Blog

Washington, D.C. (June 3, 2026) — The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) today released a new guide to help community banks navigate the artificial intelligence security landscape.

Developed by community bankers on ICBA’s AI Task Force to provide practical guidance to their industry colleagues, the Community Banker AI Security Readiness Guide offers an informational overview of the AI threat shift, what it means for local institutions, strengthening third-party due diligence, updating and testing incident response plans, and more.

“The nation’s community banks are leveraging AI to strengthen operations and resilience while they work to address key AI risks and implementation challenges that warrant further attention,” ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey said today. “ICBA’s new Community Banker AI Security Readiness Guide was developed by community bankers for community bankers to help navigate our rapidly evolving security environment.”

Contributors include Andrew Pyles, president and CEO of Eclipse Bank in Louisville, Ky.; David Peterson, chief innovation officer of First National Bankers Bank in Baton Rouge, La.; Ferdinand Feola, senior vice president chief technology officer of The Dime Bank in Honesdale, Pa.; Milton Bartley, co-founder, president, and CEO of ImageQuest in Nashville, Tenn.; Danna Burchess, executive vice president and chief financial officer of First National Bank of Gillette, Wyo.; and Anjelica Dortch, vice president of operational risk at ICBA.

With community banks long serving as adopters of technology to improve operational efficiency and strengthen cybersecurity, ICBA strongly supports responsible AI adoption. In a recent ICBA letter to the Financial Stability Oversight Council and interindustry AI action plan, ICBA called on policymakers to ensure a risk-based, proportionate policy framework and coordinated action to address emerging AI-enabled cyber risk. This week’s executive order on promoting advanced AI innovation and security expressly recognizes community banks as a critical infrastructure component and adopts elements of the action plan in directing federal agencies to secure their systems and promote access to AI security tools.

ICBA looks forward to continuing to work with community bankers, administration officials, lawmakers, and other stakeholders to provide valuable resources to community bankers while ensuring their voice is being heard on these critical issues.

Abu Dhabi, UAE, 3 June: During Make it in the Emirates 2026, Metal Park, the world’s first integrated Asset-as-a-Service ecosystem dedicated exclusively to the metal industry, announced a strategic collaboration with SGS to strengthen inspection, testing, verification, and laboratory capabilities across the growing metal ecosystem in KEZAD.

The collaboration aims to enhance operational confidence, material verification, and quality assurance services for companies operating within Metal Park’s Production Hub and Storage Hub, supporting manufacturers, processors, traders, logistics providers, and downstream metal businesses.

As industrial supply chains continue to evolve, reliable inspection and laboratory infrastructure play an increasingly critical role in ensuring traceability, compliance, operational efficiency, and international market alignment.

Through this collaboration, both parties will explore the development and integration of inspection and laboratory-related services tailored to the operational requirements of the metals sector. The initiative is expected to support a broad range of activities including material testing, certification, verification, quality control, and operational inspections across various metal-related processes and supply chain movements.

Located in KEZAD and strategically connected to Khalifa Port, Etihad Rail, and regional logistics corridors, Metal Park continues to expand its ecosystem through partnerships that strengthen industrial resilience and simplify access to critical support services under one integrated platform.

Vahid Fouladkar, CEO of Metal Park, commented:

“As the metal industry moves towards greater operational transparency and resilience, inspection and laboratory capabilities become an essential part of the ecosystem rather than a standalone service. Our collaboration with SGS reflects our commitment to enabling manufacturers, processors, and supply chain stakeholders with trusted infrastructure and globally recognised expertise directly within the Park.”

Dmitry Nikitin, Head of Middle East and Managing Director UAE, SGS commented:

“As industrial ecosystems continue to evolve, trusted inspection, testing, and verification services become critical enablers of operational confidence and supply chain resilience. Through our collaboration with Metal Park, SGS is proud to contribute its global expertise and technical capabilities to support the growing metals ecosystem in the UAE. Together, we aim to help businesses operate with greater quality assurance, traceability, compliance, and efficiency across the value chain.” 

The announcement was made during Make it in the Emirates 2026, one of the UAE’s leading industrial platforms bringing together manufacturers, investors, industrial enablers, and technology providers to support the nation’s long-term industrial growth strategy.

Further details regarding the scope of services and operational rollout will be announced in upcoming updates.

New Delhi, : In a move aimed at strengthening the growth prospects of small businesses, engineering exports promotion body EEPC India has urged the government to introduce a separate credit rating framework for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), arguing that the current system often places them at a disadvantage.

The industry body has highlighted that MSMEs are frequently assessed against large corporate players in their respective sectors, making it difficult for smaller enterprises to secure investment-grade ratings despite their operational strengths and growth potential.

According to EEPC India, the absence of a dedicated rating mechanism limits MSMEs’ access to affordable credit, as lower ratings often result in higher collateral requirements and increased borrowing costs. This, in turn, affects their ability to expand operations, invest in innovation, and compete effectively in domestic and global markets.

The proposal calls for a separate evaluation framework that benchmarks MSMEs against businesses of similar size and scale rather than large industry leaders. Such a system, industry representatives believe, would provide a more accurate assessment of an enterprise’s financial health and business performance.

A dedicated rating model could significantly improve access to finance for thousands of small businesses, which form the backbone of India’s manufacturing, exports, and employment ecosystem. Easier access to credit would enable MSMEs to strengthen productivity, create jobs, and contribute more effectively to the country’s economic growth.

Industry stakeholders have also suggested that a specialised framework, developed in consultation with regulators and rating agencies, could help build greater confidence among lenders while ensuring fairer treatment for smaller enterprises.

As India seeks to strengthen its manufacturing and export capabilities, policymakers are increasingly focusing on measures that improve the ease of doing business for MSMEs and unlock their growth potential.

Mumbai, June 03: SOTC Travel, a  omnichannel Travel and Tourism Company, has strengthened its presence in East India with the launch of its latest outlet in B.T Road, Kolkata. This strategic expansion underscores the Company’s focus on deepening its regional footprint across high-potential metros, tier-1 & 2 markets.

B.T. Road, one of Kolkata’s prominent and rapidly developing residential-commercial corridors, offers access to a diverse customer base of families, professionals, entrepreneurs and young travellers seeking domestic and international holidays. The store’s strategic location strengthens SOTC Travel’s presence in a key metro market, enabling deeper customer engagement and personalized end-to-end holiday solutions.

With its integrated omnichannel model, SOTC continues to strengthen its position as India’s favorite travel partner. By seamlessly integrating its retail network with digital platforms, the Company enables customers to engage across multiple touchpoints. Serving multigenerational families, couples, GenS (seniors), millennials and GenZ, SOTC continues to deliver experiences aligned with evolving travel preferences while expanding its regional connect across Indian markets.

Spiritual tourism continues to witness strong demand through SOTC’s Darshans portfolio, including the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, Do Dham, Char Dham Yatra and Vaishnodevi Yatra. Alongside faith-based travel, travellers are increasingly opting for immersive holidays such as luxury cruises, Antarctica expeditions, Northern Lights journeys and adventure getaways. The Company is also seeing encouraging response to its Exclusive Bengali Durga Puja Special departures under Biswa Sera Darshan, featuring curated international and domestic itineraries for Bengali travellers.

To further enhance traveller confidence, we have introduced TravSure  a pioneering initiative to redefine travel protection. It is designed to meet the realities of modern travel and ensure our customers feel secure wherever they go. In addition, we also offer value-added protections such as visa rejection cover, further safeguarding travellers against unforeseen financial risks.

June 03: New global research from Ocorian, the specialist global provider of services for asset managers and owners, including private client, fund administration, capital markets, corporate, and regulatory solutions, shows that many family offices are putting themselves at greater risk of a potential cyber attack and don’t have plans in place to recover if they are hit.

It’s estimated that 43% of family offices globally have suffered a cyber attack in the past two years but Ocorian’s study among family members and senior family office employees handling total wealth of $119.37 billion shows almost a fifth (19%) don’t have any defence plans in place to protect themselves from a potential attack. However, 18% of them say that they do plan to put one in place.

This compares to three quarters (75%) of respondents who have taken steps to strengthen their defences against a potential cyber attack in the past two years. Just 7% say they had plans in place more than two years ago.

Should they suffer a cyber attack more than a fifth (22%) of those surveyed say they don’t currently have an incident plan in place to respond and recover. Around 78% say they do have an incident plan ready.

More than one in 10 (11%) family offices surveyed admit that they feel significantly challenged when it comes to delivering the level and quality of cyber security expertise they need to operate effectively. Almost half (49%) say they currently receive advice and support from third-party professionals over cyber security, but this is set to significantly increase, with 72% saying they see the levels of outsourcing around cyber security to increase over the next three years. Of these 41% say they expect a dramatic increase.

 Ian Rumens, Head of Private Client – Jersey, at Ocorian said: “A cyber security attack is becoming an increasing reality and can have huge implications for family offices, damaging reputations, triggering loss of stakeholder confidence and putting long-term relationships at risk. While many are taking steps to put the necessary precautions and defences in place, such as getting expert third-party advice, there are still too many who are highly susceptible.

 “The financial impact can also be significant, from direct theft and fraud to business interruption, incident response costs, regulatory fines and potential litigation. It’s also vital that family offices work closely with all their service providers and suppliers to make sure those partners have the right protections in place too, helping reduce the risk of a cyber incident spreading through the wider ecosystem.

 “Finally, organisations should ensure strong backup and recovery arrangements are tested regularly to help protect against data loss or corruption, so critical records and reporting can be restored quickly and accurately. On top of this, with no incident plan in place, it could also take those affected by an attack much longer to respond and recover afterwards.”

 Ocorian’s award winning dedicated family office team provides a seamless and holistic approach to the challenges and opportunities families face. Its service is built on long-term personal relationships that are founded on a deep understanding of what matters to family office clients. Its global presence means Ocorian can provide bespoke structures and services for international families no matter where they live.

 Key services include formation and administration of family offices, HR support services, support with lifestyle and luxury assets, family governance, resident and relocation services and specialist support with immigration, visas, payroll, marine and aircraft crew management and financial reporting.