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CURRENT Newsletter | 4 February 2021

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Compliance / Regulatory Affairs

Financial Services / Economy

Education / Training

Operations

Headlines

League YPN Plans Feb. 11 Lunch & Learn

Join young professionals from across the Commonwealth Feb. 11, for the Young Professionals Network’s first virtual meet-up of the year. Guest speakers Diana Kevorkian and Diana Flowers will offer a session on “Networking 101” in anticipation of a return to in-person meetings later this year!

Everyone (young professional or not) is invited to attend! The hour-long session begins at 1 p.m.

Learn more and register

FISERV Hosting Free Webinar Feb. 25 on Fraud Trends

As 2021 begins to take shape, the pandemic has seen consumers move to and embrace e-commerce channels. As the payment shift continues, what are the impacts to fraud and what can credit unions continue to do to mitigate their risk? FISERV, your partner in payments, will continue its exploration into fraud trends that matter to your credit union during our Feb. 25 webinar.

Start time for the free, hour-long webinar is 10 a.m.

Register here

League Hosting Compliance, Regulatory Update Webinar March 17

Join us March 17 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.

CUNA’s Governmental Affairs Conference March 2-4

Thousands of credit union advocates will gather virtually for CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC) on March 2-4, 2021. CUNA GAC is the credit union industry's premier advocacy event bringing together leaders from across the industry to rally around a united cause - to tell legislators how their lawmaking affects credit unions and their more than 120 million members.

Your League hopes you’ll join us for the Conference and for the virtual meets we will host with our Congressional Delegation. We’ll provide details on the virtual meets in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.

Learn more

This year’s highlights:

  • Keynote: Gen. H.R. McMaster
    In a time of unparalleled crisis and uncertainty, we've gained a new appreciation for the importance of leadership and resilience and the ability to foster loyalty and teamwork. Please join us at this year's virtual GAC as H.R. McMaster, three-star lieutenant general and former National Security Advisor (2017-2018) shares his thoughts on these topics through the lens of the battlefield and the White House.
  • Small Credit Unions: CUNA Mutual Group Providing 13 GAC Scholarships
    Thanks to CUNA Mutual Group, small credit unions have a chance to win one of 13 scholarships to CUNA’s Governmental Affairs Conference, which is being held virtually March 2-4.
    Learn how to qualify for one of these scholarships

Compliance / Regulatory Affairs

NCUA Announces Webinar with Chairman Harper for Feb. 11

NCUA will hold a webinar on Thursday, February 11, that will provide participants with an update on Chairman Todd Harper’s priorities, the agency’s supervisory activities, and recently issued guidance and regulations, among other topics.

Registration for the “NCUA Chairman’s” webinar is now open. The webinar will begin at 2 p.m. (ET) and run for approximately 90 minutes.

Learn more

CFPB Publishes 2021 Threshold Adjustments Under Regs. C, Z, and V

Last month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published annual adjustments for exemption thresholds under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (Regulation C) and the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z).

Learn more

State Regulators Express Strong Support for NCUA Proposal on Capitalizing Interest

NASCUS has expressed strong support for an NCUA proposal that would allow credit unions to capitalize interest. The trade group representing state regulators called on the agency to finalize the proposal “expeditiously.”

“We have no doubt credit unions will exercise the ability to capitalize interest to the benefit of members in need and are confident in the ability of state examiners to provide supervisory oversight of loan workouts and modifications,” NASCUS wrote in a comment letter to NCUA.

NASCUS noted it agreed with NCUA when it proposed the rule in November 2020 that removing the prohibition on capitalization of interest by federally insured credit unions would provide credit unions greater flexibility to work with economically distressed members. “That enhanced flexibility benefits distressed credit union borrowers by expanding the options for repayment programs as the member regains their economic footing,” NASCUS stated. “Concurrently, provisions of the rule protecting the best interests of the borrower provide consumer protection guardrails that protect against the unlikely chance that a credit union engages in unfair lending practices.”

Learn more

Financial Services / Economy

Why Millions of Americans are Now Tapping Credit Unions for Loans

It’s not surprising that many Americans have received loans in the past year given record low interest rates, but research shows that credit unions tend to lend more than commercial banks during times of crisis, notes an article on CNBC. That’s because their mission is to support Main Street, unions and the local communities they serve. According to industry trade group Credit Union National Association, or CUNA, credit unions continued to lend and even increased lending during the Great Recession and current pandemic crisis. By comparison, banks have tended to pull back or even reduce lending during crises.

Between year-end 2019 and Sept. 2020, credit union memberships increased by 3.37 million, or 2.8%, to 125.11 million. Loan portfolios at credit unions rose 6.6% in the 12 months ending Sept. 2020, slightly above last year’s annual rate of 6.5%. By comparison, banks saw 4.9% growth in loans.

Learn more

Membership Growth At Slowest Pace in 6 Years as 2020 Was Nearing End; Forecast for 2021 Offered

Membership growth at credit unions continued to slide as 2020 was nearing its end–with membership in the 12 months ending in November growing at the slowest pace since 2014, according to CUNA Mutual Group’s latest Trends Report.

In addition, once again, the data show “big disparities” remain between large and small CUs, particularly with loan growth. CUNA Mutual Group is forecasting slower overall loan growth this year.

Membership in the country’s credit unions grew 193,000 in November, or 0.15%, which is significantly below the 265,000 new members, or 0.22%, that were added in November 2019, the report states. CUNA Mutual is forecasting membership growth will slow slightly to 3% in 2021.

Through November 2020, credit unions added 3.651 million new members, slower than the 3.934 million members added during a similar period in 2019.

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PPP Issues Delaying CUs’ Ability to Provide Relief

CUNA member credit unions continue to be challenged by a slow approval process with the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), CUNA wrote to the Small Business Administration Wednesday. The PPP was re-authorized for up to $284 billion.

CUNA’s letter details several examples of errors that have occurred during application processes.

“In addition to the errors in the approval process, credit unions are concerned that they may not have adequate support from the SBA to remedy issues and answer questions. Credit unions have reported to CUNA extended delays running into weeks for help from call centers, which makes it difficult to obtain help with questions and issues,” the letter reads. “We have also heard that the SBA servicing team is backlogged with tax ID issues from the forgiveness process. In addition to customer service issues, we received feedback that this round of PPP loans requires more extensive validation through multiple systems to process applications.

“The accumulation of these issues slows the loan process and credit unions’ ability to provide relief to Americans,” it adds, thanking SBA staff for their work on the PPP and that fixing the mentioned issues will speed up the process of small business relief.

Learn more

SBA, Treasury Release New PPP FAQs

The Small Business Administration (SBA) and Treasury Department have released new paycheck protection program (PPP) FAQs to address questions related to Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)/anti-money laundering (AML) requirements.

In addition, a separate set of FAQs related to shuttered venue operators grants were released last week. This grant program was established by the Economic Aid Act enacted late last year. The FAQs address eligibility requirements, explain definitions, review application considerations, detail appropriate use of funds, and more.

The two new FAQs related to BSA/AML include:

  • Applying the Financial Crimes and Enforcement Network's (FinCEN) PPP FAQs to second-draw loans
  • Relying on previous information provided for a second-draw loan for BSA/AML compliance, and when to update customer due diligence and beneficial ownership information

FinCEN also reissued its PPP FAQs related to BSA to reiterate that they apply to second-draw loans.

Another new FAQ (No. 56) addresses the employee limit for public broadcasting stations operated or licensed by a college or university.

The SBA and Treasury indicate on the FAQs document that previously released FAQs (No. 1-53) are in the process of being updated to reflect changes made by recent legislation.

Education / Training

CUNA Strategic Services, Partners Offer Free Webinars in February

Looking for free learning opportunities to keep you informed about the latest happenings in the industry? CUNA Strategic Services and its trusted alliance providers offer free informational sessions on a variety of topics that you may be interested in learning more about.

Join us for an upcoming webinar.

Young CU Professionals Program Launches ’10,000 Strong’ Campaign

The World Council of Credit Unions’ Young Credit Union Professionals (WYCUP) program is launching the “10,000 Strong!” campaign as part of an effort to highlight its efforts to create the largest global network of young credit union professionals.

Originally designed as a scholarship program to raise the voice of young professionals (YPs) on the global stage, WOCCU said WYCUP is “expanding its framework to enrich professional journeys through global perspectives and increase engagement opportunities between YP networks around the world—ultimately energizing emerging leaders who are better prepared to lead financial cooperatives to a brighter future.”

According to WOCCU, the 10,000 Strong! campaign formalizes the WYCUP Affiliates Network and Council, providing a new structure for YPs to connect and collaborate.

Learn more

Operations

CUs, African-American Credit Union Coalition Launch 8th Cooperative Principle Microsite to Promote DEI

Local Government Federal Credit Union (LGFCU), Civic Federal Credit Union and the African-American Credit Union Coalition (AACUC) have launched DEI Talks, a website to advocate for the proposed 8th Cooperative Principle that is focused on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). The Credit Unions and Coalition invite other credit unions and cooperatives to adopt the 8th Principle and demonstrate their support through the site.

The site promotes DEI as an expansion of the philosophical tenets currently embraced by cooperatives globally. The values of diversity, or plurality as it is often understood outside of the U.S., equity and inclusion are ideologies already ingrained within the cooperative community. Credit Union and AACUC leaders believe It is past time to declare these as guiding principles.

 



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