Independent Banker - April 2022 - 44

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When the 2022/23 ICBA board of directors was introduced at ICBA
LIVE in San Antonio, Texas, there was a palpable sense of excitement in the air.
Here stood a group of experienced and passionate community bankers who have
dedicated themselves to advocating for the industry they care so deeply about.
ICBA president and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey says, " I'm looking forward
to working with our executive committee and board of directors over the next
year as we serve ICBA's mission to create and promote an environment where
community banks fl ourish. "
Terry Jorde, ICBA senior executive vice president and chief of staff , echoes this
sentiment. " I'm so inspired by the professionalism, integrity and commitment of
our executive committee and board of directors as we work together to serve the
needs of community bankers across the nation, " she says.
Let's hear from the executive committee members themselves about how-and
why-they're all in for community banking.
Q: What do you think the biggest
advocacy challenges will be
during your term?
Brad M. Bolton: Examining the
implementation of Section 1071
will be critical. We'll also be paying
close attention to and reiterating our
advocacy positions on climate risk
assessments, overdraft protection
and any further regulatory burdens.
The key is to demonstrate how
additional regulatory burdens on
the community banking industry
will negatively aff ect the customers
and communities we serve. This is
why sharing our customer stories is
so important.
Derek Williams: My biggest
concern is the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau's (CFPB) Small
Business Data Collection rule and
its potential negative impact on
our ability to meet legitimate small
business borrowing needs, including
additional costs and privacy issues.
We must also keep our focus on
protecting the 2017 tax cuts and, as
always, monitoring and confronting
credit union overreach.
Lucas White: We need to continue
to diff erentiate community banks
and educate policymakers on why
tiered and proportionate regulation
is necessary. We are not Wall
Street banks-we are community
banks. Everyone saw during the
fi nancial crisis, and throughout the
pandemic, how diff erent community
banks are from the too-big-to-fail
banks. We need to make sure people
remember that and have it refl ected
in laws and regulations that aff ect
our industry.
Sarah Getzlaff : I believe our
biggest challenge continues to be
distinguishing community banks
from Wall Street banks. In 2022,
this distinction will be especially
important with Section 1071 and
overdraft reform looming. We need
to push the CFPB to recognize that
one-size-fi ts-all regulation doesn't
make sense for our industry and the
communities we serve.
Tim Aiken: In no particular order:
the continued exploitation of the tax
exemption for/by credit unions, the
concern that policymakers will use
their regulatory oversight powers to
choke off credit for fossil fuel-related
business, relief from small business
loan data collection, and staving
off any additional IRS reporting on
customer activities.
Robert Fisher: Some of the key
advocacy challenges include
nonsuffi cient funds/overdraft fees
and limits, potential climate-focused
disclosures, lack of guidance/clarity
as it relates to cannabis banking,
IRS data collection (which we need
to continue to watch and fi ght),
public bank initiatives, credit union
subordinated debt and tax subsidy,
and Small Business Administration
42 Q ICBA Independent Banker Q April 2022
Independent Banker - April 2022

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