YOUR WEEKLY UPDATE FROM MONTANA'S CREDIT UNIONS | March 27, 2020
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As you all know, this week has been a deluge of information, planning, and reporting around COVID-19 and its repercussions for your staff, members, and credit union operations. Governor Bullock has now issued a
Stay at Home Directive
for Montana. Of course, our business goes on, since credit unions provide financial services, they are listed as "essential businesses."
This issue of the
President's Report
is, once again, all COVID-19 related …. We'll be sending you another COVID-19 News update on Tuesday (if you missed
this week's issue
, give it a read). MCU's physical office is closed and all of my staff are working remotely (while now sheltering in place).
Don't hesitate to reach out to any of us
. We're here to help in any way we can.
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CREDIT UNION MEMBERS TO BENEFIT IN LATEST CORONAVIRUS BILL
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Through direct CUNA and League advocacy, credit unions will be able to better serve their members affected by the latest COVID-19 relief legislation. The bill, passed by the Senate late Wednesday, was amended to include credit unions in several provisions. Read about the effort in
CUNA News
.
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GUIDANCE ON NEW FAMILY SICK LEAVE ACT
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The US Dept. of Labor has clarified the Family Sick Leave and Expanded FMLA can begin to be taken by eligible employees starting April 1, 2020. They have released two Fact Sheets (
one for employees
and
one for employers
) and a
Q&A document
, which explain the various paid leaves, as well the payroll tax credits that can be taken to reimburse employers.
POSTER:
DOL also issued
this poster
that employers are required to share with their employees. It must be displayed on a wall in the facility where it will be seen by all employees or, for organizations with employees working remotely, sent directly to employees via email or letter or published on an employee information internal or external website.
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SMALL-DOLLAR LENDING ENCOURAGED
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FEDERAL REGULATORS EXPRESS SUPPORT:
Yesterday, federal financial regulators issued
a joint statement
encouraging financial institutions to offer responsible small-dollar loans to consumer and small business members affected by COVID-19. At the same time, NCUA issued a
Letter to Credit Unions
that summarizes the joint statement and reiterates NCUA's support of small-dollar lending, which can help members meet their needs for credit due to temporary cash-flow imbalances, unexpected expenses, or income short-falls during periods of economic stress or disaster recovery.
FREE FILENE WEBINAR:
If you're wondering whether your credit union could do more to maximize your support and help more members, Filene has a
free action-focused webinar
for you. Join them on April 2 and learn to assess your credit union's liquidity to know what's possible (and the positive results it can have for member loyalty) as well as discover opportunities to "maximize" your small-dollar lending programs.
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STREAMLINED CDFI APPLICATION ROUND OPENS
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As of March 29, federally insured, low-income credit unions that want to become certified Community Development Financial Institutions can apply to use NCUA’s streamlined qualification process. The intake period closes May 31. Refer to NCUA’s
online program guide
for instructions.
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This week's blog
was written to keep board members informed of the steps we're taking at MCU to support your credit unions and direct them to COVID-19 resources.
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Our COVID-19 resource page
offers an up-to-date collection of information for you as you deal with this pandemic's impact on your credit union.
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We've put together a few lobby signs, Facebook graphics, and templates for press statements to
help you inform your member
s about your response to COVID-19.
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CUNA's economists
revised their forecast
in the face of the rapid, widespread, and severe economic disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak .
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YOUR DUES DOLLARS AT WORK
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HR COMMUNITY CALL FOLLOW-UP
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FREE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNTIES
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As organizations and associations (like ours) cancel or reschedule their in-person trainings and conferences, organizations and speakers have stepped into the breach and are offering free videos, webinars, trainings, and access to on-line resources. We've set up a page with
free educational resources
on our website to collect the ones that we think are well-done, interesting, and of value for credit union audience. This is a work in progress (we get wind of new possibilities every day), so be sure to check back.
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TIMELY WEBINARS FROM OUR PARTNER
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And speaking of online training... don't forget that our partner CU Webinar Network gives your credit union staff and volunteers quality, affordable training they can access while sheltering in place. In addition to a
free Pandemic Preparedness webinar
recorded last week,
the CU Webinar Network is offering two trainings specific to COVID-19 and its repercussions for our industry.
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Colorful (and carefully selected) cans destined for the Giant Springs Chapter's CANtastic sculpture are loaded up for transfer to the Great Falls Community Food Bank.
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FINDING A SILVER LINING AMID COVID-19 CANCELLATIONS
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The Giant Springs Chapter has always looked forward to participating in the annual
Great Falls CANtasitic competition in March. In fact, the Chapter has had some incredible (and award-winning) structures in past years. This year, they started planning in January and were all geared up — design ready, colorful cans of pasta with meat sauce, peaches, pears, green beans, and peas all purchased — when the event was postponed and possibly cancelled. Their response: they decided to pack up all those cans and donate them to the Great Falls Community Food Bank. Chapter President MaryEllen Kopp said the food bank was overjoyed to receive the donation since their shelves were almost empty of those foods items. As MaryEllen noted, "we are all making adjustments to plans and the making the best we can of a difficult time." Thanks for making a #CUDifference as well.
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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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