SDBA's 2023 Women of Impact Nominations Close August 1

Free Webinar: Driving Innovation in Education with OnCourse Learning

The SDBA partners with BankWebinars/CUWebinars (powered by OnCourse Learning) to provide you 450+ live webinars every year.

You are personally invited to attend a free educational webinar, Driving Innovation in Education with OnCourse Learning. We know that having a strong learning and development program is the backbone of a successful financial institution. This 30-minute commitment will help prepare you and your staff to finish 2023 strong!

What: Driving Innovation in Education with OnCourse Learning – a free webinar

When: Wednesday, July 26 at 12pm CST

[Get Registered]

Please join us for a free webinar where you will take away the following:

-       Key Industry Insights on adult learning trends within financial institutions

-       Overview of upcoming webinars in August and September – you won’t want to miss!

-       Continued innovation within the L&D space including new learning formats and series

ABA-Championed ACRE Act Introduced in Senate

U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Angus King (I-Maine) today introduced the Access to Credit for our Rural Economy (ACRE) Act of 2023. This legislation would benefit American families, farmers and rural communities nationwide by giving greater flexibility to more financial institutions to offer affordable lines of credit to rural and agricultural borrowers.

“High inflation and rising interest rates are putting a strain on farmers and rural homeowners in Kansas and across the country,” said Sen. Moran. “Main street lenders must have the flexibility required to provide rural Americans with access to the capital needed to achieve homeownership and continue operating family farms. This legislation will help to boost rural housing and support the agricultural economy that plays a vital role in small towns across America.”

“Rural communities across America are facing a serious affordable housing crisis. It has simply gotten way too hard to find reasonably priced homes in our small towns,” said Sen. King. “The ACRE Act is a commonsense way to make home and farm ownership possible for more families by providing better access to low interest loans. There’s no one easy solution to our housing affordability problems, but this bipartisan effort would be an important step forward. I appreciate Senator Moran’s partnership and hope we can get this bill passed for rural communities like those in Maine and Kansas.”

Items to Note:

• Specifically, the ACRE Act would grant community banks the same tax exempt status on certain earned interest that applies to farm credit institutions, allowing farm real estate borrowers and rural home owners access to lower interest rates.
• This exemption would also apply to single-family home mortgage loans in rural communities with fewer than 2,500 residents and for mortgages less than $750,000.
• According to the American Bankers Association, this legislation would expand access to affordable agricultural and home loans to over 4,000 rural communities nationwide and save family farmers and producers well over $400 million in annual interest expenses.

“Rising interest rates and skyrocketing energy and crop input costs are squeezing profits for farmers and ranchers across America,” said Doug Wareham, President & CEO, Kansas Bankers Association. “Small towns are also facing a housing shortage crisis that threatens the fabric and future of rural communities struggling to grow and prosper.  We applaud U.S. Senators Jerry Moran and Angus King for introducing the ACRE Act, which will reduce the cost of borrowing for agricultural land and home purchases in rural communities across America.”

“ABA and our members applaud Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Angus King (I-Maine) on the introduction of the Access to Credit for our Rural Economy Act of 2023 in the Senate,” said Rob Nichols, President and CEO, American Bankers Association. “Inflation and supply-chain disruptions are driving up the cost of running America’s farms and ranches. At the same time, rising interest rates are squeezing profitability for farmers and putting homeownership out of reach for many rural Americans. ACRE offers a simple and targeted solution that will deliver much-needed relief to farmers, ranchers and rural homeowners in more than 17,000 communities throughout the country without creating new government payments or programs. We urge all members of Congress to support this critically important legislation.”

“ICBA strongly supports the ACRE Act to help community banks offer lower rates to farmers and ranchers as well as homeowners in towns with populations under 2,500,” said Rebeca Romero Rainey, President and CEO, Independent Community Bankers of America. “With community banks making 80% of banking industry agricultural loans, this important legislation will help revive and sustain rural economies struggling to overcome the impact of higher interest rates while providing community bank lenders with benefits they can pass on to customers, similar to other rural credit providers. ICBA and the nation’s community banks thank Sens. Moran and King for supporting a common-sense solution that benefits rural Americans, especially young, beginning, and small farmers and ranchers.”

Full text of this legislation can be found HERE.

Companion legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representatives Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa) and Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.).

ABA Statement on Launch of FedNow

 “We welcome the Federal Reserve's launch of FedNow and its official entry into the world of real-time payments. With The Clearing House's RTP system already in operation, the arrival of FedNow means there are now two real-time payments options available to choose from. We will continue to educate our members on the two systems and the benefits they offer consumers and businesses. Fully realizing the benefit of these new rails will require the Fed to work hard to encourage interoperability between the systems, urge banks’ core providers to quickly allow banks to offer these real-time options in a timely and cost-effective way, and ensure that America’s consumers and businesses have a strong understanding of the value and considerations for real-time payments use.”  

Find the statement here. 

Nichols: Partners in the Fight Against Elder Abuse

By Rob Nichols

Each year in mid-June, we observe World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD)—a day intended to call attention to the pervasive and worsening problem of elder abuse, including financial exploitation. According to a 2022 FinCEN advisory, elder fraud scams affect at least 10% of older adults in the U.S. annually. But because fraud and scams are often significantly underreported, it means that the actual percentage of victims is likely much higher.

Elder financial exploitation generally falls into one of two categories. The first is elder theft, in which a trusted individual like a family member or caregiver, steals from an older person by forging checks, stealing retirement or Social Security benefits, using credit cards or bank accounts without permission, or other means. The second is elder scams—in which a stranger succeeds in coercing an older adult into transferring money to them through tech support scams, romance scams, or other impostor scams. 

Seniors are often targeted for their accumulated wealth, and these scams can be financially and mentally devastating to the victims. In fact, the average loss per older adult was just over $35,000 in 2022, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. In worst cases, seniors may lose their life savings or their homes.

That’s why it’s critical for bankers—who are on the front lines in the fight against elder financial exploitation —to have a solid understanding of the red flags that can signal when an older customer is potentially being exploited. This might look like an older customer making sudden or unusual changes to their account like adding new contacts located overseas, making uncharacteristic attempts to wire large sums of money, or seeming fearful of or submissive to a caregiver or family member.

This year, the ABA Foundation has partnered with the FBI to create a new guide for bankers to help them recognize, respond and report suspected elder financial exploitation to the proper authorities. The guide outlines red flags, provides steps bankers can take if elder abuse is suspected and includes a list of agencies and other partners that can provide additional resources.

The ABA Foundation also offers its popular Safe Banking for Seniors program—a free national program that provides bankers with helpful tools and resources to connect with their local communities to discuss topics like avoiding scams, preventing identify theft, choosing a financial caregiver and more. Any bank in the country, member or non-member, can access these free resources by registering at aba.com/Seniors. You can also access a comprehensive list of resources for older Americans at aba.com/OlderAmericans.

Finally, ABA continues to support the fight against fraud more broadly through its award-winning #BanksNeverAskThat campaign. The consumer-facing awareness campaign aimed at educating the public about the types of information banks would never ask them to disclose over the phone or via text or email will be back this fall, complete with updated resources. Check it out at aba.com/BanksNeverAskThat and register to join the more than 2200 banks across the country doing their part to protect their customers. 

We observe World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15—but working to protect seniors from financial exploitation is an ongoing responsibility for all bankers. 

ABA Foundation Accepting Donations to Support Vermont Flooding Relief Efforts; ABA to Contribute $25,000

The American Bankers Association Foundation today announced it will start collecting tax-exempt contributions through its Disaster Relief Program website to help aid relief efforts in Vermont after a major storm resulted in catastrophic flooding in the state on July 11. The flooding has devastated cities and towns in Vermont, left hundreds homeless and claimed at least one life. It has also caused significant damage to homes and businesses, including several bank branches and the homes of bank employees. At the request of the Vermont Bankers Association (VBA), the ABA Foundation will immediately begin accepting donations today, with all funds raised directed to the Vermont Community Foundation, which is aiding relief efforts throughout the state. ABA announced that the association will lead the fundraising effort by contributing $25,000 through the Foundation’s Disaster Relief Program to assist those affected by the historic flooding.

“It’s devastating to see the damage sustained by communities throughout Vermont,” said ABA president and CEO Rob Nichols. “Banks throughout the state are already working to support customers and communities in need. Activating the ABA Foundation’s Disaster Relief Program will allow the entire banking industry to contribute to relief efforts and help Vermonters rebuild and get back on their feet.”

“We thank the ABA Foundation and bankers across the country for their support,” said Vermont Bankers Association President Christopher D’Elia. “This disaster has had a direct impact on banks in the state with as many as 20 bank branches affected by the flooding, including some that are a complete loss. Recovery from these historic floods will take time, and this support from our industry colleagues will make a real difference to the communities hit hardest.”

Through the ABA Foundation’s Disaster Relief Program, state bankers associations can request ABA Foundation assistance after a presidentially-declared disaster in their state. If the request meets certain criteria and is approved by the ABA Foundation Board, the ABA Foundation can solicit donations nationwide on the state association’s behalf. The state association is responsible for identifying qualified recipients for all funds raised.

Donations will be accepted until August 28, 2023. To donate, visit aba.com/DonateRelief.

CISA News: How to Build a Positive Training Program

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Q: We had a bank employee deliver cash over $10,000 to a customer per the customer's request. Do we have to include our bank employee on the CTR? 

A: No, the bank employees are not considered conductors. Individuals that give or receive currency as a function of its agency relationship with a financial institution is not a transactor for the purposes of CTR requirements. See: https://www.fincen.gov/resources/statutes-regulations/guidance/currency-transaction-report-aggregation-businesses-common (footnote 4).

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