Alex Okerman

Charles Potts, Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer, ICBA About Charles E. Potts Charles E. Potts is executive vice president and chief innovation officer for the Independent Community Bankers of America® (ICBA). In this role Potts drives ICBA’s innovation initiatives, and financial technology strategies, working with ICBA leadership to develop impactful, value-added solutions that […]

AN UPDATE FROM ICBA, JACK HOPKINS, CHAIRMAN, ICBA About Jack: Jack E. Hopkins is chairman of the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), the only national organization that exclusively represents community banks. He also serves as president and CEO of CorTrust Bank in Sioux Falls, S.D. Hopkins holds many leadership roles at ICBA. He is

For Jack Hopkins, CEO of CorTrust Bank in Sioux Falls and Chairman of the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), community banking isn’t just a career—it’s a legacy. As a third-generation South Dakota banker, Hopkins has lived and breathed the values of independent banking his entire life. Now, as ICBA Chairman, he is channeling that

— Megan Olson, President  & CEO, ICBSD Advocacy is one of the most powerful tools we have to ensure the continued success of community banks, and recent efforts in Washington, D.C., proved just how impactful our collective voice can be. I want to highlight the incredible work of ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey

— Jodi Eich, Chairwoman of ICBSD, Vice Chair and Chief Operating Officer, Rivers Edge Bank One thing that is top of mind is how beneficial the art of collaboration is to banking.  Whether it is working together within our industry, our individual banks or our communities, collaboration brings together diverse perspectives and can lead to

— Rebeca Romero Rainey, President & CEO, ICBA Sometimes in life, we’re fortunate enough to see our labor yield results, and that’s precisely what’s been happening with our advocacy efforts. The first quarter of 2025 has boasted great successes for community banking, including: We saw congressional efforts to overturn the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s 1071

— Josh Hogue, Immediate Past Chairman of ICBSD & ICBA Federal Delegate, CEO, Reliabank Dakota As community bankers, we know that strong relationships are the foundation of everything we do—within our banks, with our customers, and across the industry. That’s why ICBSD’s Black Hills Retreat is such an important event. It’s an opportunity to step

— Jack Hopkins, ICBA Chairman, President and CEO, CorTrust Bank, Sioux Falls, SD As I take on the role of ICBA chairman, I do so with humility, honor and pride in this industry and our mission as community bankers. Small businesses and agricultural enterprises are the engines that drive our economy, and community banks are the

— Charles E. Potts, ICBA Executive Vice President & Chief Innovation Officer Today, personalization reigns supreme. According to Deloitte, about half of Gen Zers and millennials find personalized experiences very or extremely important in their banking and business relationships—an emphasis that’s only increased over the past few years. Personalization isn’t about simply adding a first

— James Reber, CEO, ICBA Securities and Ron Haynie, ICBA Sept. 7, 2008, was a watershed in the history of housing finance. On that day, as housing market conditions deteriorated, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two massive housing government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), were placed in “temporary” conservatorship. The shareholders, both common and preferred, were essentially