FHFA: U.S. House Prices Rise 1.7 Percent Year Over Year; Up 0.5 Percent Quarter Over Quarter
U.S. house prices rose 1.7 percent between the first quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, according to the U.S. Federal Housing (FHFA) House Price Index (FHFA HPI®). House prices for the first quarter of 2026 rose 0.5 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2025. FHFA’s seasonally adjusted monthly index for March rose 0.1 percent from February. Significant…
FEMA: President Trump Approves California Emergency Declaration
FEMA announced today that federal disaster assistance is available to the State of California to supplement response efforts due to emergency conditions resulting from a chemical release beginning May 21, 2026, and continuing. The President’s action authorizes FEMA to coordinate all federal disaster response efforts to alleviate the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency…
Federal Reserve: Kevin Warsh Takes Oath of Office as Chairman and a Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Federal Open Market Committee Unanimously Selects Warsh as Its Chairman Kevin Warsh on Friday took the oath of office as chairman and a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Also on Friday, the Federal Open Market Committee unanimously selected Warsh as its chairman. President Donald J. Trump nominated Mr. Warsh…
ICBA: Financial Services Industry Outlines Proposed Third-Party Risk Management Reforms to Federal Banking Agencies
The Consumer Bankers Association (CBA), along with the American Fintech Council, Coalition for Financial Ecosystem Standards, and Independent Community Bankers of America, today released a new report outlining refined principles and proposed areas for reform to third-party risk management (TPRM) in the financial services industry. The report comes as a result of a roundtable discussion CBA…
SBA: Administrator Loeffler Applauds Signature of Investing in All of America Act to Strengthen the SBIC Program
H.R. 2066 strengthens the SBIC program, expanding access to capital for rural communities and critical industries Today, Kelly Loeffler, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration(SBA), applauded President Donald J. Trump for signing H.R. 2066, the Investing in All of America Act, into law. The legislation, which was sponsored by U.S. House Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee Member…
ICBA: ICBA Urges OCC to Rescind Approval for Coinbase’s National Trust Charter Following Criminal Lawsuit
The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) today called on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to rescind or suspend its conditional approval of Coinbase Global’s application for a national trust bank charter until criminal allegations against Coinbase’s wholly owned subsidiary, Coinbase Financial Markets Inc., are resolved. This follows the New York State Attorney General’s…
ICBA: ICBA Applauds House Passage of Bipartisan Housing Bill
The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) applauded the House of Representatives for today’s bipartisan passage of its amended housing relief bill, which includes several ICBA-advocated community bank regulatory reforms and promotes housing affordability. “ICBA and the nation’s community banks strongly support bipartisan House passage of the amended housing bill, which includes pro-community bank regulatory…
HUD: Agency Announces Regulatory Best Practices to Unleash Building and Increase Homeownership Across America
Deregulate Homebuilding by Reducing Costs, Unlocking Land, and Accelerating Timelines The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the State and Local Best Practices for Home Construction Report, a series of regulatory actions for state and local governments to increase efficiency and ease regulatory barriers to housing construction and affordability. “HUD is encouraging our state…
ICBA: Statement Issued on Executive Order on Financial Technology Regulation
Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey released the following statement on President Donald Trump’s executive order directing the Federal Reserve to evaluate the legal, regulatory, and policy frameworks governing access to Reserve Bank payment accounts and payment services by uninsured depository institutions and non-bank financial companies. “Policymakers must recognize the…
ICBA: Statement Issued on Executive Order on the Integrity of the U.S. Financial System
Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey issued the following statement on today’s executive order on the integrity of the U.S. financial system. “Today’s executive order recognizes the rigorous know-your-customer and due diligence requirements that community banks meet under the Bank Secrecy Act. As ICBA has repeatedly said in meetings with…