CURRENT Newsletter | 20 April 2021 - Virginia Credit Union League

Join us on April 28 for a free compliance/regulatory update with attorney Jay Spruill. The hour-long webinar (10 a.m. start time) will cover frequently asked questions on the League compliance hotline, key federal regulatory issues, and any recently enacted state laws that might affect your operations.

Also, feel free to send your questions prior to the webinar to your League’s Mary Amyx at mamyx@vacul.org. She’ll gladly forward them to Jay to ensure they are covered during the webinar.

Learn more and register here.

CU PolicyPro Getting Massive Upgrade

With InfoSight and CU PolicyPro, your credit union has at its disposal a comprehensive suite of policies and regulatory compliance guidance written especially for credit unions by legal and financial experts.

For those users of CU PolicyPro, we have some big news! Over the last few months, we have been tirelessly working to improve CU PolicyPro. We believe that the new system will help make customizing and managing your policies easier than ever! Now is a great time to review your CU PolicyPro system and remove any old, outdated, or unused content and update your user list.

For more information on the new CU PolicyPro and to get instructions on reviewing your data, visit our website!

Not familiar with CU PolicyPro? Learn more today!

CU PolicyPro Training Set for May 4 & 11

Learn how to get the most from CU PolicyPro, an online resource with more than 230 credit union-specific model operations policies. Because your credit union is unique, CU PolicyPro not only includes the model policy content, but a full policy management system that lets you customize any model policy to fit your credit union’s individual operations.

Many credit unions have already registered for CU PolicyPro and have accessed the model policies.

Our May 4 session is designed to help users to take full advantage of CU PolicyPro’s policy management system. Take this time to learn how to customize the model policies for your credit union including defining key fields, best practices for formatting, and how to publish policies to share with your staff, board members, and examiners.

The session will also include a question and answer session to allow you to ask your questions about specific ways to best use CU PolicyPro in your credit union. This is a great workshop for users new to the policy management system or those who need a refresher on adding and editing policies in CU PolicyPro.

Ready to take the next step in managing your policies? The hour-long May 11 session focuses on the tools available in CU PolicyPro to keep them up to date. Covered in this session are best practices for using editor notes effectively, and understanding the available data fields.

We will also take an in-depth look at the content update process and how to use the CU Policies Report to audit your policies and keep them up to date. Please note: this session does assume that users have a good working knowledge of the CU PolicyPro system and attending the New User Training course is recommended.

Register for the May 4 session
Register for the May 11 session (NOTE: You’ll want to attend the May 4 session if you don’t already possess a working knowledge of PolicyPro to get the most out of this session.)

Marketing Mixer Set for May 5

The Marketing and Business Development Council of Virginia will be hosting a FREE Marketing Mixer on May 5 from 4 p.m. – 5 p.m.. Join your peers to discuss timely and relevant topics including Strategies for Growing Loans and Getting Back to Normal and Showing Up at the Office!

Marketing Mixers are designed to be informal discussions, and we encourage you to grab your drink of choice (a margarita in honor of Cinco De Mayo is fitting) and join your peers for an hour of professional networking and fun.

If you have additional discussion topics, please email them to Nicole Widell and we will add them to the agenda.

Join and get a chance to win one of two $25 Grub Hub Gift Cards. Must be present to win.

Overview of Fiserv's Card Expert Solution: Free April 22 Webinar

Transform your data into actionable insights that drive fact-based, consumer-focused decisions.

League partner Fiserv will offer a free webinar April 22 that will assist you in understanding key portfolio metrics, cardholder behaviors and how their relation to your credit union's card strategy is paramount for success. Learn how Fiserv’s “Card Expert” solution can help enrich your card strategies and build member engagement.

Let’s Have an Uncomfortable Conversation: Diversity, Inclusion & Bias

Where are you in your diversity journey? Find out by joining us for The No-Nonsense Experience, starting Thursday, May 6.

Offered as a one-hour, weekly course May 6-27, The No-Nonsense Experience will be guided by a team of expert facilitators from JP Enterprises, and will focus on building conversation skills around your thoughts, intentions, actions and behaviors regarding Diversity, Inclusion and Bias.

Learn more / Register

Advocacy / Governmental Affairs

House Passes CUNA-Backed SAFE Banking Act in Bipartisan Vote

The House passed the CUNA-supported Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act Monday in a bipartisan 321-101 vote. The bill would provide protections to financial institutions that serve state-legal cannabis-based businesses.

“This historic, bipartisan legislation will address a public safety issue facing consumers, businesses, and financial institutions around the country,” said CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle. “We appreciate the House passing this bill and urge the Senate will move forward in similar fashion. We will continue to engage with them going forward to get this bill across the finish line.”

The SAFE Banking Act was introduced last month by Reps. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.), Steve Stivers (R-Ohio), Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), and Warren Davidson (R-Ohio).

Specifically, it would provide a safe harbor for:

Financial institutions accepting deposits from, extending credit, or providing payment services to an individual, or business engaged in legal marijuana-related commerce; and
Credit unions and their employees who are not aware if their members or customers are involved in such businesses.

The SAFE Banking Act was also introduced last month in the Senate by a group of 30 Senators.

The bill passed the House in 2019 in a historic vote, and CUNA testified before both House and Senate committees in support. (CUNA News Now, April 20)

Climate Risk Mitigation Should Protect Housing at All Income Levels

CUNA encouraged the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to pursue climate and natural disaster risk mitigation strategies that do not abandon low- and moderate-income Americans in a letter sent Monday. The FHFA seeks information on climate and natural disaster risk management regarding its oversight of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks.

CUNA urges the FHFA to not rely on risk transfer mechanisms because this will ultimately just price low- and medium-income consumers out of homeownership.

CUNA advocates for the mitigation of these risks by improving the resiliency of housing stock through improved building codes and retrofitting, both of which can be used to protect housing at all income levels.

Learn more

Compliance / Regulatory Affairs

Grant Applications for NCUA’s Revolving Loan Fund to Open May 3

NCUA said low-income-designated credit unions seeking Community Development Revolving Loan Fund grants in 2021 will be able to apply between May 3 and June 26.

The agency said it will administer approximately $1.5 million in CDRLF grants to the most-qualified applicants, subject to the availability of funds.

Grants will be awarded in three categories:

Underserved Outreach (maximum award of $50,000)
Minority Depository Institution Mentoring (maximum award of $25,000)
Digital Services and Cybersecurity (maximum award of $7,000).

Learn more

FTC Commissioners Agree They Should Act to Protect Consumer Privacy if Congress Doesn’t

A Senate Commerce Committee hearing Tuesday revealed several areas of common ground among the four sitting Federal Trade Commissioners, who are evenly split along party lines.

Lawmakers have spent years grappling with the question of how to protect consumers’ digital privacy rights, but so far, there’s still no federal law on the books. Meanwhile, some states have moved forward with their own measures, creating a complicated landscape for businesses.

The commissioners generally agreed that the best solution is for Congress to enact a digital privacy law quickly, but if it doesn’t, the FTC could attempt to fill in some of the gaps.

Republican Commissioner Christine Wilson said the FTC has authority under Section 18 of the FTC Act, known as Magnuson-Moss rulemaking, to provide guidelines around consumer digital privacy.

Learn more

CUNA Releases Update to the Credit Card MLA Fee Comparison Spreadsheet

CUNA has released the first quarter 2021 update to the credit card Military Lending Act (MLA) Fee Comparison Spreadsheet.

Pandemic Response

State Opens Up COVID Vaccine Eligibility

Gov. Ralph Northam urged Virginians to continue getting vaccinated against the coronavirus Monday, a day after the state opened up eligibility for a shot to everyone 16 and older.

“The sooner that we can get people vaccinated the better and the sooner we’ll get to herd immunity,” said Northam, who spoke with federal and local elected officials at a vaccination site in northern Virginia.

On Sunday, Virginia moved to Phase 2 of its vaccine distribution plan. Demand for the vaccine continues to outstrip supply, officials said.

People who want a vaccine can register online through a health department website or visit vaccinefinder.org to search for places that offer one. Scheduling through a call center with translation services is also an option at (877) VAX-IN-VA. (Associated Press)

Credit Unions Sound Alarm on COVID-19 Vaccination Scams

Credit unions are increasingly sounding the alarm about COVID-19 vaccination scams.

The scams can come in a variety of forms, but the common denominator involves taking a consumer’s personal or banking data with the promise of securing a vaccination appointment.

COVID-19 vaccinations are generally open to anyone age 16 or older and there is no cost to get the shot or make an appointment, but high demand and the often difficult process of getting an appointment have made some Americans susceptible to fraud. (Credit Union Journal, April 18)

Financial Services / Economy

Postal Banking Supporters Confident Congress Will Allow Pilot Program

A group of congressional Democrats announced late last week they will try to convince House and Senate appropriators to include $6 million for a postal banking pilot program in FY22 funding measures.

And this year, they said they are more confident that their plan will be enacted.

Learn more

New Research Reveals How Pandemic Has Accelerated Shifts in Banking Behavior, Including By Generation

The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated shifts in banking behavior, including by generation, according to new research from BAI.

The research reveals how the pandemic has affected behaviors among Baby Boomers (Boomers+), Generation X (Gen X), Millennials and Generation Z (Gen Z) and offers insights to better understand generational banking preferences to equip financial services leaders to plan for the future, according to BAI.

Learn more

Education

Registration Opens for World Credit Union Conference

Registration has opened for the World Council of Credit Unions’ World Credit Union Conference, scheduled to be held virtually from July 14 – 21.

More than 1,500 credit union executives and volunteers from over 60 countries are expected to attend; showcasing a week-long celebration of education and networking to honor World Council of Credit Unions' 50th Anniversary, WOCCU said.

Learn more

News About Credit Unions

Nominations Open for Credit Union Rock Stars

The editorial team of Credit Union Magazine is now accepting nominations for the ninth annual Credit Union Rock Stars program, sponsored by Fiserv.

Credit Union Rock Stars are professionals and volunteers in credit union organizations who leverage their exceptional creativity, innovation and passion to advance their credit union’s mission and elevate their community.

This year’s Credit Union Rock Stars will be featured in a special digital issue of Credit Union Magazine. Submit your nominations at news.cuna.org/nominaterockstar. The nomination deadline is June 11, 2021.

Learn more

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