To drive growth in 2026, nearly three in four community banks are exploring expansion within their current markets, while half plan to use new technologies such as artificial intelligence to reduce costs, according to the American Bankers Association’s Community Bank CEO Priorities for 2026 survey.
The survey of 362 top officers of community banks found that the vast majority of respondents were somewhat to completely optimistic about both their local and the overall U.S. economy. Fifty-eight percent said they expected to see significant growth in their bank’s geographic footprint, with 21% expecting growth outside their footprint. Most officers expected their institutions to grow organically within their footprints, although many said that new technologies and new products and services would help drive growth.
Asked about the greatest threat to their growth prospects, the top answers were core deposit growth, competition from nonbanks, competition from other banks, recruiting and retaining talent, and competition from credit unions. However, when asked “what keeps you up at night,” cybersecurity and data breaches were the top answer at 73%, with core deposit growth following closely behind at 72%.
