relations at Shazam, and Loughlin Cleary, Northeast Region vice president for ICBA.