Registration Open for SDBA Women in Banking Conference

Registration is now open for Lead Strong: Women in Banking set for Oct. 2, 2018, at the Hilton Garden Inn South in Sioux Falls. The event is the SDBA's first one-day conference for women in banking.

LEAD STRONG: Women in Banking is designed to encourage, support and inspire women to succeed in the workplace. This event will benefit all levels of staff interested in the enhancement and career growth of women in South Dakota banking.

The day will include sessions on fierce female leadership, personal branding, self confidence and a panel discussion featuring four female bank leaders from across the state. Attendees will also hear from Laurie Stewart, 2017-2018 ABA Board of Directors vice chair and president and CEO of Sound Community Bank in Seattle, Wa.

Learn more and register to attend.

Coalition Urges Senate to Protect Crop Insurance

A coalition of more than 600 agricultural banking and insurance organizations--including ABA--and other ag industry constituents signed onto a letter to members of the Senate urging them to oppose any harmful amendments in the 2018 Farm Bill that would increase the cost of, reduce or limit participation in, or harm private sector delivery of crop insurance. With the House’s passage last week of its version of the Farm Bill, the Senate must now pass its version before the two bills can be reconciled.

The groups underscored the importance of crop insurance to America’s farmers and ranchers, noting that without it, many could not qualify for the operating loans they require. In addition, crop insurance currently provides a rapid response solution to natural disasters, provides for environmental benefits, protects jobs both on and off the farm, and is available to all types and sizes of producers nationwide.

“Crop insurance is food and fiber security insurance, and food and fiber security is national security,” the groups said. “Given the importance of crop insurance, [we] urge you to support America’s farmers, ranchers, rural economies and national security by opposing amendments that would harm crop insurance.” Read the letter.

House Approves 2018 Farm Bill

By a narrow vote of 213 to 211, the House last Thursday passed the 2018 farm bill, a crucial step toward ensuring the well-being of the nation’s farmers and ranchers and the 2,000 farm banks that serve them. The Senate is expected to bring its version to the floor in the coming weeks.

“This farm bill will help ensure those banks will be able to continue to provide a broad array of financial services to the agricultural sector,” ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols noted after the bill was passed. “We are particularly pleased that members recognized the vital role of programs like crop insurance and USDA loan guarantees. These programs help farm banks make loans and manage risk in both good times and bad, which is critical to maintaining a stable and vibrant farm economy.” Read Nichols' statement.

Encourage Small-Dollar Bank Lending, House Republications Tell FDIC, Fed

Twelve House Republicans on Tuesday urged the FDIC and the Federal Reserve to follow the OCC’s lead by encouraging banks to return to the small-dollar loan market. “The previous administration’s decision to significantly limit financial institutions from making short-term, small-dollar consumer loans has reduced consumer choice and hindered competition in the marketplace,” they wrote. “We believe that financial regulatory policy should allow depository institutions to meet the demand for these loans and that additional supply and competition lead to a healthier, more vibrant economy.”

The OCC in May issued a bulletin encouraging banks to make “responsible short-term, small-dollar installment loans, typically two to 12 months in duration with equal amortizing payments” to help meet the credit needs of their customers. Under the OCC’s guidance, small-dollar lending programs should be consistent with safe and sound banking practices, include an effective risk management framework and be underwritten based on reasonable policies and practices, which may include analysis of internal and external data sources such as the borrower’s deposit activity with the bank. The agency also called for banks to report repayment activity of small-dollar loan customers to the credit bureaus to help borrowers improve their credit scores. Read the letter.

Lawmakers Seek Clarity from Sessions on ADA, Website Accessibility

A group of 103 lawmakers last week wrote to Attorney General Jeff Sessions seeking further clarity on how the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to websites. The letter came in response to numerous demand letters that banks and other businesses have received from plaintiffs’ firms asserting that websites are not accessible to speech and hearing impaired customers, as required by ADA.

While there have been several recent court decisions on the applicability of ADA to websites--notably Domino’s Pizza v. Robles, which held that requiring a company to provide an accessible website in the absence of a clear regulation would violate due process rights--the Department of Justice has delayed indefinitely plans to issue an official rule establishing website accessibility standards.

“We support the original spirit and intent of the ADA,” the lawmakers said. “However, unresolved questions about the applicability of the ADA to websites as well as the Department’s abandonment of the effort to write a rule defining website accessibility standards, has created a liability hazard that directly affects businesses in our states and the customers they serve.” Read the letter.

ReliaMax Surety Company Placed in Liquidation

The South Dakota Division of Insurance petitioned the Hughes County Circuit Court on June 12 to place ReliaMax Surety Company into liquidation due to insolvency. The South Dakota-based insurance company writes surety bonds covering student loan repayment to financial institutions throughout the nation.

Judge Patricia J. DeVaney approved the petition yesterday and appointed Division of Insurance Director Larry Deiter as the liquidator and receiver of the company’s estate. Deiter says having the order in place allows the Division to provide protection to affected policy holders by preserving company assets for claims payment.

The liquidation order directs the liquidator to take possession of and safeguard the property of the insurer and conduct the insurer’s business in the interim while taking the steps needed to bring the affairs of the business of the insurer to an end.

“The next step of the process includes notifying policy holders, claimants and other interested parties of the liquidation status and providing established procedures to file claims,” said Deiter.

Questions on the liquidation process can be directed to the Division of Insurance at 605.773.3563.

Bonus Podcast: Partnerships to Protect Bank Customers from Elder Abuse

To mark Elder Abuse Awareness Month in June, a bonus episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast explores how banks can successfully partner with law enforcement, Adult Protective Services agencies and other community partners to protect their senior citizen customers from elder financial abuse.

The guests on the podcast--Ed Hutchison of the National Sheriffs Association and Sam Kunjukunju of the ABA Foundation--explore the growth and prevalence of elder fraud and why everyone in the bank needs to be aware of the problem; the kinds of frauds and scams that often target the elderly; how to join a "triad," a formal partnership among law enforcement, APS, banks and other community partners that facilitates cooperation to protect seniors; and how to build productive partnerships with law enforcement and APS even if you don't have a triad in your area. More resources about the issues discussed in the podcast can be found in the ABA Foundation's free new guide. Listen to this episode. Download the free guide.

Do you use podcast apps to listen? You can find the ABA Banking Journal Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Pocket Casts, Stitcher and Spotify, as well as in the Daily Newsbytes email every Friday.

OnCourse Learning Partners with Inspired eLearning to Expand Security Awareness

OnCourse Learning Financial Services, an SDBA associate member, announced Tuesday a partnership with Inspired eLearning, an award-winning security awareness training solution company. Financial institutions, including banks, credit unions and mortgage companies, now can benefit from OnCourse Learning’s expanded catalog of online regulatory compliance courses and cybersecurity training offerings.

Critical security topics now available through OnCourse Learning include security awareness essentials, phishing, social engineering, email security, incident reporting, privacy and GDPR (general data protection requirement) for U.S. & EU. Learn more.

Question of the Week

Question: If we are not a HMDA bank, do we still need to collect government monitoring information on mortgage loans?

Answer: Yes, but only for a home purchase or refinance of a home purchase loan secured by a dwelling that is or will be used by the borrow as a principal dwelling.

Regulation B provides the following:

(a) Information to be requested. (1) A creditor that receives an application for credit primarily for the purchase or refinancing of a dwelling occupied or to be occupied by the applicant as a principal residence, where the extension of credit will be secured by the dwelling, shall request as part of the application the following information regarding the applicant(s):

12 CFR 1002.13(a): https://www.consumerfinance.gov/eregulations/1002-13/2013-22752_20140118#1002-13

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