Meta Financial Group, Inc.® yesterday announced that MetaBank®, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Meta, has entered into an agreement with Central Bank, headquartered in Storm Lake, Iowa, for the sale of MetaBank’s community bank division. Included in the sale are all of MetaBank's community bank branches located in South Dakota and Iowa, as well as deposits and fixed assets related thereto, representing approximately $270 million of deposits.

Jan. 14, 2020, is the day that Microsoft will discontinue product support for Windows 7. At that point, Microsoft will begin charging a fee for patches and related maintenance for Windows 7 users. By some estimates, just over 60% of financial institutions are either on Windows 10 or are in the process of migrating to it. A new free article on the ABA Banking Journal offers practical advice on questions to ask and options to consider as the clock ticks down.

With the farm economy in the midst of a prolonged downturn, the primary concern among ag lenders remains credit quality and the deterioration of agricultural loans, according to the latest agricultural lenders survey conducted by ABA and Farmer Mac. Respondents said they were also concerned about lender competition—particularly from the Farm Credit System, which 73.5% named as their primary competitor—as well as weakening loan demand and a shrinking market due to farm consolidation.

“Bankers are naturally concerned for their farmers and ranchers as the ag economy continues to regain its footing,” said ABA Chief Economist James Chessen. “Bankers know the cycles of agriculture very well and will continue to work side-by-side with their customers as they have done in the past. While uncertainty has risen, banks are well prepared to continue their support for the ag community through these challenging times.”

With net farm income declining since 2013, and with many consumers in rural America struggling to find access to credit, ABA is asking bankers to contact their lawmakers in support of the Enhancing Credit Opportunities in Rural America Act (H.R. 1872 and S. 1641).

The South Dakota Bankers Foundation has allocated $90,000 for the High School Scholarship Program for 2020. Matched by recipient banks, the program will result in a total of $180,000 in high school scholarships awarded to high school seniors throughout South Dakota in 2020.

Scholarship are available in $500 increments to the first 180 banks/branches who agree to match an equal amount. Banks who participated in the High School Scholarship Capital Campaign are eligible to apply for funding. 

Northern State University’s Banking and Financial Services master’s degree program is now offered completely online, making it even more convenient for professionals looking to advance their career.

More than 70 emerging bank leaders from across the state attended the SDBA's first NEXT STEP: Emerging Leaders Summit in Sioux Falls yesterday. Attendees heard from a variety of speakers on topics such as connecting with people, the DISC universal language of observable behavior, growing the workplace culture you want and what makes a great leader. 

The ABA yesterday announced a new partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation intended to expand hiring opportunities for veterans across the nation. The partnership will enable more community banks to participate in the foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes Corporate Fellowship program, which allows transitioning service members and military spouses to intern with private sector employers for up to 12 weeks. Since the program started in 2015, 92% of fellowships have resulted in offers for permanent employment.

Through the partnership, ABA will work with Hiring Our Heroes to match interested banks with corporate fellowship opportunities in their region. At a panel discussion during the ABA Annual Convention, ABA Chair Laurie Stewart—president and CEO of Sound Community Bank in Seattle—shared her bank’s success story with the program. The bank hired Anthony Tran, a Marine Corps veteran transitioning out of the military, as a fellow, and he remains a full-time employee of the bank today.

Registration is now open for the SDBA's 2020 National School for Experienced Ag Bankers set for June 22-25 at Black Hills State University in Spearfish.

The 2020 National School for Experienced Ag Bankers is a seminar for experienced ag bankers who want to further develop their ag lending skills, learn new skills, confirm existing methodology and meet fellow bankers who share the same career path. Taught by a nationally-recognized faculty of bankers, academics and other real-world ag banking practitioners, this program is focused on ag lending opportunities and challenges that are relevant to ag bankers from across the United States.

Consumers aged 60 and older lost nearly $400 million to fraud in 2018, according to a report submitted to Congress last week by the Federal Trade Commission. The report details the FTC’s efforts to protect older consumers from fraud through research, law enforcement and education.

The House Tuesday night voted 249-173 to pass the ABA-backed Corporate Transparency Act (H.R. 2513). The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), would direct the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to create a national database that banks could use to verify a business’s beneficial ownership information. The bill was amended before passage to include legislation championed by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) that would modernize the existing anti-money laundering/Bank Secrecy Act framework by, among other things, enhancing bank-law enforcement communications.

More than 6,000 bankers will deliver financial education lessons to nearly 156,000 teens nationwide this year as part of ABA’s Get Smart About Credit initiative, which is sponsored by Ally Financial, Citi, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo. As the industry observes Get Smart About Credit Day today, bankers will present lessons to students on important financial obstacles facing young adults, including paying for college, knowing their credit score, managing their money and protecting their identity.

The OCC has announced that Blake Paulson has been named the next senior deputy comptroller for midsize and community bank supervision, effective in December. He will succeed Toney Bland, who will retire from the agency in January. Paulson currently serves as deputy comptroller for the central district.

In his new role, Paulson will oversee a team of more than 1,500 employees responsible for supervising approximately 1,100 community and midsize national banks and federal savings associations that provide banking services to consumers, business and communities across the country. In addition, he will serve on the OCC’s Executive Committee and sit on various governance committees that oversee critical agency functions and help align its activity to its strategic goals and objectives.

Gov. Kristi Noem announced yesterday that President Trump has approved South Dakota's request for a third Presidential Disaster Declaration, covering the damage done by severe storms, tornadoes and flooding that occurred June 30 to July 21.

The declaration will allow federal money to be used to help local government entities recover from infrastructure damage in Butte, Gregory, Kingsbury, Lawrence, Meade and Tripp counties, as well as the Cheyenne River and the Lower Brule Indian Reservations.  A preliminary assessment of the damage was estimated to be $2.5 million.

Eight banks earned the ABA Foundation’s highest honor today by being named Community Commitment Award winners for 2019. The annual awards recognize banks for their corporate social responsibility efforts in categories ranging from affordable housing to economic inclusion. This year’s winners also include a new award for banks going above and beyond to support military families. The 2019 winners will be presented with their award at the ABA’s Annual Convention in Seattle on Oct. 29. 

“Banks of all sizes are stepping up their corporate social responsibility efforts to serve their communities, and this year’s nominations in every category were incredibly impressive,” said Rob Nichols, ABA president and CEO. “The programs developed by our Community Commitment Award winners stood out to our judges and really demonstrate how banks are helping communities solve challenging issues.” 

The financial regulatory agencies last Friday issued a final rule—which takes effect the day after publication in the Federal Register—raising the appraisal threshold for residential real estate transactions from $250,000 to $400,000. The new threshold addresses numerous concerns raised by ABA and other industry stakeholders over the time and cost of appraisals.

The SDBA will host the second annual LEAD STRONG: Women in Banking Conference on Oct. 9-10 at the Sioux Falls Convention Center in Sioux Falls. 

The U.S. Department of Labor on Tuesday released its final overtime rule—a rewrite of the 2016 rule issued under the Obama administration that never took effect due to a federal judge’s ruling later that year. The final rule adopted many of the recommendations that ABA made in prior comment letters and that bankers advocated for during listening sessions held by DOL last fall. It will take effect Jan. 1, 2020.

By a bipartisan vote of 321 to 103 last night, the House passed the SAFE Banking Act, the ABA-supported bill that would provide clarity to financial institutions seeking to serve legitimate cannabis businesses. With cannabis now legal in some form in 33 states, the bill would allow banks to serve cannabis-related businesses in those states and prohibit federal regulators from taking action against a bank solely because cannabis is involved.

With the National Flood Insurance Program set to expire at midnight on Monday, Sept. 30, unless Congress intervenes, an updated online feature from the ABA Banking Journal examines what bankers should do to prepare themselves and their customers. ABA Senior Counsel Diana Banks walks bankers through what to do before, during and after a lapse occurs.

Banks notes that before a lapse, institutions should carefully review guidance from the prudential regulators, consult with counsel to apply it to specific business areas, and encourage borrowers whose existing NFIP policies may be expiring soon to renew before the lapse occurs. When the lapse ends, bankers should verify whether the reauthorization is retroactive or not, and ensure customers understand their coverage in either case. Read the article. For more information, contact ABA's Diana Banks.