Most community bank executives and board members are positive about the U.S. economy and their local markets, and many say their banks plan to expand their digital channel offerings this year, according to the American Banker Association’s “Community Bank CEO Priorities for 2025” report released today.
The annual survey of community bank CEOs, presidents and board members found that 98% have some level of confidence in both the U.S. economy and their local economies, with a majority saying they were “completely” or “fairly” confident in their local markets. Only 11% of respondents planned to reduce employee headcount this year, with most planning to keep their workforces about the same size or grow modestly.
Many community banks planned to continue their technological push in 2025. A majority of respondents said they plan to implement new technologies to reduce operating costs (65%), expand organically within current markets (60%) and introduce new products or services for consumers or commercial clients (54%). Respondents could choose more than one answer.
Respondents said their banks plan to increase products and services offered over the bank’s digital channels (50%), offer more personalized services (44%), add digital channels (24%) and create new digital customer experiences (42%). At the same time, more than one-third of respondents (36%) said their institutions plan to offer real-time payments such as Clearing House or FedNow. About one-third plan to offer digital account opening, including mobile and digital channels (29%) and e-signature verification (21%). Still, three in four respondents (75%) cited cost as the biggest challenge to adopting new technology.
Fraud remains a concern, with more than four in 10 respondents (45%) saying they would be more proactive in fraud detection and resolution in 2025. Forty-six percent said they already have real-time fraud detection capabilities and 37% plan to implement new real-time capabilities.
