Governance

mission
Mission

Working together to make a positive difference in the lives of our customers, associates, shareholders and the communities we serve.

mission
Vision

Our vision is to guide, to serve and empower people to improve lives and the world we live in.

mission
Guiding Principle

Always do the right thing.

mission
Values

Character | Commitment | Continuous Learning | Courage
Excellence | Generosity | Positive Attitude | Problem Solving
Respect | Teamwork & Trust

A continuing core value of Independent Bank’s is to make a positive difference in the communities we serve, with the Bank working to improve the lives and access to credit for low and moderate-income (LMI) individuals. As a result, Independent Bank earned Highly Satisfactory ratings in each of three categories (Services, Investments, and Lending) on the most recent Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) exam with an overall rating of Satisfactory.

Governance Documents
Board of Directors
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Senior Management

Cybersecurity Customer Awareness and Safeguards

Independent Bank has a well established Cybersecurity Program which includes:

  • Deploying numerous layers of security and tools in our technology platforms to safeguard our business.
  • Monitoring industry and business threats and implementing preventative measures.
  • Communicating effectively throughout the company, collaborating and assessing risk.
  • Reporting key initiatives, new tools and projects and cybersecurity trends regularly to Senior Management and the Board.
  • Sharing with employees, customers and the Board updates on current industry threats, trends and preventative best practices.

cybersecurity
cybersecurity

Security Awareness - Independent Bank performs a variety of cybersecurity awareness training for all employees using an enterprise training delivery and tracking system. Our training is followed by testing to measure its effectiveness. We also are committed to Cybersecurity awareness for our clients. We participate in National Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October each year, and utilize social media, blogs, and direct email to communicate timely information regarding cyber threats and best-practices to our employees, customers, and the general public.

Preparation - Preparation - We like to be prepared and work hard to maintain a robust set of plans for any challenge we encounter. We have Incident Response, Crisis Communication, and Business Continuity Plans that are initiated for potential business continuity risks, cyber, or information security concerns. We monitor many public and private sources of cyber information to remain aware of threats to the security of our digital information.

Assessment - Independent Bank is a financial institution examined by State and Federal regulators. This includes in-depth analysis of our safety and soundness as well as I.T. controls, processes, and procedures. We are also assessed by our Internal Audit department in cooperation with a public accounting firm with a high degree of experience with Information Technology and an external audit firm. This external feedback provides the bank valuable information to measure and improve our security controls on an ongoing basis.

Compliance Training

As a highly regulated business, compliance training is very important. On an annual basis our employees are each assigned an average of 34 courses via our learning management system. Courses are assigned based upon each employee's job responsibilities, with some on a rotating basis.

These courses include training on topics ranging from Abuse of Vulnerable Adults, American with Disabilities Act, Bank Secrecy Act, Office of Foreign Asset Controls, Anti Money Laundry, Suspicious Activities, Community Reinvestment

Act, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Electronic Funds Transfer Act (Regulation E), Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA – Regulation B), Ethics, Expedited Funds Availability Act (EFAA – Regulation CC), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Federal Deposit Insurance, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB), Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), Information and Cyber security, Physical Security, Privacy, Reserve Requirements (Regulation D), Risk Management, Sexual Harassment, Truth in Savings, and Unfair, Deceptive or Abusive Acts or Practices (UDAAP).