6 Community Banking Wins in the First 6 Months of 2026 By REBECA ROMERO RAINEY, President and CEO, ICBA following last year’s transformative year in community banking advocacy, marked by significant tax and regulatory relief, ICBA and community bankers entered 2026 prepared for a more challenging political landscape. While the community banking industry has continued to achieve historic policy successes during the first half of this year, the current environment has nonetheless required forceful pushback from ICBA and our grassroots advocates. Here are six key community bank policy successes of the first six months of 2026 — as well as the priority issues that will continue to demand strenuous advocacy outreach during the second half of the year. THE INDUSTRY’S LANDMARK POLICY SUCCESSES 1. The 1071 Final Rule’s Community Bank Exemptions Aligning with ICBA’s years-long advocacy on the CFPB’s small-business reporting requirements, the bureau’s final rule exempts the vast majority of community banks, while we continue working to address the underlying 1071 statute in Congress. 2. Regulatory Relief Legislation Congress has made significant progress on statutory relief, with the House-passed ROAD to Housing Act addressing custodial and reciprocal deposits, the exam cycle, de novo applications and more. On the heels of a successful ICBA Capital Summit featuring more than 300 meetings with congressional offices, we continue working to get this bill through the Senate while advancing the significant relief included in the committee-passed Main Street Capital Access Act, FAIR Exams Act and TAILOR Act. 3. Ongoing Relief at the Agencies While last year’s success on overturning overdraft restrictions, raising audit and reporting thresholds, reducing BSA/AML burdens, and more set a high bar, ICBA has not let up on the gas this year in advocating before the banking agencies. An ICBA-supported final rule codifies the elimination of reputation risk from regulators’ supervisory programs, and the FDIC and OCC are working to establish independent supervisory appeals offices. With a March executive order directing agencies to consider additional reforms, including changes to CFPB mortgage rules and Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data collection and disclosure standards, we are working to obtain additional relief this year. 4. Capital Relief Through Lower CBLR In addition to reg relief, regulators enacted capital relief via a final rule that reduces the Community Bank Leverage Ratio from 9% to 8%, as long advocated by ICBA. Meanwhile, we continue supporting legislation to lower the CBLR to a range of 6-8% and authorize its use by banks with up to $15 billion in assets. 5. Farm Bill Passage This year’s passage of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act in the House is an important step toward completing a new farm bill. It builds on last year’s enactment of the ICBA-advocated ACRE Act policy that makes 25% of interest income on agriculture and ranch real estate loans exempt from federal taxation, though we’ll continue opposing any expansion of the Farm Credit System’s authorities to engage in non-farm financing. 6. Cracking Down on Cybercrime and Fraud President Donald Trump’s Cyber Strategy for America and executive order on combating cybercrime, fraud, and predatory schemes represent a much-needed commitment to hardening our financial and digital 22 Community Banker
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