voice is heard both here at home and in Washington. We encourage you to continue this partnership next year. And since this will be the last edition of our quarterly magazine for the year, we wish you a healthy, prosperous and safe 2026, from all of us here at your community banking association. KEY BILLS ADVANCING IN CONGRESS We also want to point out the progress being made on key advances in Congress, including a number of bills passing out of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Financial Services Committee: 1. H.R. 3234, which would increase the percentage limit of reciprocal deposits a bank can hold before they are classified as brokered deposits. 2. H.R. 5262, which would allow banking agencies to forgo requesting a competitive analysis from the Justice Department for merger or acquisition applications involving banks with assets under $10 billion. 3. H.R. 5276, which would reduce the Community Bank Leverage Ratio (CBLR) from 8-10% to 6-8% and allow the CBLR to be used by banks with up to $15 billion in assets. 4. H.R. 5291, which would amend the Bank Holding Company Act to permit merchant banking investments made through a bank holding company’s affiliate to be held for a minimum of 15 years. 5. H.R. 5317, which would allow community banks to hold custodial deposits without them being classified as brokered deposits, as long as those deposits do not exceed 20% of the bank’s total liabilities. FINAL THOUGHTS Finally, please note that 2026 membership renewal packets will be sent out in December. I want to personally thank each of you for being a member this year. You have made a significant difference and ensured that our Our Mission is to Help You Succeed Partner with us for: • Loan participation purchases and sales* • Bank stock financing • Bank executive and employee financing Craig McCandless SVP/Correspondent Banking Business Development Officer Based out of Billings, Mont. Covers: Montana, Wyoming and Idaho 406.850.3790 *We do not reparticipate loans. Community Banker 7
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