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| | Tackling the Challenges of Penny Circulation |
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| | In a letter to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill (R-AR) and eight committee Republicans said they are concerned by the Federal Reserve’s decision to cease accepting penny deposits or orders at many coin terminal locations. | | Today, the Federal Reserve announced that beginning January 14, it will resume accepting pennies from banks at commercial coin distribution locations. Also of key importance, the Fed will monitor the inflows of pennies and determine whether expansion of ordering options for pennies is feasible. | | This is a positive development and one that could help begin to ease the deposit and supply challenges that followed the end of production of pennies by the U.S. Mint in November of last year. | | Thank you for your continuing outreach on this issue. We also would like to express our appreciation to the members of the North Carolina delegation in Congress for recognizing this as a priority issue and elevating this issue with the U.S. Treasury and with the Federal Reserve. | | We will continue to update you as we learn more. |
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| | Closing the Stablecoin Loophole |
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| | The NCBA is continuing to urge members of the NC delegation to use proposed market structure legislation to close the stablecoin interest loophole. | | As part of our advocacy, NCBA joined with state bankers associations in sending a joint letter to Congress urging lawmakers to clarify and enforce the statutory prohibition on payment stablecoin issuers and affiliated platforms offering yield, rewards or interest to stablecoin holders, citing the potential harm to economic activity. |
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| | Trump Administration Orders Agencies to Speed Up Reclassification of Cannabis |
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| | President Trump has ordered federal agencies to quickly implement an existing proposal to reclassify marijuana to expand the availability of cannabis for medicinal purposes. The executive order directs agencies to begin moving forward with the plan to transfer cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). |
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| Upcoming Training and Events |
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| | While the NCBankers Bulletin took a brief break for the holidays, several notable developments unfolded across the banking industry. We’ve rounded up a few key headlines below to help you catch up on what happened during the Bulletin’s hiatus. |
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| Hill Confirmed as FDIC Chairman |
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| | Shortly before Christmas, the Senate voted to confirm the nominations of nearly 100 people to positions with the federal government, including Travis Hill to be FDIC chairman. Hill had been serving as Acting Chairman since January 20, 2025. |
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| | A U.S. District Court judge has ruled that the Trump administration must continue to seek funding for the CFPB. A union representing CFPB employees filed the lawsuit, alleging the Trump administration is illegally seeking to shut down the bureau. |
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| In related news, a coalition of 22 Democratic state attorneys general, including North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson, have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the defunding of the CFPB and argue that the Trump Administration is making it harder to stop predatory lenders, scammers, and other bad actors. |
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| Fed Seeks Comment on “Payment Account” Concept |
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| | The Federal Reserve is seeking comment on whether to create a new “payment account” category that certain financial institutions could use for the limited purpose of clearing and settling payments. |
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| Filing Period Opens for 2025 HMDA Data |
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| | The CFPB has opened the filing period so that banks can use the HMDA platform to upload loan/application registers, review edits, certify the accuracy and completeness of the data, and submit HMDA data collected in 2025. |
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| OCC’s Stance on Escrow Laws |
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| | The OCC has proposed two rules to clarify that national banks are exempt from state laws regulating payment of interest on real estate escrow accounts. |
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| Banks Lead Business NC’s Top 20 NC Stocks for 2025 |
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| | Several North Carolina–based banks and financial services companies were among the top performers on Business North Carolina’s list of the state’s best-performing stocks of 2025. Charlotte-area BlueHarbor Bank posted a 42% gain, with LendingTree close behind at 37%. Southern Bank of Mount Olive and Asheville-based HomeTrust Bank each rose 28%, followed by Ally Financial (26%), Bank of America (25%), and Newton-based Peoples Bank (23%). |
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| Independent Banker's '40 Under 40' Nominations Now Open |
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| | Independent Banker magazine opened nominations for its 2026 “40 Under 40: Community Bank Leaders” awards. The awards recognize community banking’s brightest and most promising young professionals, with winners to be featured in the June/July issue of IB. | | Criteria: Candidates are judged on character, leadership, community involvement, and innovation. | | Deadline: Nomination surveys are due by Friday, Feb. 6. |
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| First Federal Bank Pledges $100,000 to Support Adolescent Behavioral Health Center at Central Harnett Hospital |
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| | First Federal Bank has pledged $100,000 in support of Cape Fear Valley Health’s new Adolescent Behavioral Health Center on the Central Harnett Hospital campus, strengthening access to much-needed mental and behavioral health services for youth in Harnett County and surrounding communities. |
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|  | | Pictured: Scott Childers, Executive Director-Harnett Health Foundation, Cornelia Stewart, Chair Emeritus-Harnett Health Foundation, Jeff Whittington, President & CEO-First Federal Bank and Michael Tart, President-Harnett Healthcare. |
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| | “Quality healthcare in Harnett County is vital to our economic growth and quality of life,” said Jeff Whittington, president and CEO of First Federal Bank, in a press release. “We are proud to support the Adolescent Behavioral Health Center and invest in a project that will make a lasting difference for families and for the future of our community.” |
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| Federal Legislative & Regulatory Update |
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| Community Reinvestment Act |
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| Simplified CRA Planning for Community Banks |
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| | The OCC has proposed a simplified strategic plan process aimed at reducing community banks’ CRA compliance burden. The proposal is designed to make the CRA strategic plan option more accessible and less resource-intensive for banks with assets up to $30 billion. |
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| CRA Asset Size Thresholds Updated |
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| | The Federal Reserve and FDIC have released the updated CRA “small-bank” and “intermediate small-bank” asset-size thresholds for 2026: | - A small bank is an institution that, as of December 31 of either of the prior two calendar years, had assets of less than $1.649 billion.
- An intermediate small bank is a small institution with assets of at least $412 million as of December 31 of both of the prior two calendar years and less than $1.649 billion as of December 31 of either of the prior two calendar years.
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 | REGISTER TODAY!
March 3-4, 2026 | UNC Charlotte Marriott |
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| Fed Staff Manual on Supervision of Large Banks |
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| | As part of a new push to increase transparency, the Federal Reserve has made public the first of several staff manuals on the supervision of large banks. |
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| Resolution Planning for Large Banks |
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| | The FDIC has announced proposed changes to insured depository institution resolution planning requirements to reduce burden by waiving content that “required speculative analysis or information that was of relatively low value.” The rule, including the proposed changes, applies to FDIC-insured depository institutions with $50 billion or more in total assets. |
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| Preliminary Findings in ‘Debanking’ Probe |
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| | The OCC has released its preliminary findings on alleged “debanking” activities by large banks. The report did not address the role the banking agencies may have previously played in pressuring banks to limit access to banking services for certain industries such as crypto, instead focusing on actions the OCC has taken in recent months. |
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| Marketing and Sale Process of Failing Banks |
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| | The FDIC has posted sample documents on its website to increase transparency about the marketing and sale process of failing financial institutions. Eleven new sample documents were released, covering franchise sales and loan pools, including purchase and assumption agreements, confidentiality agreements and financing terms. Additional financing documents will be released soon. |
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| | The OCC and FDIC have announced that they will not take action against banks for extensions of credit to complex-controlled portfolio companies that otherwise would violate Federal Reserve Regulation O’s restrictions on lending to bank insiders, provided banks satisfy certain conditions. |
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| Threshold for Heightened Supervisory Standards |
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| | To reduce regulatory burden, the OCC is proposing to raise the threshold for which its heightened supervisory standards apply to banks from $50 billion to $700 billion in assets. |
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| Earned Wage Access Products Not Subject to Truth in Lending Act |
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| | The CFPB has issued an advisory opinion declaring that many earned wage access products are not “credit” and are therefore exempt from TILA’s requirements. |
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| Technology and Innovation |
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| Cybersecurity Best Practices |
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| | The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency yesterday released version 2.0 of its list of voluntary practices that businesses and critical infrastructure can incorporate to bolster their cybersecurity. |
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| AI Use by Mortgage Lenders |
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| | Freddie Mac has updated its servicer guide to establish a framework for the responsible use and deployment of artificial intelligence technologies and machine learning systems by mortgage lenders. The updated sections include enhanced requirements and best practices. The changes will go into effect on March 3, 2026. |
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| Need Credits? Earn CRCM, CPE, SHRM and More! |
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| | Looking to skill up? For a limited time, North Carolina Bankers Association is making it easier than ever to invest in your professional growth. Sign up for one of the upcoming webinars from our partnered providers: |
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| Start Your Year with ICBA Securities |
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| | ICBA Securities provides a full suite of fixed income products and services for community banks to manage their balance sheets. ICBA Securities, a wholly owned subsidiary of the ICBA, also provides a full calendar of educational events for community bankers and investment professionals. ICBA Securities is endorsed by 34 affiliated state banking associations. |
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| Although the world is full of suffering,
it is also full of the overcoming of it. |
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| NC Bankers Association | 3601 Haworth Drive | Raleigh | NC | 27609 | US |
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| | If you no longer want to receive emails regarding the NCBankers Bulletin, please profile. |
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