The recent decline might be due in part to regulations, such as the Volcker rule and the Supplementary Leverage Ratio, aimed at making the financial system safer and sounder, as well as to changes firms may have made on their own, perhaps in reaction to the experience of the financial crisis.
It has highlighted the vital links between community banks and small businesses, the availability of credit in low- and moderate-income communities, how community banks support their local communities in times of crisis, and the impact of technology. A critical feature of the research sessions is that community bankers join academic moderators to provide feedback from a practitioner’s perspective.