INFORMATION & RESOURCES ON COVID-19 | March 31, 2020
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Once again, we have a slew of information about COVID-19 and its implications for credit unions as essential providers of financial services, small businesses, and employers ... This Tuesday afternoon eNews has the most recent developments, news, and resources that MCU staff have collected. Thanks for all you're doing to help your staff, members, families, and communities.
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GUIDANCE, UPDATES, AND INFO YOU CAN USE
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MCU IS BUSY WORKING FOR YOU
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COVID-19 RESOURCE PAGE:
We continue to update our
Coronavirus Resource page
regularly to provide you a quick place to get updated information for Montana, as both a credit union and an employer. This week, an
Emergency Loan Guide
by the U.S. Chamber, more communication from NCUA, and resources for complying with the new family leave requirements (effective April 1!) have all been added. In addition, our
Fraud Resource page
is currently all COVID and stimulus fraud focused. Help educate your members how to avoid giving their account information to fraudsters!
CEO CALL:
On Wednesday, we’re having a CEO call from 3:00 pm-4:30 pm with Attorney Cori Cook. For more details,
email Tracie
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR:
As a way to assure Montanans that credit unions remain safe, secure, and open and inform them that they have also put special initiatives in place to help members, we have drafted this
Letter to the Editor.
We will be working to place it in as many of Montana's print and online papers as possible.
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NCUA Offsite Examination and Supervision:
Until further notice, all NCUA employees and contracted support staff have been ordered to work offsite since March 16, and all NCUA examinations will take place offsite through May 1. During this time, the agency will limit the burden imposed on credit unions so that they can focus on providing uninterrupted service to their members. Read the
Letter to Credit Unions
that outlines the NCUA’s approach to their examination and supervision program for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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COVID-19: Phase 3 Legislation:
Through direct CUNA and League advocacy, credit unions were able to catch and amend several provisions in the latest COVID-19 relief legislation that, through drafting oversights, had previously only included banks and other lenders. Thanks to a lot of hard work, the final bill, which was signed into law last Friday, does the following:
- Makes credit unions eligible to participate in the SBA's Paycheck Protection Program;
- Includes credit unions in troubled debt restructuring, allowing credit unions to further modify existing loans;
- Allows NCUA to expand access to and the borrowing authority of the agency's Central Liquidity Facility (CLF) to provide relief for credit unions experiencing unusual or unexpected liquidity shortfalls; and
- Includes credit unions in a CECL compliance delay.
This means that you will be able to better serve your members who are affected by COVID-19 and the government's response. For more details, listen to Ryan Donovan, CUNA's chief advocacy officer give
an overview of the phase 3 stimulus legislation
and an update on credit union advocacy.
CONTINUING ADVOCACY:
As the legislative and executive policy responses to the COVID-19 crisis continue to take shape, CUNA and the Leagues are engaging lawmakers to support policies that enable and enhance credit unions’ service to their communities during the COVID-19 crisis. A collection of these efforts can be found at
www.americascreditunions.org
.
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IRS STIMULUS PAYMENTS:
Fraudsters are already calling to try to take advantage of the stimulus payments that have been in the news. According to the IRS, they “will share details about the economic impact payment as soon as it’s available. The IRS will NOT contact you to ask you to pay a fee or confirm personal information – IT IS A SCAM. Stay informed and spread the word:
www.irs.gov/coronavirus
.”
CUNA MUTUAL ALERT:
Our friends at CUNA Mutual Group have put together a
risk alert and resources
that provides more details of the fraud along with some suggestions that credit unions should follow to mitigate the risks.
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WEBINAR TOMORROW ON SBA LOAN APPLICATION PROCESS
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NCBA CLUSA and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) are holding a webinar tomorrow to demystify the application process for SBA's Economic Injury Disaster Loans. The webinar will walk participants through the application process and clarify what the loans actually are, who is eligible, what the funds can be used for, and what the terms are.
Register and join the webinar
— it's scheduled for April 1 from 1-2 p.m. MDT.
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FURTHER HR INSIGHTS FROM PHIA GROUP WEBINAR
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Yesterday, the Phia Group (which is a legal group specializing in the arena of self-funded health plans) held
a webinar
which delves into some of the questions regarding employees not wanting to come into work for fear of the virus and such (see pages 10-11 of the
handout
). It gives additional perspective as we all manage this issue.
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To make sure these important links stay at your fingertips, we're going to keep them at the bottom of this weekly email. If we introduce links above that we feel belong here, you'll see them in this list in the next issue.
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MONTANA-SPECIFIC RESOURCES
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This is an internal publication of Montana's Credit Unions intended for our affiliated credit unions and their official family. For more information, call us or visit our website.
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Montana's Credit Unions | 800-745-5547 | montanascreditunions.coop
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