PORTFOLIO CHECKS & BALANCES Nobody serves rural America better than community banks By Mark Scanlan, ICBA ince the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) turned its attention to the financial challenges facing rural communities earlier this year, ICBA has worked diligently to engage with and educate the bureau on the special role community banks play in keeping rural communities strong and viable. Since the CFPB first publicized its interest in the topic in March 2022, ICBA has engaged with the CFPB, identifying the root causes and ways to alleviate some issues while challenging the bureau's perception of others. The bureau has encouraged S ICBA's advocacy. In September, CFPB director Rohit Chopra welcomed ICBA's AgricultureRural committee, members of the executive committee and ICBA staff to a virtual meeting about the role independent community banks play in rural communities. Key rural banking issues to tackle ICBA has followed up with letters to the CFPB to underscore key issues related to rural banking. Partial exemption of community banks from 1071. ICBA proposes exempting community banks with total assets of less than $1.32 billion from section 1071 disclosures related to small business data collection. This exclusion would be consistent with Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) statutes. ICBA argues CFPB's proposal exempting banks with fewer than 25 business loans annually is simply too small and would increase regulatory burdens and possibly lead to further consolidation-leaving fewer banks to serve rural America. Excusing these community banks would support a mutual point of 48 Q ICBA Independent Banker Q November 2022 Photo by Dene Miles/Adobe