2017 Quad States Convention Registration Now Open
 We will be BANKING BEYOND BORDERS at the 2017 Quad States Convention June 4-6 at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City, S.D. This year’s event will include bankers from South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming—we’re not in Kansas anymore!
In today’s global marketplace, we are BANKING BEYOND BORDERS. To stay ahead of the competition, the banking industry must operate efficiently and stay up-to-speed on regulatory requirements within a quickly-changing landscape. There are things banks can take advantage of to stand out from the rest—leadership and communication tools, technology and changing customer service models.
These ideas and more will be explored by nationally-acclaimed speakers at this year’s BANKING BEYOND BORDERS Quad States Convention. As we travel beyond the borders of our communities, we can also learn through networking with our banking counterparts from four states and our business partners.
While there is no place like home, we invite you to explore BANKING BEYOND BORDERS in the “Emerald City” of the Black Hills of South Dakota.
FSA To Receive Supplemental Funding
Supplemental funding to support Farm Service Agency (FSA) loan guarantees should be available statewide by close of business Monday, April 3, according to information the SDBA received from FSA officials from Washington, D.C.
Earlier this week, ABA staff learned that the U.S. Office of Management and Budget had approved an “anomaly” in the FSA budget which essentially extended funding for loan guarantees through the end of April when the current continuing budget resolution ends. The SDBA subsequently reached out to officials at the state FSA Office to better understand the framework surrounding the OMB “anomaly," said SDBA President Curt Everson.
“Funds in all FSA farm loan categories should be available next week. We’ve had a temporary lapse in guaranteed loan funds in the non-beginning farmer category the past two weeks along with a lapse in direct operating loan funds in the non-socially disadvantaged category," said South Dakota FSA Farm Loan Chief LaDonna Hupp. "We anticipate additional funding will be available by COB Monday, April 3, in adequate volume to sustain continued funding in all categories through the balance of the continuing resolution period (April 28). Status after April 28 will depend on what is authorized in another continuing resolution or FY17 budget. Expectations have been for loan funding to be similar to FY16, which was adequate to meet the demands last year.”
The SDBA will continue to work with the ABA to engage members of Congress on the critical importance of providing adequate funding for FSA loan programs, especially during this challenging time for ag producers and their bankers, Everson said.
New SD Secretary of State Services Going Online
The South Dakota Secretary of State Office is continuing to work at making more services available online to its customers since its new Online Business Filing System went live Nov. 14, 2016.
Starting March 29, Corporate Business Formation both domestic and foreign is available for online processing with a PAD account or a credit card. Corporate Business Formations will incur an additional $15 paper processing fee if mailed to the Secretary of States Office as a paper filing.
Additional services and features coming soon to the system are business search by registered agent name, Nonprofit Business Formations (will be available ONLY for users with a PAD account), online deposits to PAD account using a credit card, commercial registered agent email notification of new entity formations where they are selected as a registered agent, and upgraded Fictitious Business Name/DBA Filing System.
Visit the Online Business Filing System. Questions, email the South Dakota Secretary of State Office.
House Ag Committee Holds Hearing on Farm Credit Oversight
Lawmakers echoed bankers’ concerns about “mission creep” by the government-sponsored Farm Credit System in a House Agriculture Committee hearing yesterday on the system’s performance and overall safety and soundness.
“My rural community bankers, they’re not happy” about Farm Credit System participation in loans to “similar entities” that appear to fall beyond the scope of FCS’ statutory lending authority, acknowledged Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio). According to the FCS representatives testifying before the committee, as well as Farm Credit Administration Chairman Dallas Tonsager, similar entity loans are allowed to make up 15 percent of an individual FCS bank’s total assets, and they account for roughly 3 percent of the system’s total assets. As Gibbs noted, however, “when you’re looking at the whole Farm Credit System, that’s still a lot of money.”
Farm Credit employees countered that they plan to continue pursuing opportunities to finance communications infrastructure projects in rural areas, like those that provide wireless and broadband capabilities. “We’re doing a lot of that business. We’d like to do more,” said CoBank president and CEO Tom Halverson.
ABA has long criticized FCS for lending beyond the scope of its mission, highlighting a number of instances in recent years where FCS banks--such as CoBank--made multimillion dollar loans to telecom giants like Verizon and AT&T, while curbing lending to young, beginning and small farmers. Loans to small farmers have fallen from 30.3 percent in 2003 to just 14.1 percent in 2015, ABA noted in a statement submitted for the record of yesterday’s hearing. Furthermore, the majority of FCS’ outstanding loans are in excess of $1 million, ABA pointed out, adding that “any farmer able to take on more than $1 million in debt does not need subsidized credit.” Read ABA’s statement for the record.
Free Article Explores New Approach to Bank Cyber Resilience
A new article from a forthcoming issue of the ABA Banking Journal digs into Sheltered Harbor, a new bank cyber resilience initiative led by the Financial Services Information-Sharing and Analysis Center. Sheltered Harbor is designed to provide banks of all sizes with backup customer account access should a cyber attack take down their institution’s website or systems.
Sheltered Harbor allows financial institutions to securely store and quickly retrieve account information after an incident and acts as a firewall of sorts, supplementing the defenses banks already have by separating the information away from their own networks. Consumer data is stored and kept private by each institution and is encrypted and protected from changes.
Should a cyber attack succeed, another bank can host the information so that the attacked bank’s customers can access their balances and funds. “Sheltered Harbor is an additional level of resiliency,” says its CEO, Steven Silberstein. “And [it’s] about making sure there is a good copy of a consumers account data that could be moved to a different fully operating processing plant.” Read the article.
Tri-State Trust Conference To Be Held in April
Registration is now open for the 2017 Tri-State Trust Conference on April 24-26 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fargo.
Hosted by the North Dakota Bankers Association, the conference focuses on trust officers’ unique responsibilities and their need for quality information and training to serve customers. The conference features two days of educational sessions led by experts in the business of trust and wealth management.
Highlights of the 2017 conference will include David L. Peterson, i7stratetgies, presenting “Grounded: Mitigating Disaster Through Strategic Leadership and Effective Decision-Making" and Samuel A. Donaldson presenting “Federal Tax Update.” Hot topics to be discussed include strategic leadership and decision-making, retirement plan update and estate tax portability. Survivor Nicaragua finalist Holly Hoffman’s will present the closing keynote “Never Give Up! The Survivor Way.” In addition, more than 30 companies will participate as exhibitors.
Conference content has been submitted for continuing education credit with the CFP, ICB (CTFA and CRSP), ND Insurance Department, SD Division of Insurance, ND Commission for Continuing Legal Education and MN State Board of CLE. More information and register.
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