Executive Letter: A Strong Finish to 2025
By Rose Oswald Poels
The end of the year serves as a time to reflect on all we have achieved. We said goodbye to the penny, secured several monumental advocacy wins, and debuted new education offerings to help bankers stay up-to-date in a rapidly evolving technology and fraud landscape. WBA is a member-driven association, and our success is rooted in the insight and active engagement of bankers across the state.
I am proud of the meaningful achievements WBA’s advocacy efforts made this year at both the state and federal levels. In Wisconsin, our government relations team remained vigilant and advocated in areas including interchange, fraud, cryptocurrency kiosks, tax parity, merchant category codes, artificial intelligence, and trust law changes to modernize and update aspects of Wisconsin’s trust code. On the federal level, several long-standing priorities moved forward, including the enactment of the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act and a modified version of the Access to Credit for our Rural Economy (ACRE) Act. Regulators also responded to sustained industry engagement by pausing and re-proposing the CFPB’s Section 1071 rule, rescinding the new CRA framework, vacating the CFPB’s Section 1033 rule, and extending the FDIC and OCC exam cycles. The outcomes help preserve flexibility for banks while reinforcing regulation that supports access to credit and consumer protection.
Our advocacy efforts hinge on the active involvement of bankers, too. We promoted grassroots alerts throughout the year, and a strong volume of outreach from our membership was critical to protecting our industry. We had over 320 bankers show up for Capitol Day to speak directly with lawmakers on key issues affecting community banks statewide — and we anticipate another impactful turnout for the next Capitol Day happening on February 11. Additionally, bankers’ continued support of Wisbankpac and the Alliance for Bankers Conduit furthered our reach. Your generous contributions helped surpass our fundraising goal of $300,000, with total support now exceeding $302,000. Thank you to all members who took an active part in advocating on behalf of our banks and customers.
Beyond our many legislative wins, education remained a central focus of WBA’s work in 2025. Education allows us to support bankers serving their communities, so we strive to provide timely resources in a rapidly evolving world. Notably, WBA hosted its inaugural Fraud Summit, which brought bankers, regulators, and industry experts together to confront the rise of AI and increasingly sophisticated scam attempts. We shape our education efforts based on banker participation and feedback to successfully equip you all with useful tools and knowledge to help your customers. In response to a growing amount of interest in role-based networking, we are unveiling the Banker Only Forum Memberships in the New Year to better help bankers share their experience and insight directly with each other.
I want to sincerely thank you all for a successful 2025. I am grateful to work alongside so many smart and dedicated individuals who take pride in promoting Wisconsin’s banking industry and protecting the financial success of communities across the state. I look forward to the year ahead and wish all of you a happy and healthy New Year!
