The failures of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), Silvergate, and Signature Bank last week served as stark reminders of the banking sector’s vulnerability to rising interest rates and a fragile economy. However, community banks in the country are trying to reassure in general that the overall health of regional banks remains strong.
The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), a trade association for the country’s smallest banks, is trying to distance itself from the recent wave of regional bank failures by arguing that its members’ business models are fundamentally different from those of failing banks and, therefore, do not permit such risky exposures….