ICBA: ICBA Celebrates Community Banks Strengthening Local Economies During Community Banking Month in April
In observance of Community Banking Month in April, the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) is reminding Americans of the pivotal role community banks serve in bolstering local economies, supporting small businesses, and offering relationship-driven banking services. “Community banks fuel small businesses while building relationships that foster trust and support long-term growth in local communities…
OCC: Agency Promotes National Financial Literacy Month
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recognizes April as National Financial Literacy Month and encourages national banks and federal savings associations (collectively, banks) to support efforts to improve the financial literacy and financial health of their customers. Banks can promote financial literacy by supporting high-quality financial literacy education and resources and by…
HUD: New Agency Website Debuts Focused on High-Quality, Streamlined Service to American Public
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner today announced the launch of a new, streamlined HUD.gov website that prioritizes the needs of the American public. “Providing the best and highest quality service to rural, tribal and urban communities means that critical resources online should be streamlined, concise and user-friendly,” Secretary Turner said. “The…
HUD and Census Bureau: New Residential Sales Report for February 2025 Issued
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau jointly announced the following new residential sales statistics for February 2025: New Home SalesSales of new single-family houses in February 2025 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 676,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau…
OCC: Agency Withdraws Principles for Climate-Related Financial Risk Management for Large Financial Institutions
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today withdrew its participation in the interagency principles for climate-related financial risk management for large financial institutions. “The principles providing guidance to banks for climate-related financial risk are overly burdensome and duplicative. The OCC’s existing guidance for banks to maintain a sound risk management framework applies…
CFPB: 2024 HMDA Data on Mortgage Lending Now Available
The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) Modified Loan Application Register (LAR) data for 2024 are now available on the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s (FFIEC) HMDA Platform for approximately 4,898 HMDA filers. The published data contain loan-level information filed by financial institutions and modified to protect consumer privacy. To increase public accessibility, the annual loan-level LAR data…
ABA: Foundation Releases New Report on State Hold Laws and Elder Financial Exploitation Prevention
The American Bankers Association Foundation released a new report today on the use and impact of state laws that allow banks to delay transactions when they suspect financial exploitation of an older or vulnerable person. More than half (54.5%) of bank respondents in states with these “hold” laws have used them to prevent elder financial exploitation, according…
ICBA: ICBA Applauds Agencies for Proposing to Rescind Harmful CRA Rule
Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey issued the following statement on today’s announcement that the federal banking regulators intend to issue a proposal to rescind the Community Reinvestment Act final rule issued in October 2023 and reinstate the CRA framework that existed prior to that final rule, in light of pending…
FDIC: Process for Banks to Engage in Crypto-Related Activities Clarified
Today, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issued a Financial Institution Letter (FIL-7-2025) that provides new guidance for FDIC-supervised institutions engaging or seeking to engage in crypto-related activities. The new guidance, which rescinds FIL-16-2022, clarifies that FDIC-supervised institutions may engage in permissible crypto-related activities without receiving prior FDIC approval. The guidance affirms that FDIC-supervised institutions may…