What the Big Beautiful Bill does for Banking

Bankers Applaud Passage of the

One Big Beautiful Bill

"With President Trump’s signature on the One Big Beautiful Bill, we’ve delivered a victory for the American people. From reining in the unaccountable Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to defunding wasteful Green New Deal spending, to eliminating a Securities and Exchange Commission slush fund, I’m proud of the Banking Committee’s important provisions," said Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. Leaders of America's banking associations agreed.

"We appreciate the many positive provisions of the bill that will promote and sustain economic growth in the local communities that community banks serve," said Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey. She pointed to inclusion in the bill of:

-An ACRE Act policy to make 25% of interest income on agriculture and ranch real estate loans exempt from federal taxation, which will provide needed interest rate relief for U.S. farmers and ranchers.

-Making permanent the Section 199A deduction to support Subchapter S community banks and other pass-through businesses.

-Making permanent lower individual rates, a higher estate tax exemption, and a higher alternative minimum tax exemption to promote economic growth.

At the American Bankers Association, President and CEO Rob Nichols said, "Having certainty about the tax code moving forward will allow banks of all sizes and their more than two million employees to provide even more support to the U.S. economy." He noted other provisions of the bill that are also helpful to banking, including:

-An exemption from remittance tax for almost all transfers from banks and thrifts.

-A permanent increase to the state housing credit ceiling and a lowering of the bond-financing threshold for projects financed by bonds, beginning in 2026.

-Permanent extension of the New Markets Tax Credits that banks use to support growth in distressed communities.

All of the Friends of Traditional Banking-endorsed Members of Congress voted for the bill.

Kisch of Vermont Joins Banker Board

Jim Kisch is the newest member of FOTB's Nationwide Banker Board. He joined Passumpsic Bank in 2016 as Chief Executive Officer and President. His banking career and executive development began while attending the University of Minnesota, working for Norwest Bank (now Wells Fargo). Over the years, Jim has held a range of executive roles in the banking industry, including Chief Information Officer at Sunrise Banks and President of the Minnesota Bankers Association’s Insurance and Service Division and Consulting Group.

Before joining Passumpsic Bank, Jim served as Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder of Continuity, an Inc. 500 technology company based in New Haven, Connecticut, that provided regtech solutions to community financial institutions nationwide.

A strong advocate for community banking, Jim actively serves nonprofit and trade organizations. He is a Board Member of the New Hampshire Bankers Association and Past Chairman of the Vermont Bankers Association. Jim is a graduate of the University of Minnesota-St. Paul and the Graduate School of Banking - University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Mullett to Represent Virginia on Banker Board

Brace Mullett has been welcomed as the representative from Virginia on FOTB's Nationwider Banker Board. He is the Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel and Senior Vice President for City Holding Company in Charleston, WV. At City, Brace oversees the legal affairs of the bank as well as leading the Internal Audit, Compliance, Bank Secrecy Act, Community Reinvestment Act, Fair Lending and Loan Review Departments. Prior to joining City in 2010, he was a partner with Dinsmore & Shohl in the firm’s Charleston office for a number of years.

Brace currently serves as a member of the West Virginia Bankers’ Association’s Board of Directors and is Chairman of the Virginia Bankers’ Association Legal Affairs Committee. Brace is also an active member of the bar, including service as the former President of the Kanawha County Bar Association, a Board Member for Legal Aid of West Virginia, the Chairman of the In-House Counsel Committee of Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia and as a member of the Association of Corporate Counsel. He has also served the West Virginia Ethics Commission as a Hearing Examiner. Brace is a graduate of Concord University, the Washington & Lee University School of Law, and the American Bankers Association’s Stonier Graduate School of Banking. He has served his alma mater, Concord, as a member of its Board of Governors and as a part-time professor. Brace has been recognized multiple times by his peers as a Super Lawyer in Law & Politics magazine and was featured by Modern Counsel for his work as General Counsel for City.

BANKER NEWS BITS:

Banks say Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ could boost the U.S. economy – despite deficit concerns, reports CNBC. “I think the OBBB would almost unquestionably be good for the US economy over the next couple of years compared to passing nothing,” said David Seif in the article, Nomura’s chief economist for developed markets, given that taxes will rise substantially next year following the expiry of many provisions under Trump’s 2017 tax bill.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is undergoing a fundamental retrenchment thanks to the OBBB. The National Law Review points out that the CFPB's access to funding was cut nearly 50%, as "the bill lowers the cap from 12% to 6.5% of the Federal Reserve’s total operating expenses for the fiscal year 2009, adjusted each year for inflation."

Senate banking leaders move forward with major digital asset market structure discussions, according to Fox Business. Senate banking leaders released an initial discussion draft for digital asset market structure legislation that would reshape the cryptocurrency industry when the bill is formally introduced.

Senator Warren warns potential BNY merger with Northern Trust may violate federal banking laws, per Reuters. Senator Elizabeth Warren has warned BNY that its reported interest in a merger with Northern Trust could violate federal banking laws, saying any potential deal between the two large custody banks raises antitrust concerns.

SPONSOR'S CORNER

Risks / Benefits of Banks and

Artificial Intelligence

A message from our sponsor BankOnITUSA:

You may already be using AI. Whether it's your employees or vendors, your bank is likely already benefiting from and accepting the risks associated with Artificial Intelligence. Collectively, we are at the early stages of AI. If your bank is one of the 96% of community banks in the country and you are exploring the use of AI, consider the following as the first steps in assessing AI utilization.

Discovery: Ask your staff if they are using tools such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, or a multitude of other AI tools, and how they are utilizing those applications.

Determine: Determine how your bank should be using AI. You may be OK with some AI uses, but you likely do not want confidential customer information input into any AI applications. Involving the board in this discussion and documenting your decisions in the IT committee and board minutes is recommended.

Policy and Risk Assessment: Develop a policy regarding the use of AI. For the use of various AI applications, perform a risk assessment and document that assessment.

Controls: Implement controls, such as web content filtering, to limit access to applications that the bank has determined are not suitable for its use. Employees have many ways to access AI outside of the bank's control (on their phones, from home, tablets, etc.); incorporate approved uses of AI into employee acceptable use statements and employee training.

Learn more info and tips about banks and AI usage in the CEO Update from our platinum sponsor, BankOnIt HERE: https://insights.bankonitusa.com/ceo-update-q3-2025

Want to provide content in our Sponsor's Corner? Reach out about being a partner! mike@friendsoftraditionalbanking.com

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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.