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Flood risk is evolving — and so should the way we assess it. Join us for a deep dive into flood zone mapping, insurance trends, and mitigation strategies that go beyond traditional models. This webinar will explore how FEMA maps flood zones, highlight recent flood events and data analytics, and introduce tools to help lenders assess portfolio-wide risk.
You’ll gain insights into changing homebuying behavior, insurance shifts, and practical strategies for borrower education, resilience financing, and post-flood recovery. With many major floods occurring outside of designated Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs), uninsured borrowers are increasingly vulnerable.
This webinar is free and is only available to ABA members and ABA Partner Network members. Click below to review the key topics and registration details.
ABA Recommends long-term updates to National Flood Insurance Program
September 15, 2025
The American Bankers Association is urging lawmakers to reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program for five years and make changes to modernize and improve the program’s stability and affordability, as well as improve compliance requirements for the Flood Disaster Protection Act.
Last month, Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Corey Booker (D-N.J.) requested public input on 46 questions covering various aspects of the NFIP, including reauthorization, mandatory purchase and continuous coverage requirements, and NFIP coverage limits. ABA submitted a letter to the senators and other members of the Senate Banking Committee, in which it listed several recommendations. Among them, the association suggested reauthorizing the NFIP for a five-year period, noting that the 33 short-term extensions and four lapses of the program since 2017 have consistently caused major disruptions to the mortgage market and undermined confidence in the program.
“Stability in the program is essential to ensuring that borrowers in flood-prone areas can obtain the insurance necessary to protect their homes and banks can protect the collateral securing their mortgage loans,” ABA said.
ABA also recommended that flood supervision reflect a more risk-based framework and that civil money penalty authority be narrowed to cover only violations that result in a lack of flood insurance coverage on property that requires it; that Congress require regulators update the Interagency Flood Insurance Q&As on a regular basis through the notice-and-comment process; that Congress consider establishing federal preemption over flood disclosure requirements and state laws that limit flood insurance coverage; and that Congress recognize private flood insurance policies that contain coverage equivalent to an NFIP policy as satisfying the continuous coverage requirement.
Full Article
ABA: House committee advances four ABA-backed bills
September 17, 2025
 The House Financial Services Committee today advanced four bills supported by the American Bankers Association, covering topics ranging from stress testing to community banks.
Committee members met to consider 11 bills. In a letter submitted ahead of the hearing, ABA expressed its support for four of the bills. They are:
- The Stress Testing Accountability and Transparency Act (H.R. 5270), led by Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.). The bill would require the Federal Reserve to issue a rule to establish models, assumptions, formulas or other decisional methodologies that are used to determine any component or subcomponent of the stress capital buffer (SCB) for a bank holding company. It would also prohibit the Fed from making material changes to the SCB calculation without a notice-and-comment rulemaking. The committee voted 28-24 to advance the bill.
- The Community Bank Leverage Improvement and Flexibility for Transparency [LIFT] Act (H.R. 5276), led by Rep. Young Kim (R-Calif.). The bill would amend the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act to adjust the community bank leverage ratio to not less than 6% and not more than 8%. In addition, the legislation would increase the threshold under which banks are eligible to opt into the CBLR framework to $15 billion in total assets, compared to the current threshold of $10 billion in total assets. The committee voted 33-19 to advance the bill.
- The Merchant Banking Modernization Act (H.R. 5291), led by Rep. Roger Williams (R-Texas). The bill would amend the Bank Holding Company Act by requiring the Fed to permit merchant banking investments to be held for at least 15 years from the date of initial investment. The committee voted 35-17 to advance the bill.
- The Bank Competition Modernization Act (H.R. 5262), led by Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wisc.). The bill would amend the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, the Bank Holding Company Act and the Home Owners’ Loan Act to stipulate that mergers resulting in institutions under $10 billion in assets are presumed not to result in a monopoly, lessen competition or restrain trade. In addition, the $10 billion asset threshold in the legislation would be periodically adjusted by indexing to the nominal gross domestic product. The committee voted 28-24 to advance the bill.
Full Article
CISA News: Ransomware Administrator Charged
September 9, 2025
Last week, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York unsealed a superseding indictment charging Volodymyr Viktorovich Tymoshchuk — also known as deadforz, Boba, msfv, and farnetwork — a Ukrainian national, with serving as an administrator in the LockerGoga, MegaCortex, and Nefilim ransomware schemes.
“Volodymyr Tymoshchuk is charged for his role in ransomware schemes that extorted more than 250 companies across the United States and hundreds more around the world,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “In some instances, these attacks resulted in the complete disruption of business operations until encrypted data could be recovered or restored. This prosecution and today’s rewards announcement reflects our determination to protect businesses from digital sabotage and extortion and to relentlessly pursue the criminals responsible, no matter where they are located.”
“Tymoshchuk is a serial ransomware criminal who targeted blue-chip American companies, health care institutions, and large foreign industrial firms, and threatened to leak their sensitive data online if they refused to pay,” said U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. for the Eastern District of New York. “For a time, the defendant stayed ahead of law enforcement by deploying new strains of malicious software when his old ones were decrypted. Today’s charges reflect international coordination to unmask and charge a dangerous and pervasive ransomware actor who can no longer remain anonymous.”
“Volodymyr Tymoshchuk repeatedly used ransomware attacks to target hundreds of companies in the United States and around the globe in attempts to extort victims,” said Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia of the FBI New York Field Office. “Today’s announcement should serve as warning, cyber criminals may believe they act with impunity while conducting harmful cyber intrusions, but law enforcement is onto you and will hold you accountable. The FBI along with our law enforcement partners will continue to scour the globe to bring to justice any individual attempting to use the anonymity of the internet to commit crime.”
“The criminals behind Nefilim ransomware may believe they can profit from extortion and data leaks, but they are wrong,” said Special Agent in Charge Christopher J. S. Johnson of the FBI’s Springfield Field Office. “The FBI is actively pursuing them to disrupt their operations and bring them to justice. We urge all organizations to report these attacks immediately — because every report helps us dismantle these networks and ensure cybercriminals are held accountable.”
As alleged in the superseding indictment, between December 2018 and October 2021, Tymoshchuk used the LockerGoga, MegaCortex, and Nefilim ransomware variants to encrypt computer networks in countries around the world, including in the Eastern District of New York, elsewhere in the United States, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Switzerland. These ransomware attacks caused millions of dollars of losses, including damage to victim computer systems, remediation costs, and ransomware payments to the perpetrators. In these attacks, the perpetrators typically customized the ransomware executable file (the ransomware file responsible for encryption) for each ransomware victim. The customization allowed the ransomware actors to create a decryption key that could only decrypt the network of the specific victim. If a victim paid the ransom demand, the perpetrators would send a decryption tool, which enabled the victim to decrypt the computer files locked by the ransomware program.
Between July 2019 and June 2020, Tymoshchuk and his co‑conspirators are alleged to have compromised the networks of more than 250 victim companies in the United States and hundreds of other companies around the world with LockerGoga and MegaCortex. However, many of these extortion attempts were unsuccessful because law enforcement often notified victims that their networks had been compromised before Tymoshchuk and his co-conspirators were able to deploy the ransomware. Subsequently, from July 2020 through October 2021, Tymoshchuk is alleged to have been one of the administrators of the Nefilim ransomware strain. Tymoshchuk and the other Nefilim administrators provided other Nefilim ransomware affiliates, including co‑defendant Artem Stryzhak, who was extradited from Spain and faces charges in the Eastern District of New York, with access to the Nefilim ransomware in exchange for 20 percent of the ransom proceeds extorted from Nefilim victims.
In September 2022, as part of an international coordinated effort against LockerGoga and MegaCortex ransomware, decryption keys associated with those ransomware variants were made available to the public via the “No More Ransomware Project,” an initiative to empower ransomware victims to decrypt encrypted computers without paying a ransom. These decryption keys enabled compromised victim companies and institutions to recover data previously encrypted with LockerGoga and MegaCortex ransomware.
Tymoshchuk is charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit fraud and related activity in connection with computers, three counts of intentional damage to a protected computer, one count of unauthorized access to a protected computer, and one count of transmitting a threat to disclose confidential information.
The FBI is investigating this case.
Full Article
The Scenes of South Dakota Calendar features 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 round. The SDBA logo is also included to emphasize the strength and security of South Dakota’s banking industry.
The Scenes of South Dakota Calendar is exclusive to SDBA member banks and associate members.
Deadline: September 18
If you have any questions, email Laura Norton or call the SDBA Office at 605.224.1653.
2025 SDBA IMPORTANT FRAUD SURVEY
 The South Dakota Bankers Association (SDBA) is asking for your bank’s participation in the 2025 Important Fraud Survey. The survey link was sent to all SDBA member Chief Executive Officers on Thursday, September 4, with a follow-up reminder on Monday, September 8, requesting that someone from each organization complete it. Participation in the survey is not required, but strongly encouraged, as we are aiming for 100% member participation. Input and feedback from the survey will help us gain a better picture of fraud-related issues impacting banks and customers across the state.
Fraud remains one of the most pressing challenges facing our industry, our institutions, and the customers we serve. The insights gathered through this survey will:
To build an accurate picture, we need 100% participation from member banks. Currently, only 22% have responded. Please make completing this survey a priority—we have extended the deadline to September 30.
Your input will directly impact how the SDBA represents and supports South Dakota banks on this critical issue. If you need the survey link resent, contact SDBA President Karl Adam at [email protected].
Thank you for lending your voice and helping us strengthen protections for both banks and their customers across our state.
Banking Forward: Fall Forum 2025 - CANCELLED
Due to lower-than-expected registration numbers, we have made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s Fall Forum. While we were looking forward to bringing this event to you, we want to ensure that all of our programs provide strong value and engagement opportunities for participants.
We sincerely appreciate your interest and support, and we hope you will join us at future SDBA events.
2025 SDBA NEXT STEP: Emerging Leaders Summit
October 28-29, 2025
 NEXT STEP: Emerging Leaders Summit is designed to help cultivate, connect, engage and empower South Dakota’s future bank leaders. This event will encourage emerging bank leaders to find and express their voices within their organizations, communities and the banking industry and provide opportunities to network and exchange ideas with other industry professionals. It will also increase emerging bank leaders’ knowledge of topics of interest to the banking industry and promote involvement and advocacy.
We have extended the early bird registration rate to September 21st, so register now for the lowest rate offered! Additionally, if you need overnight lodging, we have a small block reserved at the Fairfield Inn & Suites, but the block closes on September 28th.
We have a fantastic lineup of speakers, including Lena Scullard, who will also serve as our event emcee; Kristina Schaefer; Dr. Sal Villegas, Northern State University; SDBA President, Karl Adam; and Arthur Williams Jr.
Learn More & Register
2025 Succession Planning Online Workshop Series
November 3 & 17, 2025 | Online Zoom
 This two-part workshop series is designed to help community banks establish a robust succession planning process. Participants will learn how to create a comprehensive succession plan, conduct talent assessments to identify skills gaps, and develop personalized development plans for their successors, focusing on leadership, management, and technical skills.
Part 1: Laying the Foundation – November 3, 2025 – 10 am – Noon CT
Part 2: Developing Your Successors – November 17, 2025 – 10 am – Noon CT
Key Takeaways:
• You will gain a comprehensive understanding of how to establish a well-structured succession plan tailored for your community bank.
• You will have the opportunity to develop a detailed succession plan for both current leadership and their potential successors.
• You will receive practical tools and guidance to create personalized development plans for identified successors, focusing on leadership, management, and technical skills.
Details & Registration
Online Education
Participating in learning opportunities outside the bank can be challenging. Take advantage of the SDBA's extensive selection of webinars and on-demand training to enhance your banking expertise directly from your computer.
GSB Online Seminars
OnCourse Learning
SBS Institute
ABA Training
Question of the Week:
Q: When onboarding new customers, is the bank required to check/screen whether they qualify as Politically Exposed Persons (“PEPs”)?
A: Stop me if you’ve heard this before – but when it comes to BSA-related compliance, the rule of thumb is risk. Whether or not the bank screens for PEPs depends less on a hard-and-fast requirement and more on what the bank’s own CIP, CDD, and BSA/AML program dictates.
Notably, the BSA itself does not specifically mandate that a bank screen for or identify PEPs (and, interestingly enough, the statute/regulations don’t even explicitly define the term) - but rather, the regulatory agencies treat this as a matter of due diligence, recognizing that PEP relationships can present heightened money laundering risks given their historic association with corruption, bribery, and related financial crimes:
“The CDD rule also does not require a bank to screen for or otherwise determine whether a customer or beneficial owner of a legal entity customer may be considered a PEP. A bank may choose to determine whether a customer is a PEP at account opening if the bank determines the information is necessary for the development of a customer risk profile. Further, the bank may conduct periodic reviews with respect to PEPs, as part of or in addition to the required ongoing risk-based monitoring to maintain and update customer information.
Not all PEPs are high risk solely by virtue of their status. Rather, the risk depends on facts and circumstances specific to the customer relationship. For example, PEPs with a limited transaction volume, a low-dollar deposit account with the bank, known legitimate source(s) of funds, or access only to products or services that are subject to specific terms and payment schedules could reasonably be characterized as having lower customer risk profiles." Joint Statement on Bank Secrecy Act Due Diligence Requirements for Customers Who May Be Considered Politically Exposed Persons
Ultimately, whether or not to screen for PEPs is indeed a risk-based decision, but it is widely considered a best practice - and if a bank chooses to scale back or remove such screening, it likely should be prepared to defend that policy choice…just as if it were on the ballot.
Learn how to put compliance management solutions from Compliance Alliance to work for your bank, by contacting (888) 353-3933 or [email protected] and ask for our Membership Team. For timely compliance updates, subscribe to Bankers Alliance’s email newsletters.
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Contact the SDBA at 605.224.1653 or via email
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