New York Fed: Household debt reaches nearly $18T

Thirty-nine percent ranked cost cutting as their top priority (up from 33% in mid-2024). Revenue growth rose from seventh to second (31%). In addition, 30% said contributing to business-wide digital transformation is a top priority.

The magazine says its annual ranking includes the “experts and advocates, outside the government, who are playing big roles” in Washington, D.C., policy. It highlighted Nichols' skilled advocacy to ensure banks are able to continue providing affordable mortgages...

Banner Corp in Washington to buy Pacific Financial; Cambridge Financial Group in Massachusetts will purchase First Seacoast Bancorp New Hampshire; and Hawthorn Bancshares in Jefferson City, Missouri, has agreed to buy FSC Bancshares in Cameron.

Under the proposal, public companies would have the option of filing semiannual reports instead of quarterly reports to meet interim reporting obligations under federal securities laws.

Ann Marie Tarantino of Esquire Bank in New York received ABA's 2026 Distinguished Service Award for Risk, and Elizabeth Reister with Fulton Bank in Pennsylvania, received the association's Distinguished Service Award for Compliance.

While the regulatory landscape is looking better and brighter for the banking industry, ABA is working hard to ensure the durability of recent changes so they can survive future changes in the nation’s leadership, ABA President and CEO...