Reflecting on ICBA Live 2025

Earlier this month, the WMA team had the pleasure of attending the Independent Community Bankers of America’s (ICBA) annual event: ICBA LIVE 2025. Hosted in Nashville, Tennessee at the massive Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, the conference was buzzing with excitement about the newest banking and fintech innovations and catching up with industry friends and clients.

This year’s theme was “Rhythm. Amplified,” and as an attendee, you could feel the energy as thousands of attendees mingled in the ballrooms and Expo Hall. The keynote address, delivered by ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey, celebrated the impact of community banks in communities across the U.S. In her address, she emphasized the importance of community banking, sharing stats on the impact: more than 1,000 community banks have served their neighborhoods for more than 100 years. Additionally, these institutions account for 60% of small business loans, directly tying these organizations to job creation and economic prosperity.

Featured speakers included entrepreneur Dave Fishwick and bestselling author Rohit Bhargava, with each highlighting the importance of storytelling and thinking outside of the box. Fishwick stressed how community banks are the beating hearts of their communities they serve, and that every account opened, every loan, every customer was a unique story. Bhargava’s presentation focused on the pursuit of “non-obvious thinking,” a creative framework for generating new ideas. His address reminded us of the importance of strategic PR and marketing communications.

Innovation on Display

For the bankers in attendance, the event held more than 60 expert-led sessions and roundtables covering digital transformation, fraud, cybersecurity, lending and deposits, management and strategy and regulation. These sessions were informative and engaging.

ICBA’s ThinkTECH Accelerator was on full display, with the ICBA ThinkTECH Showcase as one of the key highlights of the show. The Showcase featured product demos from the recently graduated eighth cohort (AP8), where hundreds of community bankers engaged with the newest innovations and celebrated specific companies for their growth throughout the program.

Vine Financial, an AI-driven commercial lending solution, was recognized as the Most Valuable Participant, with Infintegration’s Kent Milholland selected as the All-Heart recipient and Posh.AI as the Banker’s Choice winner. The program is now accepting nominations for its ninth cohort set to kick off soon.

Catching up with the Community Banking Ecosystem

Perhaps the most important part of ICBA LIVE was connecting with new and old friends. Throughout the event, while speaking with bankers, technology providers, media and industry experts, you realize how interconnected the community banking ecosystem really is – and how impactful organizations like ICBA are in creating an environment for community banks to truly flourish.

Attending ICBA LIVE was a reminder of the power of events. For more information on the top tradeshows to attend this year, check out our 2025 Financial Trade Show and Conference Directory. Congratulations to the ICBA team for a fantastic event. We look forward to next year’s!