IBANYS’ new Fiscal Year has now begun, and our member bank dues renewal notices and invoices are being emailed -- with full details and a summary of IBANYS’ activities and efforts on behalf of community banks.  Please watch for them – and if you have any questions, contact me directly: Johnw@ibanys.net.

As our banking industry continues to change with the introduction of AI, digital banking, digital currency and so many more new ideas that will change the way community banks look at the future, our member banks provide leadership and commitment. Our role at IBANYS has always been – and continues to be – to support our member banks in every way possible, under the leadership of our 2025-26 Chairman Mark Lavarnway (Watertown Savings Bank), our Board of Directors and Executive Committee. Thank you for your continued support and participation!

REGISTERED FOR THIS UPCOMING WEBINARS FROM NEWCLEUS

We have a series of great webinars coming up from our Business Partner, Newcleus. Please take a minute to review the description below and register for this important educational webinar. ALSO: IBANYS is hosting our first virtual conference in fiscal year 2025-26, our Human Resources Conference. Agenda and registration will be out very soon.

• “Solutions for Success: Retain and Reward Your Key Personnel in Today's Economy” This virtual meeting next  Wednesday, November 12 (10:00 – 11:00 a.m.) will examine what banks are doing to keep top talent motivated — and thriving. It will review creative strategies to reward & retain employees -- From 401(k)s, SERPs, BOLI and beyond: Opportunities to make a difference for your team and bottom line. https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/QmsJkUfyQgKgKJO3p3PI1Q.  

PLAN TO ATTEND THESE 2026 IBANYS MAJOR CONFERENCES:

• Our 50th Annual Convention & Trade Show at Resorts World Catskills in Monticello, New York June 8-10, 2026 -- a New Date & Location, but still our same Premier Event. Mark Your Calendars. . . and please share the news with your officers and management teams!

• Our 2026 Executive Leadership Symposium October 5-7, 2026 at 1000 Harbor Hotel in Clayton, New York.

. . .Does your bank fully participate in IBANYS’ committees, webinars, seminars and meetings and conferences? Help your senior management, officers, employees and directors stay fully informed on opportunities available to them. . .and about activities and developments impacting our industry. Share our weekly updates and newsletters with them.   If you would like us to add any names to our distribution lists, please email them to our Director of Administration & Operations Linda Gregware Lindag@ibanys.net or to me (Johnw@ibanys.net) 

. . . Visit our website at https://ibanys.net/ to review information about IBANYS, our mission and what we do for New York community banks. We’re still the voice at the table representing just New York community banks, just as we were founded more than a half-century ago. 

Worth Sharing:

• From the Federal Reserve’s latest survey of senior financial officers: Respondents shared opinions on the standards and terms on -- and demand for -- bank loans to businesses and households over the past three months. They noted: 1) Tighter standards and stronger demand for commercial and industrial loans to firms of all sizes over the third quarter, and unchanged standards and demand for all commercial real estate loan categories; 2) Unchanged lending standards, and stronger demand for, residential mortgage loans and home equity lines of credit. 3) Standards remained basically unchanged for credit card and other consumer loans and eased for auto loans, while demand remained basically unchanged for credit card and other consumer loans and weakened for auto loans.

• From Andrew Silsby (President & CEO of Kennebec Savings Bank in Maine) via LinkedIn: “It is incredibly gratifying to have a United States Treasury Secretary understand the important role community banks play in our nation’s economy! The Community Bank industry has worked very hard, since 2008, to highlight the challenge with the largest banks in the United States having and implied guarantee by our own government, so to have a Treasury Secretary who understands what that implied guarantee does to main streets across America… and to write about it so plainly in the Wall Street Journal is both validating and rewarding as a career community banker. America is made up of regular people and small businesses and they need their local community bank to be there for them to fuel this economy!”

• From the OCC: “Safe and sound community banks support customers and communities across the nation. The OCC continues to look for ways to reduce regulatory burden and tailor its supervision for its community banks.”

. . . As always, thank you for everything you do you to support your customers, local communities, New York's community banking industry and IBANYS!

. . .John

2026 IBANYS MEETINGS

Stay tuned! As meeting agendas are finalized, details and registration information will be shared via email, the IBANYS website (ibanys.net/meetings-schedule), and in upcoming e-newsletters.

IBANYS NOVEMBER WEBINARS

ASSOCIATE & PREFERRED PARTNERS

This Month in Banking

Improving Shareholder Liquidity in Community Banks 

On this episode of This Month in Banking, The Kafafian Group welcomes Matt Schultheis, founder of BankVault Research (BVR), a newly launched firm providing independent analysis on micro- and nano-cap banks.

Matt discusses why smaller community banks often struggle with shareholder liquidity, how limited trading activity can impact valuation and access to capital, and what practical steps management teams can take to improve market visibility and investor engagement. He also shares how enhanced transparency, better analytics, and technology-driven insights can help unlock liquidity and broaden investor interest in the smallest corners of the U.S. banking sector.

THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 3, 2025

The Municipal Market Monitor is a weekly overview covering key themes of the general municipal market. The update includes the AAA yield curve, municipal to treasuries ratio, fund flows, expected issuance volume and Piper Sandler’s weekly calendar, along with brief commentary, designed to provide issuers and investors insight into current market conditions.

AG Lending Summit

November 19, 2025

9:00 am – 12:00 pm (central time)

Audience

Community Bank Presidents, Senior Credit Officers, Commercial Portfolio Managers, Loan Administration/Review Managers, Senior Bankers responsible for lending functions, any bankers that deal in the Agribusiness Industry

Topics

• Latest Economic Trends in the Agroeconomic space
• Discussions around data and communication
• A look at new advancements in ag tech

Total Hours: 3 (9:00 am-12:00 pm (Central)

Price

• $195 per bank with assets $2B and less
• $295 per bank with assets in excess of $2B

Barret School of Banking’s Ag Lending Summit will include “must haves” for successful Ag lenders in today’s Ag Economy; to not only survive but to thrive!

May 17-22, 2026

Barret Graduate School

Our three year graduate program. Annual one-week residency session.

Barret Graduate School Curriculum in Brief

One week per year for three years • 130+ hours of core classroom study • Nine on-campus case studies• Eight home study problems.

Over the three year graduate program, participants will have access to 200+ hours of training.

ICBA Information

ALBANY UPDATE

The State Budget & Economy

• After his big win in yesterday’s NYC mayoral election, Zohran Mamdani now faces pressure to deliver on his agenda – but “he’ll need Governor Hochul and the leaders of the Democratic majorities in the legislature to get on board. It is the Governor and the Legislature — not the mayor or NYC Council — who will decide whether to give Mamdani‘s administration the billions of dollars it’ll need to realize his signature proposals of free buses and universal child care.” Hochul has so far said she’s opposed to income tax increases. Even if she did agree to them, the additional revenue may be spent filling holes left by the Trump administration’s deep funding cuts. The money Mamdani needs to fund his priorities will not be won without a fight. Both houses of the state legislature have supported increasing taxes on the wealthy for the past several years, a fact that progressives hope to capitalize on as they pressure Hochul. While she continues to oppose raising income taxes, she has called Mamdani “eminently rational” and said they were working together to “get to yes” on many of their shared goals. https://nysfocus.com/2025/11/05/zohran-mamdani-hochul-albany. Meanwhile, voters in Colorado yesterday approved an income tax increase on higher-earning households to fund meals for all public school students.

• Addressing the federal government shutdown and its impact on New York, Gov. Hochul said: 1) Nearly 3 million New Yorkers could lose their food assistance in November, and that she has fast-tracked $30 million to support over 16 million meals statewide on top of the $11 million In emergency food bank funds announced last week; 2) 140,000 New Yorkers will face a 40% increase in ACA Health Insurance Premiums beginning November 1st, and 3)  heating assistance for more than 1.5 million New Yorkers is delayed indefinitely as winter approaches.

• New York State’s budget is doing a lot BETTER than expected in mid-year update...link. Local sales tax collections in New York are up 4.3% so far this year, according to a  according to a quarterly report released Thursday by NYS Comptroller DiNapoli: “New York’s local sales tax revenues rose through September compared to last year, but federal policy actions create significant fiscal risk for municipalities amid signs of a slowing economy.” https://nystateofpolitics.com/state-of-politics/new-york/politics/2025/10/30/local-sales-tax-collections-in-new-york-up-so-far-in-2025--report-says. The state is now on track to rake in $259 billion in revenue this fiscal year thanks to a six-month boost– $2.6 billion more for the 12-month period than Gov. Hochul’s budget office had originally forecast, the New York Post reports.

• A new report by NYS Comptroller DiNapoli says surging Wall Street profits will give the state a needed cash infusion next year, easing the state’s painful budget crunch. Crain’s New York Business reports. Profits could top $60 billion this year if current trends continue, which could help generate higher-than-expected city and state tax collections, DiNapoli said in a report. The securities industry contributes significantly to New York State and City through business taxes on profits and personal income taxes on employee salaries.  https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/politics/2025/10/23/new-york-comptroller--wall-street-profits-surge.

• This map shows how federal cuts affect every county in New York State...link

Legislative & Regulatory Developments

• The Assembly Democratic Majority is publicizing the new “Secure Choice Savings Program” recently announced by Gov. Hochul as a way for those working at a job without a pension or 401k. The program was designed to be New York's retirement savings program for private-sector employees who do not have access to a retirement plan at work. Hochul said more than 50% of New Yorkers don't have access to a retirement plan through their employer. The new program provides an easy and simple way for workers in the state to save for the future through automatic payroll deductions, and at no cost to employers. It allows employees to put payroll deductions into portable Roth Individual Retirement Accounts that they own and keep. https://newyorksecurechoice.com/.

• Gov. Hochul said says there will be no special session, and no tax hikes for a 'bailout' of Congress. https://www.capitolconfidential.com/p/hochul-says-no-special-session-no. Hochul said NYC Mayoral candidate Mamdani's 'tax the rich' plan would hurt NY's middle class: 'I cannot do that...'link.

• DFS Acting Superintendent Asrow issued new cybersecurity guidance addressing the risks associated with entities becoming increasingly reliant on third-party service providers (TPSPs). The guidance “builds on the Department’s ongoing work to protect New Yorkers and DFS-regulated entities from cybersecurity risks through its nation-leading cybersecurity regulation.” It imposes no new requirements or obligations on DFS-regulated entities – it’s intended to clarify DFS regulatory requirements and share best practices to consider implementing. Part 500 was amended again effective November 1, 2023. Read the guidance on the Department's website. Additional cybersecurity resources can be found at the Department’s Cybersecurity Resource Center.

Demographics

• A new mapping tool from Cornell University shows efforts to make the government work better have instead had some adverse effects. From December 24 to March 24, New York State saw a decrease of nearly 121,000 jobs, a $7.5 billion loss in federal assistance funding and a more than $8 billion loss in federal contract spending. Read More. The director of research for Cornell’s ILR Buffalo Co-Lab, which created the map, said it  shows how all the federal changes are directly impacting New Yorkers. https://nystateofpolitics.com/state-of-politics/new-york/news/2025/10/28/cornell-interactive-map

Election Results

• Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani is headed to City Hall. In an expansive address, Mamdani declared a new era for New York City, a message that electrified the crowd at his celebration as much as it likely frightened his detractors who worry this election will scramble the city’s power structure.” Mamdani will be the youngest person to run New York City in over 130 years, the second card-carrying DSA member and the very first Muslim, writes David Wallace-Wells for the Times. New York City is entering a whole new era. Depending on one’s age and socioeconomic class, New Yorkers are ‘either elated… or terrified and checking real estate listings in other states,’” writes City & State publisher Tom Allon.

• Democrat Dorcey Applyrs became Albany’s first Black Mayor, the Times Union reports.

• Democrat Sharon Owens became the first Black Mayor of Syracuse, and the second woman to win the job. https://www.syracuse.com/politics/cny/2025/11/sharon-owens-wins-makes-history-as-syracuses-first-black-mayor.html?gift=5e09037c-b24c-4541-8015-c257c8504e45

• Democratic State Sen. Sean Ryan was elected Mayor of Buffalo – its first newly elected mayor since 2006, The Buffalo News reports. 

FEDERAL UPDATE

Latest On Deposit Insurance Reform

• Treasury Secretary Bessent and Senator Hagerty (R-TN) said empowering community banks to succeed is essential to driving economic growth in America. In a new Wall Street Journal op-ed (subscription required), Bessent and Hagerty said: 1) Despite holding only 15% of industry assets and deposits, community banks account for 40% of small-business loans and 70% of agricultural loans; 2) Sen. Hagerty’s “Main Street Depositor Protection Act” (S.2999) would fortify community banks against existential headwinds by raising the FDIC limit; 3) To expand opportunity for all Americans, the banks that serve Main Street must have the same chance to succeed as the banks that serve Wall Street.

• During his nomination hearing to become FDIC chairman, Travis Hill said deposit insurance reform could strengthen depositor confidence.

• ICBA has released recommended principles to inform the debate on deposit insurance.  ICBA expressed support for S. 2999, introduced by Sens. Hagerty (R-TN) and Sen. Alsobrooks (D-MD.) and has called on Congress to consider deposit insurance reforms in a statement for the record for the Senate Banking Committee hearing on the issue.

Regulatory & Legislative Update 

• The American Banker (subscription required) noted a new survey of bank executives conducted by fintech firm IntraFi found 88% of respondents did not want Federal Reserve Governors to be removable from their posts except for cases of proven misconduct, a finding at odds with the Trump administration's contested legal rationale for attempting to remove Fed Gov. Lisa Cook from her post earlier this year. https://arz.omeclk.com/portal/public/ViewCommInBrowser.jsp?Sv4%2BeOSSucwnu1sKerrz5Xv8LeQk9j4jSMAOP7f6U0kb2DP9YdIvbLx3scaasPmUMKHbNDiZTwvb4wINPC4WHg%3D%3DA

• According to Punchbowl News Premium (subscription required), GOP Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) said that until he receives a report detailing how the FDIC has addressed its longstanding sexual harassment and misconduct problems. he will oppose President Trump’s nomination of Acting FDIC Chair Travis Hill as Chairman. Kennedy announced his opposition during Hill’s nomination hearing last week, and spoke to Hill last Friday. https://punchbowl.news/article/vault/kennedy-fdic-nom/?utm_source=briefing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=washington_am&utm_content=110425

• The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky stayed the compliance deadline for the CFPB’s Section 1033 rule, which requires covered financial institutions to make available to consumers certain data relating to consumers’ transactions and accounts upon request. The CFPB this summer requested a stay in a lawsuit challenging the 1033 rule, saying it has decided to initiate a new rulemaking that stays the compliance deadline until the CFPB completes a new rulemaking. ICBA recently called on the bureau to exempt all community banks with assets $10 billion and under. ICBA and other groups recently issued a statement correcting the record on the Section 1033 rulemaking following misleading claims from fintech and retail organizations.

• ICBA announced its opposition to Coinbase’s application for a national trust bank charter for its subsidiary, Coinbase National Trust Co. In a national news release, ICBA said the OCC should deny the application or, at a minimum, release for public comment critical details of CNTC’s business plan, extend the comment period, and hold a public hearing to provide a meaningful opportunity for scrutiny and feedback. In its letter to the OCC, ICBA urged the agency to deny the application on multiple grounds. Among them, ICBA said the application fails to meet the requirements for approval of a national bank charter under the National Bank Act and the OCC’s own regulations and standards. According to the application, CNTC would offer storage of digital assets; hold customer fiat funds and digital assets in an omnibus wallet; enable clients to access staking, financing, and trading services offered by other Coinbase entities; and explore the launch of other digital asset products

• ICBA urged the Treasury Department to provide meaningful regulation and supervision to payment stablecoin issuers and digital asset service providers—and to avoid outcomes that would erode community bank lending in local communities. Read ICBA's  letter responding to Treasury’s advance notice of proposed rulemaking on implementing the GENIUS Act. ICBA offers resources for understanding the GENIUS Act, including: A summary of the GENIUS Act for community bankers that includes insights on the regulatory framework for payment stablecoins, policies on bank issuance, and more, and an on-demand community banker briefing on the GENIUS Act and other digital asset policy developments.

• At the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act (EGRPRA) Outreach Meeting Fed Vice Chair/Supervision Bowman said she continues to prioritize community bank outreach to ensure their voice is part of agency efforts to shape a new regulatory framework. Bowman said many EGRPRA commenters cited the excessive burden created by information and regulatory data collections, including call report  requirements, and that regulators  are “carefully considering these comments and are evaluating ways to address related unnecessary regulatory burdens.” ICBA made EGRPRA comments – Read  its letter to the FDIC, Fed and OCC. 

• ICBA is urging FDIC-supervised community banks to send the FDIC data on the direct costs banks incur to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act and related anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism requirements. Responses are due Wednesday, Nov. 12. The FDIC said responses will help illuminate the financial impact of AML/CFT compliance and will be used to shape deregulatory activity.ICBA’s Be Heard grassroots action center features a step-by-step guide to help community bankers formulate responses to the FDIC survey.

• The CFPB’s Office of the Inspector General released an audit that found the bureau’s information security program is no longer effective. The OIG’s report said: 1)  The maturity level of the CFPB's information security program has decreased since last year, noting the bureau’s: 2) Authorizations to operate for many systems have not been maintained; 3) Risk acceptance memorandums lack documented analysis of cybersecurity risks. 3) Software is outdated.

• Moratorium On ILC Approvals Urged. Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Warren (D-MA) and committee member Kim (D-NJ) urged the FDIC to halt industrial loan company charter approvals until Congress passes a law defining ILCs as banks. In their letter to FDIC Acting Chairman Hill, they said: 1) In the early 2000s, the FDIC imposed a moratorium after Walmart’s proposed industrial bank raised broad public concerns, and a similar pause is needed now; 2) A moratorium would provide Congress with an opportunity to address a longstanding crack in the wall separating banking and commerce before it becomes a chasm; 3) The separation of banking and commerce promotes competition across the economy, enhances financial stability, protects economic and political systems from concentrating too much power in the hands of corporate giants, and must be preserved. ICBA told the FDIC it has a statutory duty to reject ILC applications. Read ICBA's national news release.

• Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac met most of the 2024 enterprise housing goals, according to the FHA.

• A.I. Regulatory Reform. In a comment letter responding to an Office of Science and Technology Policy request for information on AI regulatory reform, ICBA urged the White House to harmonize the regulatory framework for artificial intelligence to address ambiguities inhibiting AI adoption. ICBA has told Congress while AI has the potential to help community banks meet regulatory burdens and expand access to credit, thoughtful regulation is needed to ensure innovation does not come at the expense of consumer protection or financial stability.  

• ICBA and others expressed opposition to the Protecting Consumers from Unreasonable Credit Rates Act (S. 2781), to institute new government price controls for consumer loans, diminishing access to credit for individuals and small-business owners. 

The Government Shutdown 

• A bipartisan group of lawmakers said they had made slight progress toward ending the government shutdown, which is now the longest in U.S. history after another failed vote dragged it into its 36th day today, Government Executive reports.

• With the shutdown threatening to harm local economic growth, ICBA encouraged all sides to work together to reopen the government. In a national news release, ICBA noted the shutdown is affecting the CDFI Fund, SBA and U.S.D.A. lending and the National Flood Insurance Program. A report by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said the longer the government stays closed, the more costly the pause will be. The government shutdown could cost the economy up to $14 billion, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

• During the shutdown the U.S. Senate and Congressional Federal Credit Unions, which have expanded their eligibility well beyond Capitol Hill over the years, have seen spikes in new member applications. https://rollcall.com/2025/10/28/capitol-credit-unions-applications-during-shutdown/?utm_source=morningheadlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_content=10/29/. One of them is offering a $10,000 line of credit available for a 60-day draw period with zero percent interest, followed by monthly payments include 4 percent interest for the next three years.  

Political & Economic Update

• Democrats dominated the first major Election Day since President Trump returned to the White House. There are signs the economy — specifically, the President's inability to deliver the economic turnaround he promised in 2024 — “may be a real problem” for the GOP heading into next year’s higher-stakes midterm elections. Voters from Virginia and Pennsylvania to Maine and New Jersey rejected candidates and causes aligned with the President and the GOP. “It was, in fact, difficult to point to any significant victory for Trump’s party.” Read more. 

• A common theme that emerged from Democrats’ wins nationwide was affordability. “For all their ideological differences, Mamdani, Sherrill and Spanberger ran campaigns aimed “at the heart of President Donald Trump’s populism: the high cost of everyday life,” Politico reports. “President Trump railed against the results of several elections before they were officially called for the Democrats last night, previewing a slew of losses for the president’s party in the first major elections since he started his second term,” The Washington Post reports.

• Voters in Colorado yesterday approved an income tax increase on higher-earning households to fund meals for all public school students. Meanwhile, here are profiles of some “new leaders” elected yesterday.  https://email.thewellnews.com/2025-elections-new-leaders-to-know?ecid=ACsprvv-6RZ7Sryp6Y7JLBB_IyceKaw3YIOijeu1EkQ1chtmD9RrpPrdD3KRXOjFH_IaNgbE17n9&utm_campaign=Electorate Empowered&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8Irc83VYh0jZoSGxn8NupZMEivWXgWVA4N_nqLC_y3RWYL5Y90Sj8ScqPOY_0YTDmmdlIeZRT_Tp5E2dPREhdmrxVK8g&_hsmi=388528260&utm_content=388528260&utm_source=hs_email

• California voters overwhelmingly approved a proposal to make it easier for Democrats to flip five GOP-held congressional seats and enhance their odds of holding several swing districts – an effort to counter partisan gerrymandering by Texas Republicans with a new congressional map designed Read more...

• Treasury Secretary Bessent, suggested that some parts of the economy were already in a recession. His comments put pressure on the Fed to lower rates again.