CURRENT Newsletter | 6 January 2021 - Virginia Credit Union League

The world of the delinquent member is never boring and it never stands still. Much has happened over the last few months that directly impact your Collections Department. From understanding the virtual workflow to new ways to assess default risk and improving your collections calls to understanding your rights in bankruptcy, our informative and interactive Bankruptcy & Collections Training session (Jan. 12 and 13) is sure to have something for you!

Sharpen your collections skills and better position your credit union to assist troubled members who want to work with you during these unprecedented times and maximize the recovery from everyone else.

This virtual training program is hosted by the Kentucky Credit Union League.

Learn more / Register

Overdraft Services Webinar: 10 High-Risk Issues You Need to Address

Plaintiff attorneys continue to send demand letters and/or file lawsuits against credit unions alleging improper assessment of overdraft and/or NSF fees.

The Credit Union Times reports that Navy Federal Credit Union will settle a class-action suit for $16 million that will reimburse an estimated 700,000 current and former members charged fees for overdrafts.

TD Bank recently agreed to pay $97 million in restitution to approximately 1.42 million customers, as well as a $25 million civil penalty to settle allegations brought by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that it engaged in illegal overdraft fee practices.

These legal actions spotlight a few of the issues you have to worry about with your overdraft services deposit programs. Join us a for a Jan. 13 webinar through TRGroup for a discussion of overdraft-related risks, including:

Per item per time issues
Debit Card Pending Issues—what are good funds?
Timing of disclosures when you open accounts off-premise
Opt-In and Opt-Out Procedures for one-time debits and ATM transactions
The Regulations, the guidance, the exam

2021 and Your CU: Why Text Messaging is Essential

An astounding 76% of consumers say they prefer to interact via a channel like texting. So, meet your members where they are looking to be met. Doing so will heighten your member experience and deepen your relationship with them. Join us Jan. 13 at 2:30 p.m. for a TRGroup-sponsored webinar from Eltropy CEO and founder Ashish Garg, who will share how Eltropy’s secure and compliant platform can aid your Credit Union in communicating effectively into 2021 and beyond.

NOTE: TRGroup is The Raiffeisen Group, LLC (TRGroup), a collaboration of seven state leagues (including Virginia) utilizing our collective strength to bring the best-of-class products, services and service to credit unions at the lowest possible cost.

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 via the contest page on the Small Credit Union Community website!

CU Expansion to Underserved Areas Recommended by CFPB Taskforce

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Taskforce on Federal Consumer Financial Law recommends expanding credit unions’ ability to serve underserved areas in its report with more than 100 recommendations. CFPB Deputy Director Tom Pahl discussed the report and the taskforce’s recommendations during a call Tuesday morning with CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle.

CUNA submitted comments on the taskforce in June 2020, urging it to, “look closely at the outsized impact that the Bureau’s rules have had on credit unions as community-based financial institutions and to recommend the Bureau streamline regulations with an eye toward improving the financial health and well-being of consumers.”

The taskforce recommends expanding credit unions’ ability to serve under-served areas; currently, only the multiple common bond charter can serve underserved communities outside their common-bond membership.

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Compliance / Regulatory Affairs

Derivatives Proposal Provides Additional IRR Flexibility

NCUA’s proposed changes to its derivatives rule retain key components while providing flexibility, CUNA wrote to the agency. The proposal was issued in October and is intended to modernize NCUA’s derivatives rule and make it more principles-based.

Specifically, it would eliminate some of the existing prescriptive requirements in the derivatives rule, including removal of the application process for FCUs with at least $500 million in assets that have a CAMEL rating of 1 or 2.

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January eSchool Offers Compliance Designation Opportunity

Compliance personnel seeking to earn their Credit Union Compliance Expert (CUCE) designation can get the training they need Jan. 26 through March 11, 2021, at CUNA Regulatory Compliance Certification eSchool: Introduction. The eSchool consists of 10 virtual two-hour class sessions.

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FCC Issues Order Codifying TCPA Exemptions

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last week issued an order codifying exemptions to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

NCUA Approves Proposal to Allow SAR Exemptions

The NCUA Board unanimously approved, by notation vote, a notice of proposed rulemaking that would amend the agency’s Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) regulation.

The proposed regulation would permit the NCUA to issue, on a case-by-case basis, exemptions from SAR filing requirements to federally insured credit unions, when the exemption is consistent with safe and sound practices and can improve the effectiveness and efficiency of Bank Secrecy Act reporting.

The proposed rule would also make it possible for the NCUA to grant exemptions, in conjunction with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, to federally insured credit unions that develop innovative solutions to meet Bank Secrecy Act requirements.

The NCUA expects these amendments will reduce regulatory burdens on federally insured credit unions and encourage technological innovation within the credit union system.

Comments on the proposed rule will be accepted for 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.

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Difference Between Regulations, Guidance Critical for Regulators

It is critical for federal regulators, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), to appreciate the significant differences in the appropriate role of regulations and of guidance, CUNA wrote Monday. The letter was sent to the CFPB in response to a proposal to codify a joint interagency statement on the role of guidance and follows a similar communication sent to NCUA last month.

“We appreciate the role of supervisory guidance and support the proposal to codify the 2018 Statement,” the letter reads. “Doing so not only ensures credit unions understand where an examiner is basing its decisions, but also ensures the basis for such decisions is well-founded, given statutes must go through the legislative process and regulations through the rulemaking process under the Administrative Procedure Act.”

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NCUA to Host Human Trafficking Webinar Jan. 7

Credit unions can learn more about the issue of human trafficking and how to spot the warning signs during a webinar hosted by NCUA January 7, at 2 p.m. (ET).

This webinar is presented in partnership with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations unit and with involvement from The Knoble, a non-profit organization of financial services professionals working to combat human trafficking, child exploitation, financial crime, and elder financial abuse.

Registration for this 90-minute webinar is open to all credit unions interested in learning more about the prevalence of human trafficking and detection methods from a credit union’s perspective. There is no charge for attending the webinar.

Learn more

Pandemic Response

Share Your Story of How You've Helped Members During Pandemic

During one of the recent CUNA-League Small Credit Union webinars, we worked on how to tell your credit union’s story in simple but powerful ways. We’d like you to put that story to important practice this week. We’re asking credit unions to submit simple stories about how they’re helping members during these challenging times via our Advancing Communities advocacy initiative.

Advocacy is what we do as an organization; same for CUNA and our fellow Leagues. And we know that if we can help credit unions share stories with lawmakers, especially as new members of Congress and state legislatures are sworn in, we can preserve the tax status and strengthen the operating environment for the movement.

So, we're asking you to share your story, because people connect with real stories about real people. Simply click on the "share your story link" on the top-right corner of our Advancing Communities homepage and record a brief message that spotlights your credit union's good work on behalf of your members!

COVID-19 Sparks More Than 1,000 Workplace-Related Lawsuits in 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic spawned more than 1,000 workplace-related lawsuits last year and drove a record number of class-action cases as employees sued over disputes over workplace safety, how they’re paid while working from home, and family and medical leave.

In 2020, the pandemic led employees to file 1,005 workplace lawsuits in state and federal courts, according to Chicago-based law firm Seyfarth Shaw.

Another law firm, Littler Mendelson, based in San Francisco, says the figure was even higher. It estimated 1,425 such cases as of mid-December.

The lawsuits represent just the leading edge of an even bigger wave that’s expected this year, says Gerald Maatman Jr., a Seyfarth partner. Many were filed after employees were laid off during the pandemic, he says.

Learn more

FinCEN Asks Financial Institutions to Stay Alert to COVID-19 Vaccine-Related Scams and Cyberattacks

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a Notice today to alert financial institutions about the potential for fraud, ransomware attacks, or similar types of criminal activity related to COVID-19 vaccines and their distribution.

This Notice also provides specific instructions for filing Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) regarding such suspicious activity related to COVID-19 vaccines and their distribution.

Notice available here

Financial Services / Marketplace News

It Just Got Easier for Amazon, Facebook and Walmart to Become Lenders

Amazon.com Inc., Facebook Inc., Walmart Inc. and other corporate giants may soon give Wall Street a run for its money as a key U.S. regulator smooths the path for nonbanks to get into lending.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. recently approved a final rule governing “industrial loan companies” that will allow major businesses to seek banking charters while escaping capital and liquidity demands faced by dedicated financial firms.

The measure will “provide transparency to market participants regarding the FDIC’s minimum expectations for parent companies of industrial banks,” Chairman Jelena McWilliams said. The new rule formalizes years of agency practice with the industrial loan company charters, which were created to let commercial firms make small loans to workers but have become a back door into big-time banking.

The proposal released earlier this year sparked alarm in the banking industry over the prospect of competing against giant companies that could leverage their huge customer bases and guaranteed consumer traffic to gain meaningful toeholds in banking. And they could offer customers financial services backed by the government — including FDIC deposit protections — with fewer regulatory demands.

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Education /Training

CUNA National Young Professionals Virtual Conference scheduled for Jan. 13-14

Young professionals can grow leadership skills while exploring the unique and rewarding experience that comes from building a lifelong career in the credit union movement at CUNA National Young Professionals Virtual Conference, Jan. 13-14, 2021.

CUNA Announces New Agile Marketing eSchool

CUNA announces its new CUNA Agile Marketing eSchool to guide credit union marketers on methods to grow their credit unions with nimble and effective teams.

“Agile, in the marketing environment, means using data and analytics to continuously source promising possibilities, or solutions to issues, in real-time, while quickly reacting to the results,” said Ariel Bilskey, director of blended learning at CUNA. “By adopting agile methodology, marketing teams will improve their speed, predictability, transparency and adaptability to change.”

The four-session eSchool will take place February 3-24, 2021. For more information, visit cuna.org/agilemarketing.

Credit Union News

Kimberly Mills Joins ABNB as Commercial Mortgage Loan Officer

ABNB would like to welcome Kimberly Mills to our Commercial Mortgage team and is also excited to offer Commercial Real Estate Loans and Construction Lending as part of our Commercial Mortgage department.

In Mills’ new role as Commercial Mortgage Loan Officer, she develops and originates mortgage loans, as well as supervises a portfolio of commercial accounts, loan products, and deposits with the overall objective of maintaining and increasing its asset quality and scope.

Learn more

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