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Get ready for exciting election year where races will impact banking!
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The races of the Winter Games are over, the State of the Union has been declared, and races that will shape the 2026 electoral contests are now taking shape! Many of these races
will be extremely close, and the outcome of a number of them will have a tremendous impact for our industry.
Tens of thousands of Main Street bankers from coast to coast are getting this newsletter and will participate in helping us select who will be the top endorsements!
Be looking at Congressional races in your part of the country. As Friends of Traditional Banking, we only select the most critical two or three races to endorse. But when we
do, the donations pouring in from bankers around the country can TIP THE SCALES!
So which Senate races will we weigh in on? We will be looking closely at the open
Senate
seat in Michigan, the open
Senate
seat in North Carolina (replacing past FOTB-endorsed Senator Thom Tillis), and other Senate races that
will
be toss-ups.
Which House races will we weigh in on? We will be looking closely at the open House seats in swing districts like Arizona's 1st Congressional District (replacing past FOTB-endorsed
Rep. David Schweikert), Nebraska's 2nd District, Michigan's 10th District, and other House races that
will
be toss-ups.
In the months ahead, FOTB will be gathering YOUR ideas for races we should get involved in that affect our great industry. Stay tuned for more monthly updates!
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Matt Davis to Represent Maryland on Banker Board
Matthew Davis, President of Farmers Bank of Willards, has been selected to represent Maryland on Friends of Traditional Banking's
Nationwide
Banker Board. He joined the community-focused bank serving the Delmarva Peninsula in 2017 and, after several years of distinguished service — including roles
in lending, strategy, and corporate development — was named the sixth President by the Board of Directors. In this position, he leads the institution’s efforts to deliver personalized banking services while fostering sustainable growth and innovation.
A native of Salisbury, Maryland, Matt earned a master’s degree in Finance and Accounting from the Calloway School of Business and Accountancy at Wake Forest University. His diverse
professional background includes experience in banking, corporate finance, and technology, equipping him with a holistic perspective on modern financial services.
Under Davis’s leadership, Farmers Bank of Willards has continued its long tradition of community banking — marrying deep local roots with strategic enhancements in customer service
and operational efficiency. He collaborates with the bank’s executive team to support local businesses, strengthen customer relationships, and expand the bank’s offerings across both personal and commercial banking sectors.
Matt and his wife have three children, and he remains actively engaged in the community.
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BANKER NEWS BITS:
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Community bank momentum continues in Congress
with new bill, explains
American
Banker. Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Katie Britt, R-Ala., introduced a bill to index the Durbin
Amendment's $10 billion asset threshold to
inflation, preventing more community banks from
being subject to debit card fee caps as they
grow.
The legislation adds to recent Republican
efforts to advance community bank relief,
including provisions in a House housing bill
that would ease brokered deposit rules and
streamline bank examinations.
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In Washington State, credit unions buying
banks face new tax. A new 1.2% tax
applies to gross income generated from such
transactions, meaning there are no deductions
for labor and materials, to deals after Jan. 1,
2026. ICBA's
Banking
Dive reports that "Bank trade groups have long taken issue with credit unions buying banks,
arguing that credit unions’ tax-exempt status
allows them to offer higher purchase prices than
banks."
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According to PYMNTS,
SoFi and Square show why bank charters matter
now. "A FinTech can launch a
polished banking app in months, but becoming a
bank can take years," they point out. "That
works until a partner changes its risk appetite.
If the bank tightens compliance, reprices
the relationship or exits the program, features
can vanish quickly because the FinTech isn’t the
chartered entity. In a stress moment, the
sponsor bank is the one that examiners call and
the one that can pull the plug," they said.
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CNBC revealed
that Fed officials were split on where
interest rates should go, according to the
minutes from their last meeting. Divided Fed
officials at their January meeting indicated
that further interest rate cuts should be paused
for now and could resume later
in the year only if inflation cooperates. Some
officials even entertained the notion that rate
hikes could be on the table and wanted the
post-meeting statement to more closely reflect
“a two-sided description of the Committee’s
future interest rate decisions.”
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Reuters
reports that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
says the Senate Banking Committee agreed to
proceed with hearings for Fed nominee Kevin
Warsh, President Donald Trump's pick to head
the Federal Reserve, despite a key senator's
hold on the nomination.
"I think it is important that we get to the
hearings. Chair (Jerome) Powell's term ends mid
May, and anyone who cares about the integrity,
the independence of the Fed is going to want to
see continuity with Kevin Warsh," he said.
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U.S. Rep. French Hill (R-Ark) announced he is
seeking re-election to U.S. House,
highlighting banking background and role as
House FInancial Services Committee
chairman, according to
The
Saline Courier. His campaign is focused on reducing federal spending, cutting regulations and
advancing economic policies he believes will
help small businesses and working families.
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SPONSOR'S CORNER
Community Banks Can Have Tech Advantages of Large Banks
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A message from our sponsor BankOnITUSA:
It's Unfair. More than 96% of the banks in this country are community banks, but the very largest banks have capabilities community banks don't have. It's a mismatch that results
in an unlevel playing field that favors huge banks.
A big challenge community institutions face is that they rely on technology vendors who themselves are growing to be very large and not aligned with the institution's objectives.
Whether through private equity roll-ups (combining multiple vendors), taking firms public, or M&A transactions, community-based institutions don't view firms pursuing these activities positively because of prior negative experiences.
See tips on how community banks can level the playing field from our
platinum sponsor, BankOnIt HERE:
https://insights.bankonitusa.com/ceo-update-q1-2025
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PAID for by Friends of Traditional Banking. NOT
authorized by any candidate or candidate's
committee.
Friends of Traditional Banking is a non-partisan
grassroots effort organized by bankers in 2012 to
improve the political and regulatory environment for
the traditional banking industry in the U.S. FOTB is
the inverse of a PAC--instead of spreading a little
bit of money to a lot of campaigns, they focus a lot
of money on a couple of key campaigns.
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