SUMMER IS IN FULL SWING! Here are few things I would like to bring your attention in today’s newsletter.

IBANYS CONGRATULATES:

• MIGUEL RIVERA, Fraud Manager of Ponce Bank, for his recent collaboration with ICBA on community banks partnering with law enforcement in combatting fraud.

• JOHN BUHRMASTER, Chairman & CEO of 1^st National Bank of Scotia, for his legendary career at the bank on a his legendary career at the National Bank of Scotia.

WE ALSO URGE YOU TO MARK YOUR FALL CALENDARS:

•  IBANYS’ Next Major Conference – Our Executive Leadership Symposium - October 5-7 in Clayton, N.Y. in the 1000 Islands.

• IBANYS’ EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP SYMPOSIUM is October 5-7, 2026 at the beautiful 1000 Islands Harbor Hotel in Clayton, NY. Experience a balance of education, networking, and fun: Timely educational sessions... A fishing excursion on the St. Lawrence... Golf at Thousand Island Country Club, one of New York's most scenic golf courses (Registration includes greens fees, cart, lunch, and drink tickets). Evening receptions & dinners... Monday Night Football...and, a Sunset Boat Cruise featuring an open bar and hors d’oeuvres. Attendees can earn up to 10 CPE credits while gaining valuable insights into today's most important banking topics, including AI, economic trends, executive leadership, and the future of community banking. Registration will open soon, so watch for upcoming emails, updates and newsletters for additional details. You can also visit https://ibanys.net/meetings-schedule/ for news about all IBANYS’ meetings.

• John Buhrmaster is celebrating 40 years at 1^st National Bank of Scotia. A fourth-generation community banker, he rose from teller to Chairman & CEO of 1^st National/Scotia! John is a former Chairman of both IBANYS and ICBA and a current member of IBANYS’ board. He serves as a Class A director representing Group 3, member banks with capital and surplus of less than $40 million. His three-year term ends Dec. 31, 2026. John is the very epitome of what it means to be a community banker!

• Clarity Act Action Alert. IBANYS has urged New York community bankers to reach out to U.S. Senators Schumer and Gillibrand regarding amending the Clarity Act. Read IBANYS' Action Alert.

New ICBA Guide Helps Community Banks Strengthen Law Enforcement Partnerships to Combat Fraud

The Independent Community Bankers of America has released a new guide designed to help community banks better understand how to partner with law enforcement agencies in the fight against financial fraud. The resource provides practical guidance for establishing effective relationships, improving communication, and enhancing collaboration to better protect customers and financial institutions.

This guide was developed through a collaborative effort led by Miguel Rivera, Assistant Vice President/Fraud Manager, Ponce Bank who originated the idea for the project and worked alongside Scott Anchin, Sr. Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, ICBA and Policy and members of the International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators over several months to bring it to fruition. Their combined expertise has produced a valuable resource for community banks seeking to strengthen their fraud prevention efforts through closer partnerships with law enforcement.

Community banks are encouraged to review and share this guide with their fraud, compliance, risk management, and security teams.

Read the guide: ICBA Releases Guide on Partnering with Law Enforcement to Combat Fraud.

IBANYS EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP SYMPOSIUM

Executive Leadership Symposium – Where Leadership Meets the Thousand Islands

Join IBANYS October 5–7, 2026, at the beautiful 1000 Islands Harbor Hotel in Clayton, NY, for the Executive Leadership Symposium. This premier event combines timely educational sessions with outstanding networking opportunities, offering up to 10 CPE credits while providing valuable insights into today's most important banking topics, including AI, economic trends, executive leadership, and the future of community banking.

But it's not all business! The symposium also offers plenty of opportunities to relax, connect, and enjoy the Thousand Islands:



• 🎣 Fishing Excursion – Cast a line with fellow bankers during a guided fishing trip on the St. Lawrence River. Space is limited!
• ⛳ Golf at Thousand Island Country Club – Enjoy an afternoon on one of New York's most scenic golf courses. Registration includes greens fees, cart, lunch, and drink tickets.
• 🤝 Networking Receptions & Dinners – Build relationships with peers and industry partners during evening cocktail receptions and dinners.
• 🏈 Monday Night Football – Wrap up Monday evening by cheering on the Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints with colleagues.
• 🚤 Sunset Boat Cruise – Experience the breathtaking beauty of the St. Lawrence River aboard a sunset cruise featuring an open bar, hors d'oeuvres, and networking.

Whether you're looking to sharpen your leadership skills, stay ahead of industry trends, or simply enjoy a memorable few days with fellow community bankers, the 2026 IBANYS Executive Leadership Symposium offers the perfect balance of education, networking, and fun. Registration will open soon, make plans to join us in the Thousand Islands!

IBANYS JULY WEBINARS

Associate and Preferred Partners

Joerg Proeve

Independent Risk Advisor

1775 US Highway 1 South, Suite 1041

St. Augustine, FL 32084

(717) 490-7670

joerg@breezyrisk.com

www.breezyrisk.com

Employee Recruitment, Selection, and Placement

• Recruitment standards for effective hiring
• Training importance for less-qualified applicants
•  Selection tools and testing methods
•  Behavioral traits for role alignment 

Situational and Behavioral Interviewing

• Purpose of employment interviews
• Job analysis improves interview success
• Using structured interviews
• Situational and behavioral questions
• Individual vs. panel interviews 

Driving Employee Engagement

• Engagement vs. satisfaction and commitment
• Engagement’s impact on performance
• How engagement evolves over time
• Key drivers of engagement
• Strategies to boost retention and performance 

Creating an Accountability Culture



• Accountability issues and impact
• Barriers to accountability
• Improving individual accountability
• Strategies for mutual accountability 

This program has been pre-approved for 12 HR (General) recertification credit hours toward aPHR®, aPHRi™, PHR®, PHRca®, SPHR®, GPHR®, PHRi™ and SPHRi™ recertification through HR Certification Institute® (HRCI®).“ The content of the program submitted has met the criteria for Recertification Provider Program.

ICBA Information

ICBA 2026 Educational Offerings

Thank you for your continued support of both IBANYS and ICBA Education. As we work together to serve the community banking industry, our shared goal is to deliver comprehensive, high-quality training solutions that empower community banks to succeed.

To further streamline processes and enhance the overall experience for our bankers, we are retiring the State Affiliate code from transaction purchases. While this change also eliminates the associated revenue share, ICBA remains steadfast in its commitment to supporting our state association through a variety of educational programs and collaborative initiatives.

Thank you for your continued support as we work together to achieve shared goals and create meaningful impact.

Click here to learn more about ICBA offerings including:

• Certification Courses
• Live Events
• Online Courses
• Resources

ALBANY UPDATE

• Gov. Hochul will sign a “Regulatory Reset” Executive Order today calling for state agencies to modernize or eliminate obsolete regulations. https://www.governor.ny.gov/executive-order/no-61-directing-new-york-state-agencies-reform-outdated-regulations-and-policies. The state solicited suggestions from agencies and the public and collected more than 4,000 submissions – and will deploy A.I. to comb though roughly 18 million words of codified statute to find references to fees; signature or notary requirements; fax, mail, telegraph and other outdated technologies; as well as task forces, councils and mandatory reports. The E.O. calls for state agencies to review the examples found by the A.I. tools, created in collaboration with the civic tech organization Recoding America and Stanford University, to see what rules can be eliminated or modified. Hochul noted: “A.I. is not the decision maker. Every single action we take will be proposed and vetted by human experts across state government.” The goal, Ms. Hochul said, was to “remove that narrative that New York is hostile to business or an unfriendly place to operate.”https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/08/nyregion/hochul-ai-redtape-rules.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

• NY Fed’s Inflation Update. Households’ inflation expectations increased in the short- and medium-term horizons, but were unchanged at the longer-term horizon, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Median inflation expectations in June increased by 0.2% to 3.7%, the highest level since September 2023, and increased by 0.2% to 3.3% at the three-year horizon.

• HAVE YOU READ IBANYS’ SUMMARY OF THE 2026 NYS LEGISLATIVE SESSION? The State Senate and Assembly are not scheduled to return Albany until January 2027, when a newly elected Legislature will be seated.  IBANYS has provided a detailed report on what relevant legislation passed – and did not pass — this past session. Read IBANYS’ Summary here. . .and,  for in-depth coverage, visit https://ibanys.net/newsletters/ and read the June 10 IBANYS newsletter.

FEDERAL UPDATE

Washington is quiet this week with the House and Senate both on recess and President Trump at a NATO summit. Time is running very short for the House and Senate Republicans: The House has just 24 legislative days until Election Day (and six of those are “fly-in” days.) Congress will be out for all of August, a week in September, and all of October, meaning that there are only 18 "real legislative days" left before the midterm elections.

• House Speaker Johnson is trying to reset his strategy to enact the controversial "SAVE America Act” (the president’s top legislative priority) after an intraparty feud over the bill shut down the House last week. Johnson wants to include the legislation in a party-line third reconciliation bill the GOP is developing. House GOP hardliners would likely demand tens of billions of dollars in spending cuts to social programs, which moderate Republicans and Democrats would oppose. With President Trump’s approval ratings “scraping the bottom of the barrel” and Democrats “poised to run against budget-slashing Republicans” it appears unlikely politically endangered House GOP members to enact further cuts to government programs. Senate Republicans doubt the measure will materialize --  Majority Leader Thune has said publicly and privately he has no interest in a reconciliation bill. 

• Crypto and Ethics. The newly disclosed scale of President Trump’s personal cryptocurrency-related profits since taking office last year comes at a sensitive moment for Senate negotiations on the digital assets bill GOP leaders want to bring to the floor this month.  Read more... Trump made more than $1.4 billion from his family’s crypto ventures last year, according to his annual financial disclosure filed with the Office of Government Ethics. Democrats want an ethics provision to curb the ability of public officials to profit from sponsoring or endorsing cryptocurrencies. https://rollcall.com/2026/07/02/trump-ethics-disclosure-throws-curveball-at-senate-crypto-talks/?utm_source=morningheadlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_content=07/06/2026

• President Trump & The Housing Bill. A big issue to watch this week is whether President Trump signs the bipartisan housing deregulation bill (which contains important community bank regulatory relief provisions) -- or lets it become law without his signature. The House sent Trump the bill a week ago.  If he doesn’t sign it within 10 days, it will become law automatically. The 10-day clock reportedly runs out July 10 at midnight. Trump has “lambasted” the housing bill (which his administration helped negotiate with congressional Republicans and Democrats) – calling it a big “yawn” and suggesting it would “lower home values” for existing owners. https://punchbowl.news/archive/7626-am/. 

• Meet With Your Representatives During Summer Recess. Members of Congress leave Washington in August for their home districts – a great opportunity for community bankers to strengthen relationships with local Representatives and continue educating them on community bank concerns and the key role that your banks play in the local and state economies. Invite them to your banks during recesses. ICBA’s free toolkit, “Meetings on Main Street,” walks bankers through the process. ICBA’s Take Action Center offers tools to contact officials, ways to follow-up after the meetings, track bills, and the latest “Meetings on Main Street” materials. Visit icba.quorum.us. Read a detailed article on the important grassroots process: https://www.independentbanker.org/w/how-to-advocate-for-the-industry-during-the-august-recess.

• FRAUD: The House Financial Services Committee voted to advance the ICBA-supported STOP Payments Fraud Act (Read H.R. 9331). ICBA had urged the committee to pass the legislation and send it to the House floor as an important step in addressing the recent surge in financial losses that result from check and wire fraud. ICBA had previously testified before Congress on legislative and regulatory recommendations to help community banks combat fraud and scams. Information and resources on fraud and scams is available on ICBA’s website.  

Regulatory Update

• The American Banker (subscription required) reports that much has changed in bank supervision during the past four presidential administrations, but one thing has remained consistent: the number of public enforcement actions has been on the decline.

• Fed Proposal On AML.The Federal Reserve proposed amending its requirements for banks to maintain anti-money laundering programs to align with changes to AML program requirements separately proposed by other agencies. Comments are due 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. The proposal notes many community banks operate with more limited business activities, traditional lending and deposit services, a narrower geographic footprint, and customer bases concentrated within defined communities, adding: “For such banks, risk assessment processes may appropriately be more streamlined or qualitative in nature.” The Fed’s proposal differs from a proposed rule the FDIC, OCC, and National Credit Union Administration issued earlier this year by not giving FinCEN a coordinating role in the examination process. (ICBA last month said those proposals must be workable, risk-based, and appropriately tailored for community banks.)

• Fed’s Bowman On A.I. Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Bowman said supervision and regulation regarding the use of A.I. should be based on a bank’s size and level of risk, and that the Fed is focused on promoting innovation at financial institutions of all sizes, not just the largest ones. “What works or is a consideration for larger institutions using AI in complex applications is not appropriate for smaller institutions with less complex AI uses.”  Read ICBA’s Community Banker AI Security Readiness Guide to assess the AI threat shift, what it means for local institutions, and how to strengthen third-party due diligence, update and test incident response plans.

• Treasury announced the official launch of the full “Trump Accounts” app. Established under the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, the accounts are a new type of individual retirement account that can be created for children under 18 and are limited to $5,000 annually.

• CREDIT UNIONS. After the recent major embezzlement scandal at a tax-exempt credit union in Mississippi, ICBA renewed its call to require federal credit unions to file Form 990s like nearly all other tax-exempt organizations. Read ICBA’s national news release. ICBA recently told the Treasury Department federal credit unions should be required to file Form 990.

• OCC Promotion. The OCC announced the promotion of Jamie Wilds to Deputy Comptroller for Supervision System and Analytical Support. Wilds will manage the administration, development, and enhancement of supervisory data, systems, reports, and analytics, in support of supervision objectives and the agency’s mission.