of the nation’s community banks — institutions with less than $10 billion in assets. This year, nearly 370 community bankers from 38 states participated; about two-thirds of participants represented banks with assets between $100 million and $1 billion. The report also contains wide-ranging comments on survey topics from five selected community bankers. To read the whole report, scan the QR code. https://www.csbs.org/sites/default/files/other-files/ FINAL2024CSBSSurvey.pdf Key Challenges for Banks As in last year’s survey, cybersecurity was the top challenge for surveyed community bankers, with 96% of respondents naming it as an “extremely important” or “very important” risk; that share was up slightly from 93% in the 2023 survey. Funding costs and regulation followed with 89% of respondents reporting them “extremely important” or “very important.” The funding costs percentage was similar to last year’s total, but regulation rose from 81% in the previous year’s survey. Net interest margins and core deposit growth were other top risks linked to the high-interest rate environment of the last two years. Technology implementation and costs were cited as high risks by 80% of bankers. Liquidity still ranked as a top risk with 78% of respondents indicating that it was either an “extremely important” or “very important” risk, but that was down from 84% in 2023. Still, liquidity was considered a top risk by just 35% of respondents in 2022, evidence that the economic environment weighs prominently in perceptions of risk. Trends in Technology, Competition and Funding The 2024 survey revealed that community banks are more frequently partnering with fintech firms to provide services to their customers. In 2023, 59% of respondents reported they had no relationship with a fintech firm, but in 2024, that proportion had declined by nearly Top Challenges Among Bankers Cybersecurity, Regulation and Technology By Carl White, Senior Vice President of Supervision, Credit and Learning Division, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Cybersecurity, regulation, and technology and funding costs are community bankers’ most pressing current concerns, according to an annual survey that covers the economic, regulatory, competitive and operational challenges they face. The findings are part of the 2024 Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) Annual Survey of Community Banks. The survey, conducted by CSBS and state bank regulators, aims to take the pulse 30 | The Show-Me Banker Magazine
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