Finding top talent to add to the teams at your bank can be a challenge and doing so has become even harder during the pandemic. BankTalentHQ, an SDBA endorsed vendor, will hold a virtual career fair on Tuesday, April 20, to assist in overcoming this challenge.

The SDBA is seeking bankers to serve on four standing committees and four work groups for 2021-2022.

The committees are: Agricultural Credit Committee, Credit Card Committee, Legislative Committee and Trust Committee. The work groups are: Education Work Group, Emerging Leaders Work Group, Technology Work Group and Women in Banking Work Group.

Ag lenders, appraisers, assessors, Realtors and Extension field specialists are invited to participate in SDSU Extension's 2021 South Dakota Farm Real Estate Market Survey. 

The principal purpose of the survey is to obtain market value and cash rental rate information, by type of agricultural land, in different regions of South Dakota. Farmers, landowners, investors, lenders, real estate professionals and public officials are the majority users of the data provided by the survey. 2021 marks the 31st South Dakota Farm Real Estate Market Survey.

SDBA Board of Director Dylan Clarkson, president and CEO of Pioneer Bank & Trust, Belle Fourche, has been appointed to a two-year term on the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) Bankers Advisory Board.

Clarkson was recommended for appointment by Bret Afdahl, director of banking for the South Dakota Division of Banking. “I’m very happy to welcome Dylan to the Bankers Advisory Board,” said Afdahl. “I think he will be a great asset and will provide valuable input as state regulators consider financial policies impacting community banks.”

The SDBA will hold a Virtual Hill Visit with Sen. Mike Rounds, Sen. John Thune and Congressman Dusty Johnson on Wednesday, April 7, at 11 a.m. CDT. The SDBA encourages bankers to join this hour-long conversation and learn what South Dakota's congressional delegation has to say about current events and other banking-related topics.

This free event will be hosted on the Senate’s Webex platform. Be sure to check your compatibility with this software. There is a cap on the number of attendees the platform can support, so be sure to register early. The link will be sent next week to those who are registered. Register for the event.

The pandemic has forced organizations to transform and move faster than any of us thought possible to support our employees, customers and communities. In order for our progress to be sustainable, organizations must reinvent with the future in mind. Now is the time to pivot and make it happen.

The South Dakota Bankers Association invites you to celebrate all that we have accomplished this past year as we REIMAGINE, REINVENT and REVOLUTIONIZE in A NEW DIRECTION at the 2021 Quad States Convention on June 14-15 at The Monument (former Rushmore Plaza Civic Center) in Rapid City, S.D. This year’s event will include bankers and business partners from South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming.

Trust officers from three states will gather virtually to learn from experts and one another at the 2021 Tri-State Trust Conference on April 28-29. The early registration deadline to receive a welcome gift is Thursday, April 1. The final deadline to register is April 21. 

Keynote sessions include "Two Timely Retirement Planning Topics" by Sharon Carson with J.P. Morgan, "Economic Assessment and Fixed Income Outlook" by Linda Duessel with Federated Hermes, "Point of View: The Economy, Markets and Investment Strategy" by Fritz Meyer with Point of View and "2021 Tax and Estate Planning: What to Tell Clients Now" by Martin Shenkman with Shenkman Law.

The ABA is calling on bankers to write to the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) to oppose a proposed rule that would expand the range of permissible lending activity for credit union service organizations (CUSO). The proposed rule would allow CUSOs to originate any type of loan a federal credit union may originate, including auto and payday loans.

Reps. Ron Kind (D-Wis.) and Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa) last week introduced the ABA-backed Enhancing Credit Opportunities in Rural America (ECORA) Act. The bill, H.R. 1977, would end the taxation of interest earned from agricultural real estate loans.

This would not only reduce servicing costs for community banks providing these types of loans, it would also level the playing field between banks and the tax-advantaged Farm Credit System—making it easier for banks to support the farm sector through real estate loans. The ECORA Act was introduced during the prior Congress.

The South Dakota Bankers Foundation annually offers five named scholarships awarded directly to college students who are pursuing a career in banking or finance. Applicants must be a junior entering their senior year of college during the 2021-2022 school year. 

• $4,000 Alan M. Graff Scholarship
• $3,000 David S. Birkeland Scholarship
• 3,000 Herman Lerdal Scholarship
• $3,000 Joyce Hazeltine Scholarship
• $1,500 Deb Gates Scholarship

The deadline to apply is Friday, March 26, 2021. Scholarship application form.

After a flurry of activity surrounding cannabis during the 2021 Legislative Session, medical marijuana will become legal on July 1, 2021. Is your organization ready to bank the industry?

The SDBA hosted the Cannabis/Hemp Banking 101 Webinar on Jan. 20-21, 2021. If you were not able to take part and are now looking for more information, the SDBA is extending the invitation to watch the recorded webinar. To see session details, click here. To purchase the recorded webinar for $275 and request the link to watch it, click here.

Farm banks have held up well despite challenges to the agriculture industry since 2014, and problem loan levels have remained modest, according to a new report from the FDIC.

Cautious real estate lending during a boom in farmland values has given farm banks the flexibility to work with financially stressed borrowers by tapping into their farmland equity, according a new report published in the FDIC Quarterly.

 While marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, many states have now legalized its use in some form. This trend brings both opportunities and obstacles for banks and other financial institutions looking to provide financial services to marijuana-related businesses.

Join Snell & Wilmer attorneys Judith Lajoie and Morgan Hicks on Wednesday, March 31, as they present on the current state of cannabis law and its impact on financial institutions. Hosted by the Colorado Bankers Association, the webinar will be held at 10 a.m. CDT. 

Like water, attackers flow to where the cracks are in your network defenses. As a result, IT professionals should accept an attack as inevitable and plan for when, not if, a breach will occur. This is the assume breach mentality.

On Wednesday, March 24,  at noon CDT, Marco’s security professionals will unpack the recent SolarWinds Orion attack. The far-reaching SolarWinds Orion attack has catapulted supply chain security vulnerabilities into the spotlight. Supply chain attacks are not new, but what made this one so different?

Trust officers from three states will gather virtually to learn from experts and one another at the 2021 Tri-State Trust Conference on April 28-29. Both days will include a morning session (9:30-11:30 a.m. CDT) and an afternoon session (1-3 p.m. CDT).

SDBA Board of Director Dylan Clarkson, president and CEO of Pioneer Bank & Trust in Spearfish, was one of two community bank experts appointed to serve on the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis' Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council (CDIAC). 

The Small Business Administration yesterday issued an interim final rule implementing recent changes to the Paycheck Protection Program. The IFR allows individuals who file an IRS Form 1040, Schedule C to calculate their maximum loan amount using gross income. SBA has issued updated forms for borrowers and lenders reflecting these changes and step-by-step loan amount calculations.

Previously, PPP rules defined payroll costs for individuals who file Form 1040, Schedule C as payroll costs (if employees exist) plus net profits, which is net earnings from self-employment. This formula effectively excluded many sole proprietors from obtaining PPP loans, particularly those with very little or negative net profit.

In an American Banker op-ed yesterday, ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols urged the Federal Reserve to “take a very careful look” at the risks posed by nontraditional financial firms including cryptocurrency companies looking to gain access to the payments system.

“These entities see the value in getting access to Federal Reserve payments systems like the Fedwire Funds Service and the Automated Clearinghouse Network but do not want to play by the same rules as traditional banks,” Nichols wrote, referencing a current movement in states and within the OCC to broaden the definition of entities eligible to receive a bank charter. “Finding chartering authorities that are willing to redefine what it means to be a bank introduces risks to the financial system’s safety and soundness, consumer protection laws and international reputation."

The White House on Monday announced several measures to ensure the smallest firms have access to Paycheck Protection Program loans, including an exclusive application window for firms with fewer than 20 employees, a revised loan calculation and funding set-aside for sole proprietors and self-employed individuals and new eligibility for businesses owned by those with certain felony convictions. Five weeks after the PPP reopened, roughly $150 billion—more than half of the amount authorized for the 2021 round of PPP—remains available. The current round of funding expires on March 31.

Specifically, the White House said that the Small Business Administration would:

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network yesterday issued an advisory alerting banks to economic impact payment fraud. The advisory describes EIP fraud, associated red flags and how to report suspicious activity.