Key Takeaways
- AI has officially moved to the top of the CEO agenda, with 40% of surveyed executives ranking it as their number one priority for 2026.
- Stablecoins are no longer a fringe topic. They represent a credible deposit and funding risk for community banks.
- The competitive edge will come down to execution, not awareness, especially in how banks operationalize AI.
Community banks have always been built on a simple promise: trust, backed by access to credit.
When I attended the American Bankers Association Community Bankers Conference in Orlando last week, it was clear that promise is now being tested in new ways. Not by another local competitor, but by emerging payment rails, fast moving technology, and regulatory gray areas that could pull deposits out of the community banking system entirely.
AI and stablecoins were not treated as future state trends. They were discussed as immediate strategic risks and opportunities. Across multiple sessions, one theme kept resurfacing: the institutions that move early will help shape the rules, while the ones that wait may be forced to react.
Across three sessions, the direction of community banking in 2026 came into focus.
AI has officially moved to the top of the CEO agenda
40% of surveyed community banking executives ranked artificial intelligence as their number one strategic priority heading into 2026.
That statistic anchored a data driven session during the ABA CCB Partner Network Lunch, based on responses from 362 executives across the community banking landscape. Roughly one third of respondents represented institutions with assets exceeding $1 billion, offering meaningful insight into how larger community banks are setting direction.
The takeaway was clear. AI has moved beyond experimentation and into active strategic planning. What once felt exploratory is now a board level priority with execution expectations attached. Community banks are no longer asking whether AI matters. They are deciding how quickly they can implement it.
Trust under pressure in a digital payments era
If artificial intelligence represents the operational shift underway inside community banks, stablecoins represent the competitive shift happening outside of them.
At a basic level, stablecoins are digital tokens designed to maintain a stable value, typically pegged one to one with the U.S. dollar. Unlike traditional bank deposits, they move across blockchain based payment rails and can be transferred at any time, often without relying on the traditional banking system.
That distinction is no longer theoretical.
During the most energized discussion of the conference, leaders including Joaquin Cook of Bank of Guam, Kenneth Kelly of First Independence Bank and ABA Chair, and Shawn Main of Vantage Bank explored what stablecoin adoption could mean for community banks.
Shawn Main pushed back on a common assumption that stablecoins are primarily a cross border tool and therefore irrelevant to most community institutions. He argued that domestic payment activity is already occurring through stablecoins, particularly between manufacturers and suppliers, logistics partners, and subsidiaries operating across state lines outside traditional banking hours.
The concern is not simply about payments innovation. It is about deposits.
Kenneth Kelly grounded the issue in tangible numbers. In Michigan alone, roughly 70 chartered banks hold about $58 billion in deposits. A regulatory loophole in the GENIUS Act, which prohibits stablecoin issuers from paying interest but may allow affiliated exchanges to sidestep that restriction, could accelerate deposit migration. Estimates discussed during the session suggested between $3 and $6 billion in potential deposit flight in that state alone.
For community banks, fewer deposits do not just mean lower balances. They mean reduced capacity to lend to small businesses, first time homebuyers, and local borrowers. The ripple effects would be felt directly in the communities these institutions were built to serve.
Joaquin Cook added a global perspective, sharing Bank of Guam’s work with the Government of the Marshall Islands on a U.S. dollar backed stablecoin initiative. His example underscored that some community banks are not waiting on the sidelines. They are experimenting with digital currency models in markets where speed and access matter.
Across both conversations, one theme was clear. Technology is not only reshaping internal workflows through AI. It is reshaping the very structure of deposits and payments.
At its core, this is not a technology story. It is a funding story, and funding is the backbone of community banking.
“Treat AI like a human”
After conversations about deposit flight and digital currency risk, the generative AI master class offered something different: practical application.
Facilitator Ben Udell led one of the most interactive sessions of the conference. Rather than presenting slides, he had attendees work in small groups, testing prompts and refining outputs in real time.
His core message was simple: treat AI like a human.
If the response is not quite right, clarify your instruction. Ask for a different reading level. Remove the corporate language. Provide more context. Iterate. The quality of the output improves when the input becomes more specific.
One demonstration that resonated with attendees involved pasting a company’s public website directly into a prompt and asking structured questions about policies or procedures. For banking teams looking to integrate AI into everyday workflows, the barrier to entry is lower than many assume.
What stood out to me was that even in this hands on session, the stablecoin conversation resurfaced organically. Questions about crypto regulation and deposit impact found their way into small group exercises. The overlap reinforced the broader theme of the conference.
The real differentiator will be who builds the habit and who keeps waiting.
Final Word
The ABA Community Bankers Conference reinforced something that community banking professionals already know intuitively: their institutions hold a unique and trusted position in the financial ecosystem. But that trust must now be defended on new fronts — digital assets, AI adoption, and shifting consumer expectations among them.
Whether it's navigating stablecoin legislation, prioritizing AI initiatives, or empowering teams with better prompting skills, the community banking sector is clearly engaged and energized heading into the rest of 2026. I left Orlando with a renewed appreciation for the industry's resilience and a clear sense of where the most important conversations are heading.
