YOUR WEEKLY UPDATE FROM MONTANA'S CREDIT UNIONS | April 20, 2020
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Well, things continue to be developing at a furious pace — there's been movement both in Congress and at the NCUA that allow credit unions a little more flexibility, the first round of economic payments to individuals has been distributed, and the Payroll Protection Plan's initial $350 allocation has already been depleted. This issue of the President's Report has information on all of that and more!
All of us here at MCU remain ready and willing to help. Make sure you
contact us
if there's something we can do for you.
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GOVERNOR BULLOCK ANNOUNCES TASK FORCE
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This week, our Governor established a
Coronavirus Relief Fund Task Force
to help decide how the $1.25 billion appropriated to Montana through the CARES Act can be best used to assist the workers and businesses impacted by COVID-19. The task force will take the next two weeks to examine all sectors of the economy to understand the impacts of COVID, consider the unique needs of each region, and make recommendations that will support a long-term path to economic recovery. I hope our credit union leaders will offer your perspectives using the
public comment portal
on the Monana Dept. of Commerce website.
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NCUA ADJUSTS APPRAISAL REQUIREMENTS:
The NCUA Board met via live webcast yesterday and approved a temporary final rule granting regulatory relief to federally insured credit unions (FICUs) to remain operational and liquid during the COVID-19 pandemic. They also followed other federal agencies yesterday and approved two rules affecting appraisals. The first, an
interim final rule
to waive the appraisal requirement until 120 days after closure, will allow real estate loans to proceed without the need to enter homes during COVID. The second action was to
finalize a rule
to increase the appraisal level from $250,000 to $400,000. FICUs will be required to obtain written estimates of market value of the real estate collateral that is consistent with safe and sound practices instead of an appraisal. Read more details (including information on the CLF rule the board approved on April 13) in the
agency press release
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ASK THE REGULATORS WEBINAR:
The federal financial institution regulatory agencies are hosting an interagency webinar on Friday, April 24, at 1 p.m. MDT on loan modifications and reporting for financial institutions working with people affected by the Coronavirus. The speakers will clarify the interaction between current accounting rules and section 4013 of the CARES Act, supervisory considerations on past due and nonaccrual regulatory reporting, and regulatory capital implications.
Register soon
to get a seat.
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BIPARTISAN BILL EXEMPTING DISASTER LOANS FROM MBL CAP
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On Wednesday, a bipartisan group of congressmen and women announced that they would be sponsoring a bill that would exempt all member business loans that credit unions make during the COVID-19 disaster from the current member business lending cap for three years. This
CUNA News
article
has more details on the legislation and sponsors.
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PPP UPDATE AND CALL TO ACTION
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The SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program, enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ran out of funding on Thursday morning. At this time the SBA is no longer accepting new applications. We’ve been in contact with each of our Congressional delegation to inquire about additional funding and will keep you posted as quickly as we know more information. I also would encourage you to participate in
the newest Action Alert
urging credit union voices to reach out to their Congressional delegation to advocate for more funding.
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The CFPB's free,
online educational tool
is packed with age-appropriate activities and money lessons for students while they're learning from home. Share it with your members who have school-aged kids.
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Fraudsters are wasting no time when it comes to taking advantage of the current situation, and consumers need to beware.
Our blog
lays out six ways consumers can protect themselves against online fraud.
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The Foundation posted
a blog
outlining six ways credit union members (well, everyone) can use their economic impact payment safely and in a way that benefits their financial health & well-being.
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If you're looking for some entertainment, Audible is hosting a selection of stories, handpicked by their editors, for kids of all ages at Audible Stories — they're all free and require no sign-up.
Check them out
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YOUR DUES DOLLARS AT WORK
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RESOURCES AND HELP FROM CUNA
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ECONOMIC PAYMENT RESOURCE:
CUNA’s compliance team just provided a
helpful document
addressing some of the common questions and situations with the economic payments that have started. In addition, in a few weeks, physical checks may start to replace the ACH for these payments. Fraud is expected to be more common as the payments shift to mailed paper checks, so make sure your frontline staff are well aware of
Treasury check security features
. You can sign up to participate in the
Treasury Check Verification Application
(TCVA) that can tell you whether a check is valid.
CUNA ECONOMIC UPDATE:
The April 2020 update is, unsurprisingly, all about how the COVID-19 is affecting the economy. Senior Economist Jordan van Rijn discusses current market trends and how you can position your credit union for long-term growth. His answer is by doing what credit unions do best: helping people. You can find it and past updates
on CUNA's website
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RESOURCES FOR SMALL CREDIT UNIONS
: Small credit unions around the country are facing many challenges. Tom Sakash, Manager of CUNA’s Small Credit Union Initiatives, shares resources and best practices he’s heard from small credit unions during the pandemic in
this recently posted video
.
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FRAUD RISKS IN TURBULENT TIMES
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Fraudsters, who are fervent opportunists, are using this global health emergency as a means of victimizing your members. Read some of latest
blog posts from Verafin
to learn about emerging trends and fraud risks prevalent during times of crisis, and how you can protect your members from financial loss.
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EDUCATION, EVENTS, & OTHER INTERESTING STUFF
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Register for this free webina
r, and tune in to hear experts from the CFPB, Filene, the Financial Health Network, and the JPMorgan Chase Institute as they discuss the "state of the state" in consumer financial well-being.
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Millennium Corporate CU is holding its annual meeting virtually on April 24 at 1 p.m. MDT. If you're a member,
register to attend
. It's a great opportunity to show your support and learn more about your corporate.
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CO-OP is offering a free half-day forum designed to be an "in-the-moment value add" to its in-person conference. Find more details and register on
the event page
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We've added new webinars and classes this week, so make sure to check out our
Free Educational Resources page
to see if there's anything there that appeals to you.
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Jacklynn and Amber pose with the spinning wheel they decorated to give away Chamber Bucks.
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As a way to support local businesses, the Daniels County Chamber decided to give away $10,000 in Chamber Bucks over 20 days starting this past Monday. Each local Chamber member — including
Daniels-Sheridan FCU
— received $250 to distribute in the community as they see fit. The credit union opted to match them 2 to 1 and gave away a total of $750 Chamber Bucks to members as they came though the drive up on April 15.
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To make it fun, Jacklynn Nelson, MSR, and Amber French, manager of operations, decorated the credit union's spinning wheel with different denominations. Members going through the drive through got a spin and, depending on the results, won certificates to spend money at chamber businesses in amounts of $5, $10, $15, $20, $50, and one lucky winner even received a $100 certificate to spend at a local business. CEO Tim Rask said, “there are many local restaurants, bars, hair salons and more that have been drastically impacted during the shutdown. We felt this is the best way to give back to our members and keep circulating the chamber bucks in our community.” Thank you for making a #CUDifference in our state!
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MAKING AN ECONOMIC IMPACT IN MONTANA
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We've teamed up with the California and Nevada Credit Union League to help quantify how Montana credit unions are stepping up and helping members in meaningful ways during the COVID-19 crisis. The
results from our first survey
show that you're offering emergency loans, mortgage forbearance, commercial and business forbearance, payment extensions and fee waivers. CEOs, please watch for the next survey to be sent out on Monday (April 20), we'd love to get 100% participation.
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I know all of our Montana credit unions are collecting stories as you help members. If you have time,
please share them with us
… we want to be able to spread the word here and in our contacts with regulators and our Congressional delegation.
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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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