Business View Magazine | Volume 9, Issue 3

93 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 3 NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT COMMUNI TY BANKERS (NI CB) lobbyist at the state and federal level. So it was imperative for us to broaden that scope and include not only our banker members in the form of a new committee, but also to hire an outside lobby group to handle more of the day- to-day operations from an advocacy perspective at the Capitol during our annual legislative session. So, we’ve done things a little differently than in the past, but I think the end result for our membership, and the banking industry here in Nebraska, has been a very good thing.” Morrow: “NICB is geared toward community banking, which is a bank that really takes ownership in the community – wants to reinvest in its community, to see its residents and businesses thrive. So our group tries to home in on that message and protect the community banks. Making sure that not only our communities and customers recognize that, but that any regulatory or governing stance doesn’t impede that from happening. About 98 percent of banks in the U.S. are smaller community Associate members, also provide an extended leadership circle throughout the year. Eric Hallman, President & CEO of NICB, and Brian Morrow, Chairman of the NICB legislative committee, recently spoke with Business View about the challenges that community bankers are facing, the value of NICB, and the positive outlook for the future. BVM: Can you share some background on NICB? Hallman: “NICB was founded in 1969 and still operates out of the City of Lincoln, today. I succeeded our former President & CEO, Kurt Yost, who had been here 35 years and sadly passed away suddenly in October of 2018. As an association, from an advocacy perspective, we have weathered many changes since that time and have come out of it very well. “One thing we did was add an advocacy/ legislative committee in early 2020 because prior to that Kurt had been our sole advocacy