Your League has been closely monitoring the latest developments and guidelines surrounding the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The health and safety of our employees and our member credit unions are a top priority for us. As the impact of COVID-19 grows, we are making the following updates to our events:
We have compiled the latest information, best practices, ideas for member support, communication tips and more in this comprehensive resource area. You can view these resources by clicking on this LINK.
To ensure readiness for all possible scenarios, the League is also recommending that credit unions review their Disaster Recovery/Contingency plans, as well as the resources from NCUA and the various health agencies.
As we all work to do our part to slow the spread of COVID-19, please know your League continues to be ready and able to assist you.
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Governmental Affairs Update
When March began, our main focus was on the second half of the State Legislative Session and the budget that they must pass along with many other pieces of new legislation. But that focus quickly shifted with the introduction and spread of COVID-19. As Kentucky and the nation have seen more cases and increasing restrictions on the activities of daily life, the focus has shifted to the response to this pandemic, both the response from government and the response of Credit Unions to maintain service to their members. While Credit Unions are focused on response plans and ensuring members are served, the government has shifted its focus as well and is responding at all levels. The Federal government has so far passed 3 separate pieces of legislation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Phase 1 – This was focused on increasing access to testing for COVID-19 and ensuring coverage for that testing.
Phase 2 – This legislation was focused on an expansion of Paid Sick Leave, Paid FMLA and Unemployment.
Phase 3 – (Passed the Senate at time of writing) This legislation, which clocks in at $2.2 trillion, is focused on the economic health of the nation. It features over $300 million in forgivable loans to small businesses to keep employees on payroll called Paycheck Protection Loans, Direct payments in the form of “recovery rebates” to millions of Americans, and $150 billion to hospitals and includes a major increase in unemployment benefits.
Phase 4 – This is an unknown at this point but talk has already begun. If needed, a 4th phase of response legislation would not likely occur until the early summer.
At the state level, in addition to working closely with the Department of Financial Institutions to ensure Credit Unions are able to adapt and make the necessary changes to continue serving members in this extraordinary time, your League has been following the process of the crafting of a state budget. This process changed swiftly and dramatically in early March with the arrival of COVID-19 in Kentucky. Legislative days were eliminated and a conference committee was quickly named to discuss/debate and come to an agreement on the treatment of the many differences between the House and Senate versions of this new budget. In addition to the task of crafting a budget, much like the multi-phased action at the federal level, the Kentucky General Assembly is also undertaking a Coronavirus Response Bill of its own. While this legislation is primarily focused on healthcare and health outcomes relating to this pandemic know that we are closely monitoring the legislation and will keep Credit Unions apprised of any provisions which may impact the functioning of Kentucky Credit Unions.
While all of these events have been unfolding, your League has been working closely (from a safe distance) with our regulators, our Congressmen, and Senators, as well as with CUNA and other Leagues to ensure that we have the best, most current information and resources available to enable you all to act and respond with all the relevant information. We will continue to do this to ensure that you can continue to serve your members and serve as financial first responders in this time of crisis. Please always feel free to reach out to me at [email protected] with any questions, concerns, ideas or if there is any way I may be of service.
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Vicki Hall is Retiring!
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Two Offers to help Credit Unions Provide Uninterrupted Member Service
For more information on how to get started on either service, please contact Laura Parrish at [email protected] or (502) 649-3576.
Eltropy will waive Setup, Implementation and Platform fees for 90 days for all Kentucky Credit Unions
Eltropy’s platform enables your credit union to leverage Text Messaging in a secure and TCPA-compliant way. During this pandemic, it's important that credit unions keep communication channels open for members. That's why Eltropy will be waiving setup, implementation and platform fees for credit unions for 90 days for all Kentucky Credit Unions. The only cost your credit union will bear is the "pass-through" carrier text message fee of $0.01 per text. Ashish Garg, CEO & Founder of Eltropy, has assured us that Eltropy can setup and implement this solution quickly for credit unions who would like to take advantage of this offer.
POPi/o offers free video member service option
League partners, CUNA Strategic Services and POPi/o, are providing free video seat licenses for credit unions to use for maintaining business continuity during the COVID-19 epidemic. POPi/o is offering 10,000 video seat licenses of a limited version of its video banking platform at no cost to credit unions.
POPi/o’s seat licenses can be used by credit unions to provide web and mobile-based video service for credit unions to stay in contact with their members. Members click on a link from a computer to activate the video platform. The member can interact with the credit union staff to exchange documents, including photo IDs, review documents, and provide signatures to authorize new accounts, new loans, and address other urgent account needs.
POPi/o President/CEO Gene Pranger said, “The ability to exchange documents within a socially distant environment—while still maintaining personal contact with members—is ideal under the current environment created by the COVID-19 threat. It offers the ability to trade documents back and forth and exchange legal signatures,” Pranger said. “You can do anything over our system that you can do face to face within a branch, with the exception of distributing cash.”
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Urgent Needs Grant Available Through NCUA for Low-Income Designated Federal Credit Unions
Federally insured, low-income designated credit unions that experience unexpected costs as a result of COVID-19 can request an urgent needs grant from the National Credit Union Administration.
NCUA Chairman Rodney E. Hood stated in a release on March 23, 2020 that, “If you are a low-income credit union that needs assistance during this difficult time, I encourage you to apply for these grants to ensure you can continue to meet the financial needs of your members and communities.”
Check out this link for more details of the grant:
https://www.ncua.gov/newsroom/press-release/2020/ncua-urgent-needs-grants-available-help-credit-unions-affected-covid-19
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A New Member Benefit NOW AVAILABLE – Delivering Compliance with Confidence
We are pleased to announce Credit Union Compliance Management System™ (CU CMS), developed specifically to help relieve the burden of compliance management on credit unions, with technology by Quantivate.
This easy-to-use, centralized system is designed to:
- Reduce non-compliance risk
- Keep credit unions informed
- Improve accountability and alignment
- Decrease stress on staff and resources
Credit Union Compliance Management System™ is an intuitive, scalable compliance solution that includes timely regulation alerts, guided workflows and an advertising review tool, as well as a federal and state law and regulation library, evidence tracking, RISK alerts from CUNA Mutual Group and an easy-to-use dashboard.
For more information about the member benefit, as well as an enhanced for-fee version of the system, Credit Union Compliance Management System PLUS™ (CU CMS+), visit cuna.org/cucms. Everything your credit union needs to manage regulatory compliance will be at your fingertips—and with additional modules available by Quantivate, your credit union has access to an entire GRC suite.
Welcome to a new day for credit union compliance.
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Applications for Award Nominations are Open!
Kentucky’s credit unions do amazing things every day for their members and their communities. Each year, we recognize those achievements at a banquet during our Annual Convention. Below is a description of the awards available for nominations. To read more about each award, or to make a nomination, please click on one of the links below.
CUNA Awards
Administered by the Kentucky Credit Union League & Affiliates and CUNA, the Louise Herring, Dora Maxwell and Alphonse Desjardins awards programs are a wonderful way for credit unions to showcase all the great things they do for their members and their communities.
Below you'll find a brief description of each of the programs:
Louise Herring Award
The purpose of this award is to promote credit union philosophy by formally recognizing credit unions that demonstrate in an extraordinary way the practical application of that philosophy for their members.
Dora Maxwell Award
The purpose of this award is to promote social responsibility among credit unions by formally recognizing their community service achievements.
Alphonse Desjardins Award
Alphonse Desjardins was a credit union pioneer who was instrumental in forming the Canadian and U.S. credit union movements. Besides helping to found the first credit unions in Canada and the U.S., Desjardins pioneered youth savings clubs and in-school "banks", known as caisses scolaires. This award honors leadership within the credit union movement on behalf of youth and adult financial literacy.
In an effort to streamline the submission process for our member credit unions and to reduce financial and human resources spent on the submission process, CUNA and the Leagues have collaborated to produce one standardized format and online submission process for our member credit unions.
Submission Instructions
You will automatically establish an account when you create an application to submit your first project by clicking on the designated link below. You may save your work and return to the submission site as often as needed as long as you complete and submit all parts of the project submission by the due date of May 31, 2020. State winners will advance to the national competition for judging.
KY Homepage
KY Louise Herring
KY Dora Maxwell
KY Desjardins
Kentucky Recognition Awards
Your League sponsors several different award categories to recognize the achievements of individuals, credit unions, and chapters in Kentucky. There is no fee to submit an award. All affiliated credit unions, their employees, and volunteers are encouraged to participate.
Learn more about the award categories. Submit nominations by June 30th.
If you have any questions on awards, you may contact Katie Means at the League Office at [email protected].
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The FREE HR Hotline is Available for Your COVID-19 Questions
Through our partnership with Woods Rogers’ Labor and Employment Attorneys, member credit unions have access to a FREE Employment Law Hotline.
Member credit unions can contact the Woods Rogers law firm for COVID-19 related questions or other daily human resource issues.
Contact Kameron Melton at the firm at (540) 983-7674 or [email protected] to get guidance on your questions.
CUNA: Ongoing COVID-19 Coverage
CUNA News is monitoring how coronavirus (COVID-19) is affecting credit unions and their members. Follow our coverage to stay up to date, and get in touch with us at [email protected] to share what your credit union is doing to keep staff and members safe.
▶ Take the CUNA/AACUL COVID-19 response survey
▶ Visit CUNA’s COVID-19 resource page
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CUNA postpones events through May 15
CUNA announced Wednesday it is postponing all schools and conferences through May 15, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. CUNA continues to follow local and federal guidance as well as recommendations from the CDC regarding group sizes and social distancing.
Postponed events include:
- CUNA Marketing & Business Development Councils Conference (March 15-18)
- CUNA Consumer & Residential Mortgage Lending School (April 6-9)
- CUNA HR & Organizational Development Council Conference (April 19-22)
- CUNA Regulatory Compliance Certification School (Spring) (April 19-24)
- CUNA Financial Management School (April 20-23)
- CUNA Kansas City Small Credit Union Strategic Planning Workshop (April 21)
- CUNA Enterprise Risk Management Certification School (April 27-29)
- CUNA Lending Council Forum (April 29-30)
- CUNA Credit Union Board Certification School (May 4-8)
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Your Webinars: More Locations, Faster Delivery
The Credit Union Webinar Network is excited to announce two changes to how you can view our relevant, reliable, and cost-effective webinars.
Two big changes to our Live and Recorded webinars:
- Each Live Webinar registration allows your credit union to access the live webinar from up to 3 locations.
- All Recorded Webinars will be available for viewing and download 2 business days after the Live Webinar date. Effective March 30th
We hope these changes will make your training easier and more efficient, as well as even more accessible while we all navigate the current COVID-19 situation.
Both changes come at no additional cost to you. In fact, you can buy any two webinars and get one free for all of April with our Spring Webinar Special.
We will continue to monitor the financial services industry to bring you new and relevant topics. As always, all our webinars can be accessed from wherever you are. We’re here for you, and will continue to be.
Find more than 150 webinars here
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**NEW** 2020 Mid-Level Management Workshop
Principles of Leadership
June 3, 2020 | League Office | Louisville, KY
Educational Investment: $299 per person
It’s never been more challenging to be a leader than it is in today’s organizations. In this impactful session, Laurie will share the most important elements of successful leadership and the common behaviors and actions that hold leaders back from success. Through some powerful exercises, you will learn how to instill the habits and behaviors in your leadership that will bring out the best performance from your team.
You will learn:
• The three pillars of exceptional leadership and how to focus your time in the areas that matter
• The difference between traditional leadership and modern leadership
• The characteristics of a “modern” leader, and how to operate at an exceptional level
• The top three habits and behaviors that hold leaders back
• The most important skill for executive and leadership success
• The three most important skills for coaching an employee to peak performance
• How to instill accountability in a positive and principled way
• How to handle challenging conversations easier and more respectfully
This one-day leadership workshop will provide the skills and tools you need to transform your leadership and your confidence.
Who Should Attend:
This workshop is suitable for supervisors, managers, directors, and high-potential employees being groomed for management.
About the Trainer
Laurie Maddalena is CEO of Envision Excellence, a leadership development consulting firm that provides leadership development programs for managers and executives, executive and leadership coaching, management training, Myers-Briggs facilitation, Emotional Intelligence surveys and leadership assessments. Laurie has been personally mentored by Jack Canfield, author of The Success Principles, and is a certified Success Principles Trainer.
Laurie is a member of the National Speakers Association (NSA) and is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), a designation earned by less than 15% of speakers worldwide. She writes a monthly online column for next-generation leaders for CUES, is a contributing writer on leadership for The Huffington Post and CUInsight, and has published articles in Credit Union Management.
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Regulatory Compliance Mini-Workshop
June 10, 2020 | League Office | Louisville, KY
Educational Investment: $249 per person
About this mini-workshop...
Join us as we discuss the hot button compliance issues that credit unions are facing today. This will be a hands-on workshop where we will discuss the operational impacts of the various hot topics that are affecting your credit union today.
In this half-day workshop we will cover:
- NCUA Supervisory Priorities
- Regulation E Initial Disclosures and Error Resolution
- Truth-in-Lending Disclosure Errors
- FCRA Practices and Reporting
- MLA and SCRA practices
- FinCEN & BSA Hot Topics
Who Should Attend:
- BSA Officers
- Lending & Compliance Officers
- Risk/Fraud Officers
- Operations Officers
- Anyone who would like to learn more about what is trending in the compliance world.
Meet the Instructor: Jeremy Smith
As Compliance Manager, Jeremy Smith oversees compliance services for PolicyWorks' partner Credit Union Leagues. Jeremy provides regulatory compliance guidance and training on current laws and regulations to credit union professionals.
Before coming to PolicyWorks, Jeremy worked in regulatory compliance developing policies, coordinating and communicating with state and federal examiners, developing and monitoring the company’s compliance risk assessment and developing a compliance management system.
Jeremy has an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
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Career with credit unions? Discover Southeast CUNA Management School!
Registration now open!
Registration for the 2020 session of the Southeast CUNA Management School, the premier learning opportunity for credit union professionals in the southeast, is now open. The school is being held from Friday, June 5 through Friday, June 12, 2020, at the University of Georgia in Athens, GA.
Sponsored by the Southeast Regional Credit Union Schools (SRCUS), a collaboration of eight southeastern credit union leagues, the Southeast CUNA Management School is a three-year program for credit union leaders. Successful completion requires students to participate in courses on campus over a three-year period, develop a comprehensive project, and write and present a whitepaper on a relevant industry topic. Graduates of the Southeast CUNA Management School consistently continue to top leadership positions in the credit union industry.
Tuition is $2,145 if paid on or before April 2, 2020.
Take a look at the Southeast CUNA Management School:
READY TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS PREMIER PROFESSIONAL GROWTH OPPORTUNITY?
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Southeast Regional Directors Conference Information
The Southeast Regional Directors’ Conference is designed for credit union directors and committee members. The conference location rotates among the ten Southeastern states, giving each state an opportunity to host their fellow credit union volunteers and showcase the best of what their state has to offer. This conference features a full range of informative educational sessions that provide a conduit for learning about critical issues important to today’s ever-changing financial industry.
Save the date and make plans to join your peers from credit union boards across the Southeast for two-and-a-half days of education designed for credit unions’ volunteer leaders. The 2020 Southeast Director’s Conference, set for July 26 – 29, 2020 at the beautiful Grand Hotel Golf Resort and Spa in Point Clear, AL, will feature a full range of informative sessions on critical, timely issues, with first-rate speakers to address the economy, lending environment, and much more. The 2020 program will be hosted by the League of Southeastern Credit Unions.
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Abound Credit Union Accepts National Award for Youth Financial Literacy
Abound Credit Union (formerly Fort Knox Federal Credit Union) received national recognition in Washington, DC in February during an industry conference. The Credit Union was a 2019 award recipient of the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) Alphonse Desjardins Youth Financial Education Award. The Credit Union received an honorable mention in the more than $1 billion asset category.
Becky Ates, Executive Vice President of Abound Credit Union, accepted the award on behalf of the not-for-profit cooperative. (Pictured: Becky Ates, EVP of Abound Credit Union and Jim Nussle, President/CEO of CUNA)
Ates has dedicated her 36-year career to the Credit Union’s mission of improving members’ financial lives and has been an ongoing advocate of financial education initiatives, including the new state-mandated financial literacy requirement going into effect later this year for high schoolers. She also spearheaded a team to develop the youth financial literacy program that earned the Credit Union this national recognition.
Specifically, the award recognized Abound Credit Union’s development of the VAULT, an interactive financial literacy program, empowering students to be smart financial decision-makers. This digital program consists of six 30-minute lessons and was developed for 4th-6th graders. Learning resources include supplemental lesson plans, engaging discussion guides, and real-time student score reports to assist teachers in the classroom. During the 2019-2020 school year, ten schools and 1,347 students are participating in the VAULT program with 2,969 hours of learning dedicated to financial education. The Credit Union plans to continue rolling out the VAULT program to additional schools.
“At Abound Credit Union, we are committed to sharing our strength and helping Kentuckians achieve more. By teaching children to be smarter financial decision-makers early on, we’re making a long-term impact that will help their families and entire communities thrive,” said Becky Ates, Executive Vice President of Abound Credit Union. “During the 2020-2021 school year, high schoolers throughout the state will also have access to financial literacy programs because of our support.”
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Service One CU Hires Accountant
Service One Credit Union, voted Best Place to Work in Bowling Green for two years in a row, is pleased to announce the hiring of Lara Overton as the Accountant. Overton has a Business Management degree from WKU and has 13 years of accounting and other banking experience at a local community bank in Bowling Green.
Overton lives in Bowling Green with her husband, Brandon and son, Andrew. she loves WKU sports and cheering on the Tops!
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NEW: Sample Telecommuting Policy - InfoSight
In light of current events regarding the coronavirus and many employees having to work away from the office, a Sample Telecommuting Policy was added to the Business Continuity Planning topic in the Security Area, under Model Policies. Please note that before implementation of a full-blown telecommuting policy, additional policy considerations would be necessary.
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FinCEN urges communication of concerns related to COVID-19
FinCEN has released a notice encouraging financial institutions to communicate COVID-19-related concerns and to stay alert to related illicit activity, similar to fraudulent transactions that occur in the wake of natural disasters. FinCEN is monitoring public reports and BSA reports of suspect behavior connected to COVID-19, and has noted some emerging trends:
- Imposter Scams – Bad actors attempt to solicit donations, steal personal information, or distribute malware by impersonating government agencies (e.g., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), international organizations (e.g., World Health Organization), or healthcare organizations.
- Investment Scams – The SEC urged investors to be wary of COVID-19-related investment scams, such as promotions that falsely claim that the products or services of publicly traded companies can prevent, detect, or cure coronavirus.
- Product Scams – The FTC and FDA have issued public statements and warning letters to companies selling unapproved or misbranded products that make false health claims pertaining to COVID-19. Additionally, FinCEN has received reports regarding fraudulent marketing of COVID-19-related supplies, such as certain facemasks.
- Insider Trading – FinCEN has received reports regarding suspected COVID-19-related insider trading.
FinCEN reminded institutions of its Advisory, FIN-2017-A007, "Advisory to Financial Institutions Regarding Disaster-Related Fraud" (October 31, 2017), for descriptions of other relevant typologies, such as benefits fraud, charities fraud, and cyber-related fraud.
For suspected suspicious transactions linked to COVID-19, along with checking the appropriate suspicious activity report-template (SAR-template) box(es) for certain typologies, FinCEN also encourages financial institutions to enter “COVID19” in Field 2 of the SAR template.
Source: FinCEN
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ACH Operations Bulletin #2-2020: Nacha Issues Reminder on ACH Responsibilities to Financial institutions Potentially Impacted by Coronavirus
In light of the potential impact of coronavirus, Nacha reminds financial institutions of the importance of reviewing their business continuity plans to ensure that they are prepared to maintain ACH payment processing capabilities in the event of possible disruptions. In addition to their own business continuity plans, financial institutions should understand the expectations of their regulators and ACH Operators with regard to ACH processing in potential scenarios of workforce disruption.
The Nacha Operating Rules permit a financial institution to delay performance of its obligations under the Rules beyond required time limits if:
- The delay was caused by the interruption of communication or computer facilities; and,
- The delay was beyond the reasonable control of the financial institution seeking the excused delay.
Whether a delay is beyond the reasonable control of the party asserting an excused delay must be determined based on the available facts and circumstances surrounding the delay, including whether the financial institution exercised the level of diligence required under such circumstances. A delay caused, in whole or in part, by the failure of a financial institution to maintain or implement an appropriate business continuity plan is not excused under the Rules for that financial institution.
Source: NACHA
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NCUA Issues Letter to Credit Unions and Frequently Asked Questions on COVID-19
National Credit Union Administration Chairman Rodney E. Hood today issued a Letter to Credit Unions and Frequently Asked Questions on COVID-19. The letter outlines a number of strategies credit unions may consider when determining how to address the challenges associated with COVID-19. The NCUA encourages credit unions to work with impacted borrowers.
Source: NCUA
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CFPB Publishes Updated HMDA FAQ
Last week, the Bureau published a response to the following frequently asked HMDA question: If a natural person applicant submits a mail, internet, or telephone application under Regulation C but does not provide race, ethnicity, or sex information, what should the financial institution report regarding whether this information was collected on the basis of visual observation or surname?
Source: CFPB
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