On the latest episode of the ABA Newsbytes Podcast, co-hosts Evan Sparks and Shaun Kern discuss the week’s news—including an unexpected exemption for the banking industry in the CFPB’s small-dollar lending rule, as well as survey findings from the Fed and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors that illuminate the role of rising compliance costs in driving M&A at community banks. They also chat with writer Kerry O’Leary about the trend of banks of all sizes putting coffee shops in branches. (ABA Banking Journal)

A majority of consumers across all age groups trust banks the most to keep their payments safe than alternative payment providers, retailers and telecommunications companies, according to a recent ABA/Morning Consult poll. (ABA Banking Journal)

The International Labor Organization’s latest World Employment Social Outlook shows that the number of full-time employees at small and medium-sized enterprises nearly doubled between 2003 and 2016, with the share of total employment attributable to the sector rising to 35 percent from 31 percent. (Bloomberg)

Branches still matter, according to JPMorgan Chase, even with continued growth in mobile active customers. (Bank Innovation)

Bitcoin has seen its value increase by more than $750 a coin in the past week alone, with a rally that coincides with renewed interest in the currency from investment banks. (Business Insider)

While small business lending remains the core of the community banking business—with 98 percent of banks with less than $10 billion in assets offering small business loans—larger banks edged their smaller peers in total origination volume, according to a survey released last week by the Federal Reserve and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors. (ABA Banking Journal)

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell to more than a one-month low last week as claims in Texas and Florida continued to decline after being boosted by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. (CNBC)

The American Bankers Association won a helpful exemption in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s final small-dollar lending rule that protects banks’ ability to make small-dollar "accommodation loans" to customers. (ABA Banking Journal)

The House Financial Services Committee today advanced eight ABA-backed regulatory reform bills, including several that ABA and the state bankers associations have long championed as part of ABA’s Blueprint for Growth. (ABA Banking Journal)

ABA has commented on proposed changes to the TILA-RESPA integrated disclosures that would allow creditors to use either initial or corrected closing disclosures to reflect changes in costs for purposes of determining if an estimated closing cost was disclosed in good faith, regardless of when the closing disclosure was provided relative to consummation. (ABA Banking Journal)

The Fed is likely to raise rates so long as the medium-term economic outlook remains unchanged, according to an minutes of the September meeting. (New York Times)

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