SDBA Holds Ag Credit Conference this Week

Picture from 2019 Ag Credit Conference More than 150 ag bankers from across South Dakota are attending the SDBA's Agricultural Credit Conference today and tomorrow in Pierre. The annual conference was originally scheduled for April but postponed due to a snow storm.

Following a pre-conference workshop by Farmer Mac yesterday afternoon and an opening reception last night, the conference kicked off this morning with an update from Washington, D.C., by Dan Martini, vice president of congressional relations and political affairs with the ABA.

Ag bankers in attendance will hear from speakers on a variety of topics such as the evolution and future of precision agriculture, taking control of your workday, a livestock and grain market outlook, having tough conversations with customers, the value of farmland and equipment, positioning for success in the economic reset and a young producers panel. The conference will wrap up Friday morning with the session "Grateful Ways; Amazing Days" by V.J. Smith.

Deadline Nearing to Order 2020 Scenes of South Dakota Calendar

Picture of 2019 Scenes of South Dakota Calendar The SDBA is currently taking orders for the 2020 Scenes of South Dakota Calendar. The calendar will feature photos of South Dakota submitted by South Dakota bankers, their family members and customers.

These calendars are a great opportunity to thank your customers for their business and promote your bank or business. Your bank, branch or business' logo and name can be printed on each calendar to display in homes and businesses all year long. The Scenes of South Dakota Calendar is exclusive to SDBA member banks and associate members.

Calendar orders are due by Sept. 1, 2019, to get the low price of $1.29 per calendar. Each order will have an additional $25 production charge. After Sept. 1, the price is $1.60 per calendar. Orders cannot be accepted after Sept. 15, 2019. Calendar order form.

South Dakota Businesses Alerted of Credit Card Scam

South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg along with the South Dakota Retailers Association are alerting businesses to be on the lookout for a credit card scam which is impacting the state.

Multiple South Dakota businesses have been contacted by out-of-state entities looking to purchase goods. The orders initially appear to be legitimate, but scammers are attempting to pay with fraudulent or stolen credit cards.

“In today’s world, with online sales and directories, it is easy for anyone to find your business,” said Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg in a press release on Monday. “That’s why it’s important to be diligent with email or phone transactions, especially with out-of-state or unknown clients.”

Businesses are reminded to ensure the legitimacy of emailed orders, especially if it is a new customer. If in doubt, verify the identity of the purchaser before proceeding or contact the credit card company to confirm the information on the card and that it has not been stolen. Extra caution should be exercised for out-of-state orders, especially if payment is coming from a different entity.

The South Dakota Attorney General’s Office has been working with the South Dakota Retailers Association to help identify similar scams and track down the scam artists involved. If you believe you have been the target of a scam, report the fraudulent information to the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division at consumer.sd.gov or 800.300.1986. Read more.

FHFA Finalizes New Requirements for Validating, Approving Credit Score Models

As expected, the Federal Housing Financial Agency on Tuesday issued a final rule—as directed by the S. 2155 regulatory reform law—establishing new requirements for the validation and approval of credit score models by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The rule will take effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

Under the final rule, the GSEs will use a four-phase process to validate and approve credit score models, with each phase following an established time frame. The four phases include: soliciting applications from credit score model providers; reviewing submitted applications; conducting a credit score assessment; and assessing the model in conjunction with the GSEs’ business systems. Read the final rule. For more information, contact ABA’s Joe Pigg.

ABA Survey: Banks' Use of Social Media Maturing

More than eight in 10 banks believe social media is important to their institution and 87% are very or somewhat active on their social media accounts, according to a new report released last week by the ABA. Based on a survey of 430 banks of all sizes, the report looks at how banks are managing social media programs, the results they are getting, what they wish they could do better and the opportunities ahead.

The survey found that 52% of respondents planned to increase spending on social media resources in 2019 while an additional 8% sought to significantly increase that budget. Nearly one-third (31%) were planning to hold the budget steady, and less than 1% planned to decrease social media budgets.

The report—which bankers can download for free—also identifies which social media platforms banks use for marketing purposes as well as profiles the ways different banks across the country are using social media to generate tangible results. Download the survey report. Read more on ABA Bank Marketing.

Podcast: Artificial Intelligence, Community Banks and the Compliance Jobs of the Future

Few experts are as deeply immersed in both financial regulation and advanced computing technologies as Eugene Ludwig, the former comptroller of the currency who founded Promontory Financial Group, currently an IBM subsidiary that applies its regulatory expertise to training IBM’s Watson in banking rules.

On the latest episode of the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, Ludwig talks about the current state of artificial intelligence in banking and the outlook for community banks and compliance professionals. He discusses:

The relative skills of AI versus humans, with machine learning making AIs like Watson increasingly good at memorizing vast quantities of data, while humans remain excellent at intuition with small data sets.
The continuing need for banking talent even as AI becomes better. “No compliance officer need fear that he or she is out of work,” Ludwig says.
The role of AI in helping mitigate conduct risk, which has become magnified by social media. “To solve those problems, you need additional compliance resources, including technology,” he explains.
How community banks can benefit from reduced costs as off-the-shelf AI solutions come into the market.
The need for AI solutions to be “explainable” to regulators and the importance of ensuring AI tools do not amplify existing biases to create fair lending risk.

Listen to the episode.

ABA Foundation Kicks Off Get Smart About Credit Campaign

The ABA Foundation is calling on bankers to take part in its annual Get Smart About Credit campaign, which provides bankers an opportunity to visit classrooms and educate teens about the importance of using credit wisely and how the financial decisions they make today will affect their future.

This year, bankers will observe Get Smart About Credit Day on Oct. 17 and throughout the month. To learn more, bankers can attend a free webinar on Aug. 27 at 2 p.m. CDT. Learn more. Register for the webinar.

Register Today for SDBA Bank Technology Conference

The role of an IT professional is ever-changing, especially in today’s environment. The SDBA Bank Technology Conference is designed to provide support as you keep on top of technology trends and scams, navigate the business of banking, and build and sustain your bank’s technology strategy.

This day-long conference, which will be held Sept. 11 at the Hilton Garden Inn Sioux Falls South in Sioux Falls, will provide you with an opportunity to learn from industry experts, network with other IT colleagues, and visit with exhibitors to see and experience the latest in products and services.

Topics will include how hackers hack humans, how to get great results on your next IT audit, why cybersecurity matters and how FS-ISAC can help, weathering the storm of cloud security, cybercrime and the dark web, building a right-sized cyber governance program, skimming/card cloning and a roundtable discussion. A networking reception will also be held the evening before the conference.

The hotel block will be released Aug. 20. See the full agenda and register to attend.

Question of the Week

Question: For SCRA purposes, if a customer we know has been called into service comes into the bank to lower his or her rate, does the bank have to require proof of military service?

Answer: No, there is not an actual requirement to collect or file proof of military status as license to reduce the rate under the SCRA. However, the bank may have internal procedures mandating personnel to do so, and this is quite common in the industry. In addition, ensure that if the bank does have a policy related to this, that it is applied consistently for fair lending purposes.

Not a member? Learn more about membership with Compliance Alliance by attending one of our live demos:

Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019, 10-11 a.m. CDT

Compliance rules and regulations change quickly. For timely compliance updates, subscribe to Compliance Alliance’s email newsletters.

Compliance Alliance offers a comprehensive suite of compliance management solutions. To learn how to put them to work for your bank, call 888.353.3933 or email.