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 Current Issue of the "Arkansas Community Banker"

ACB joins groups requesting tax assistance for farmers

ACB, the only financial institution group, joined with the Agricultural Council of Arkansas and 12 other ag related groups requesting tax assistance for Arkansas' farmers.

Specifically the groups asked the Governor for:

• Legislation exempting agriculture equipment and machinery repair parts and labor from state sales tax, like many of our surrounding states; and
• 
  
• Legislation ensuring that incoming and future ad-hoc federal economic relief funding for farmers be exempt from income taxes. 



Arkansas currently has the highest farm related bankruptcy rate in the country.


Source: ACB; AR Agriculture Council

EO requiring banks to report immigration status postponed

The White House has postponed a proposed executive order requiring banks to verify and report customers' immigration status, following strong opposition from Wall Street and community lenders who argued the plan would be operationally unworkable and risk excluding many Americans from the financial system, The Washington Post 

reported, citing three people familiar with internal deliberations.

Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence; Wall Street Journal

An article from IDHR




The 2026 HR Landscape:

Navigating the New Frontier of Work

“The world of work is changing faster than ever. Automation is accelerating, employee expectations continue to evolve, and the regulatory environment grows more complex each year. For HR leaders, 2026 is a pivotal moment—a time to rethink how work gets done while protecting the organization from rising legal, cultural, and operational risks.” 

In this article from IDHR Consulting, an ACB Associate Member, they describe the new HR landscape and how to sucessfully navigate it.

Click here to learn more.

Source: IDHR Consulting

Legislative recommendations for AI


The White House published a national policy framework for artificial intelligence, recommendations for Congress to turn into legislation.

The framework details that Congress should:

• Ensure intellectual property rights and protect free speech.
• Ensure Americans do not experience increased electricity costs as a result of new AI data center construction and operation.
• Establish regulatory sandboxes for AI applications.
• Not create any new federal rulemaking body to regulate AI, instead supporting development and deployment of AI applications through existing regulatory bodies.
• Preempt state AI laws to ensure a minimally burdensome national standard.

ICBA this month recommended to the National Institute of Standards and Technology that any guidance on artificial intelligence agents should reflect the realities of community banking.

Other AI activity:

The Treasury Department last month released two resources to guide AI use in the financial sector.

The Labor Department recently published a framework to guide nationwide AI efforts across workforce and education systems.  

The administration in December proposed removing state-level AI laws and installing a national standard. 

Recent Independent Banker articles detail ways that community banks can use AI to fight fraud and tips on developing AI policies. 

Source: ICBA

Intelligence assessment spotlights cyber threats

The annual threat assessment of the U.S. intelligence community says international cyber actors continue to pose threats to U.S. networks and critical infrastructure.

The annual report—which focuses on the most direct, serious threats to the U.S. during the next year—says state and nonstate ransomware groups will continue seeking to compromise U.S. government and private-sector networks.

The Treasury Department this month issued a flash alert 

(ICBA login required) on Iranian threats against financial institutions, an update on Iranian-affiliated cyber actors of note for the financial sector, and an alert on Iranian-aligned cyber threat groups that provides summary information on increased rhetoric and activities targeting U.S. and partner critical infrastructurert.

Source: ICBA; US Intelligence Community

Fewer workers quitting jobs

A key barometer of worker confidence has remained at the lowest levels for the longest stretch in over a decade, underpinning widespread and growing weakness in the current domestic labor market.

The quits rate for all nonfarm jobs, which measures voluntary job separations as a percentage of total employment, has remained at or below 2% for seven straight months, the longest stretch at these lows since 2015. After the Great Recession, the quits rate did not climb above 2% until December 2015.

The rate for quitting jobs most recently peaked at 3% in April 2022 and has fallen almost steadily since, as the supply of jobs and demand for workers have returned closer to balance and companies have slowed hiring.

"The quits rate is a great real-time indicator of how workers feel about the labor market," said Laura Ullrich, director of economic research at Indeed Hiring Lab. "When it is high … it shows that workers are confident enough to voluntarily leave, sometimes without something else lined up. That confidence has waned and quits now have been quite low for a while."

Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence;

Bank mortgage originations surge in Q4 2025 ahead of expected tailwinds

US banks' mortgage origination activity surged year over year in the 2025 fourth quarter, ahead of a culmination of factors expected to further boost home lending activity.

Industrywide, total one- to four-family mortgage originations jumped 26.6% year over year, with retail originations up 14.4% and wholesale originations climbing 38.1% in the fourth quarter of 2025. Quarter over quarter, retail originations stayed relatively steady, rising to $50.37 billion from $46.38 billion, but wholesale originations jumped to $64.27 billion from $50.13 billion. The surge in activity made the 2025 fourth quarter the biggest quarter for originations in over three years, since the second quarter of 2022.

US banks' mortgage activity is expected to get a boost on the heels of upcoming regulatory proposals that are expected to ease mortgage capital requirements, according to Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman.

Banks' mortgage lending activity is expected to be further boosted by the administration's focus on home affordability, including a March 13 executive order instructing federal regulators to reduce regulatory burden on banks with below $100 billion in assets so they can engage in mortgage lending. Banks also hope that falling interest rates could help revive mortgage lending.

Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence

Community banks in the fintech era: Competing for customer engagement

As consumer fintech platforms diversify and digital expectations rise, community banks face growing pressures to deliver faster, more flexible and more intuitive financial experiences. This report highlights select insights from a fourth-quarter 2025 survey of more than 340 US consumers who utilize a community bank as their primary financial institution. The research explores how these customers are using fintech services, where they see opportunities for their banks to improve, and what actions community banks can take to strengthen engagement in an increasingly multi-provider banking landscape.

Learn more.

Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence

FDIC updates rates and rate caps

The FDIC’s national rates and rate caps for savings accounts, interest checking accounts, money market accounts, and CDs have been updated and are available on the FDIC website. 

Source: FDIC

Community bankers to meet in D.C. in May


Registration is open for the ICBA Capital Summit, which empowers community bankers to make their voice heard on Capitol Hill to ensure policymakers understand the vital role of community banks in driving growth and opportunity.

The ICBA Capital Summit is slated for May 4-7 at the Westin Washington, D.C. Downtown, with special hotel rates ending April 6 or when the block sells out. Learn more and register.  

Source: ICBA