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SDBA To Hold New Event for Emerging Bank Leaders

Next Step: Emerging LeadersThe SDBA has developed a new event for emerging bank leaders. Registration is now open for NEXT STEP: SDBA Emerging Leaders Summit on Nov. 5-6 at the Hilton Garden Inn Sioux Falls Downtown.

NEXT STEP: Emerging Leaders 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. 

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AARP Offers New Training to Help Banks Fight Financial Exploitation of Older Customers

Fight Financial Exploitation: Become BankSafe TodayAARP had developed and launched a new training program to help banks detect and report financial exploitation of older customers.  BankSafe is a free online platform designed to empower financial institution employees with the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to better understand and interact with older customers, identify signs of financial exploitation and take the right steps to protect the assets of older Americans. 

Tailored to meet the unique needs and demands of frontline staff, the platform is an interactive, 60-minute training that employees can complete in one sitting or at their own pace as they choose among more than 25 education and training modules. As part of the BankSafe program, financial institutions can apply to have AARP verify that at least 80% of their frontline staff successfully passed the BankSafe training and confirm that they have a financial-exploitation escalation or reporting policy.

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Hotel Blocks Added for SDBA LEAD STRONG: Women in Banking Conference

Additional hotel blocks have been added for the SDBA's LEAD STRONG: Women in Banking Conference set for Oct. 9-10 at the Sioux Falls Convention Center in Sioux Falls. 

If you plan to attend the conference and have not reserved a hotel room, the SDBA has added a block of rooms for the evening of Oct. 9 at the Holiday Inn & Suites Sioux Falls--Airport at 2040 W. Russell St. The rate is $129 per room, and the block will be released on Sept. 25. Visit the hotel block link or call the Holiday Inn at 605.331.2040.

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Save the Date for Advanced Study in Banking & Regulation at SDSU

This fall, the Dykhouse Program in Money, Banking and Regulation in the Ness School of Management and Economics at South Dakota State University in Brookings will host two free events on the subject of community banking.

On Monday, Oct. 7, at 4 p.m. in SDSU’s Harding Hall, Professor James (Jim) Barth, Lowder eminent scholar in finance at Auburn University, will present “Banks and Natural Disasters.”

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Three SDBA Member Banks, One Associate Member Named Best Banks to Work For

Photos of Best BanksSDBA member banks First Bank & Trust, Dacotah Bank, First PREMIER Bank and SDBA associate member Bell Bank were named “Best Banks to Work For” by American Banker. Bell Bank was named number two; First Bank & Trust was named number 22; Dacotah Bank was named number 30; and First PREMIER Bank was named number 58. These banks’ leaders work purposefully every day to ensure that employees are engaged, having fun and enjoy what they are doing.

American Banker Magazine on Aug. 29 published its seventh annual list of the 85 best banks to work for. The banks had to answer survey questions about their leadership philosophy, going above and beyond for employees, efforts to recruit a diverse workforce, their most effective ways to communicate and more.

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SBA to Hold Lender Training in Aberdeen

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has scheduled a lender training in Aberdeen on Sept. 18. Topics to be covered include origination, underwriting policies, SBA resource partners, USDA programs, how to’s and Q&A’s. The SBA previously held similar lender trainings in Sioux Falls and Rapid City earlier this month. 

The Aberdeen training will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Small Business Development Center at 416 Production St. North.To register, email Pamela K. Selberg.

South Dakota Farm and Ranch Stress Summit Set for Sept. 23-25

Image of FarmersThe SDSU Extension Rural Behavioral Health Team is partnering with the South Dakota Counselors Association to provide the South Dakota Farm and Ranch Stress Summit on Sept. 23-25 in Oacoma. 

The purpose of the Summit is to provide the ag community with information on working through individual stress and how to provide support to individuals dealing with stress. Including farmers and ranchers--as well as those in support positions such as counselors, bankers, consultants, clergy, crop insurance agents and other business members--in these conversations will strengthen communities across South Dakota. 

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South Dakota Woman Sentenced for Elderly Exploitation

Jennifer Ahrendt, 46, of Trent, S.D., has been sentenced following a guilty plea entered on May 21 for the crime of theft by exploitation of an elder or adult with a disability, a Class 4 Felony, according to a press release from South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg's Office.

Ahrendt was entrusted under a power of attorney to handle the financial affairs of her elderly, now deceased, grandmother. Between Dec. 29, 2016, to May 11, 2018, Ahrendt took money from the accounts she was managing on behalf of her grandmother and used the funds for herself, including gambling away a large portion of the funds. 

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FDIC, OCC Finalize Volcker Overhaul Proposal

The FDIC and the OCC on Tuesday approved a long-awaited set of changes to the Volcker Rule simplifying the rule’s compliance burden and better targeting its effects toward indended activities. The final rule streamlines and tailors the Volcker Rule by focusing its restriction on proprietary trading and investments in covered funds on banks with “significant” and “moderate” trading activities. Banks with limited trading assets and liabilities of less than $1 billion will have a rebuttable presumption of compliance with the Volcker Rule. Once approved by the Federal Reserve, SEC and CFTC, the changes will take effect on Jan. 1, 2020, with mandatory compliance not required until Jan. 1, 2021.

“We appreciate the actions taken today by the FDIC and OCC, which have started the agencies’ process of finalizing sensible reforms to the Volcker Rule that will help banks better serve their customers and the broader economy,” said ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols. “These improvements will allow bank supervisors to focus on systemic risk, while providing the tailored and precise oversight that was the Volcker Rule’s original purpose.”

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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. 

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SDBA Holds Ag Credit Conference this Week

Picture from 2019 Ag Credit ConferenceMore 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. 

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Senators Call for Faster Pace on Reg Reforms

A group of 13 Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee, including South Dakota's Sen. Mike Rounds, on Tuesday urged the federal banking agencies to accelerate implementation of regulatory reforms made by the S. 2155 reform law, as well as other reforms that they said would enhance economic growth. “More can still be done to support the economic expansion,” they wrote.

Among outstanding S. 2155 action items, the senators called for the agencies to use the discretion provided by Congress to finalize the community bank leverage ratio at 8%, rather than 9% as proposed; to make the short-form Call Report more streamlined; to simplify their proposal to revise the Volcker Rule; and to “significantly simplify” stress testing for banks with assets of $100-250 billion.

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State Associations Call for Increased Credit Union Oversight

A group of 51 state bankers associations, including the SDBA, wrote to congressional leaders on Tuesday calling for a review of the credit union industry to determine whether it is living up to its statutory mission of serving people of “small means.” The groups also called for a thorough examination of the National Credit Union Administration and its oversight of the credit union industry.

Citing research from a recent Federal Financial Analytics report commissioned by ABA, the groups raised concerns that modern credit unions are actually contributing to greater economic inequality and endangering taxpayers by increasingly providing services to high-income customers rather than low- to moderate-income ones, making high-risk loans and even buying up taxpaying banks. Even more alarming, the report found that the NCUA has enabled the credit union industry to creep far beyond its statutory authority, while allowing regulatory capital requirements and other safety and soundness rules to become substandard.

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Bankers: Ask Lawmakers to Support CECL Stop and Study Bills

As a result of ongoing advocacy by the industry to communicate the significant operational challenges and potential economic consequences arising from the current expected credit loss standard, the Financial Accounting Standards Board voted last week to delay the implementation of CECL for some—but not all—companies.

The ABA is calling on FASB to expand the extension to include banks of all sizes and continues to urge bankers to contact their lawmakers to support legislative efforts that would delay CECL’s implementation. Congress is currently considering two bills—S. 1564 and H.R. 3182—that would delay the standard so that a quantitative impact study can be conducted to determine the full implications CECL will have on the availability of credit in communities nationwide. Contact your lawmakers now.

Registration Open for SDBA 2019 Compliance Workshop

compliance photoWith so much up in the air in this regulatory environment, one thing that remains constant is the need for a commitment to compliance. Therefore, a strong understanding of the continually shifting landscape is essential. More regulations? Less regulations? You and your compliance staff can handle it by using knowledge learned from attending the SDBA 2019 Compliance Workshop. The training is geared toward compliance professionals including those who may run their compliance program alone and/or wear many hats at the bank. 

This comprehensive day-and-a-half workshop, which will be held Oct. 15-16, 2019, at the Hilton Garden Sioux Fall South in Sioux Falls, will be led by Compliance Alliance. The workshop will cover deposits and operations topics to give a well-rounded view of the compliance landscape. Sessions will include 2019 hot topics, a regulatory panel, an SDBA compliance law update, fair lending top issues, S. 2155, ADA compliance, CRA/reasonable expected market area and a flood update. 

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FASB to Delay CECL Implementation for Some Institutions

In a significant move, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) yesterday voted to propose a delay for the implementation of the current expected credit loss standard until January 2023 for certain companies. The delay would apply to small reporting companies (as defined by the SEC), non-SEC public companies and private companies.

'FASB’s vote to delay CECL for certain smaller banks offers further proof that the required efforts to implement this costly standard are far greater than the board has previously led bankers to believe,” said ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols after the vote. He noted with concern, however, that the delay would not apply to all banks; for larger public companies, the standard would still take effect in January 2020.

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Registration Open for LEAD STRONG: Women in Banking Conference

Image of WomenRegistration is now open for the SDBA's second annual LEAD STRONG: Women in Banking Conference. The event is set for Oct. 10, 2019, at the Sioux Falls Convention Center in Sioux Falls.  An optional networking reception will be held the night prior.

The conference is designed to encourage, support and inspire women to succeed in the workplace. This event will benefit all levels of staff interested in the enhancement and career growth of women in South Dakota banking.

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Podcast: How Diversity and Inclusion Create a 'Sense of Belonging'

For Monica Sylvain, chief diversity officer at Louisiana-based IberiaBank, a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion (or DE&I, as it's increasingly widely known) starts with building community. “It’s important to lead with the ‘I,’ or ‘inclusion,’” she says on the latest ABA Banking Journal Podcast, “having a sense of fairness, and [having] your employees feeling like they have a sense of belonging.” On the podcast, Sylvain discusses IberiaBank's approach to DE&I, including:

  • Having a DE&I council comprising a broad cross-section of employees at all levels of the organization. “That group is really helping us to think through the things that are top of mind for our associates when they think about inclusion, when they think about equity, when they think about diversity.”
  • Educating the bank’s leadership team—and its employees—on recognizing and understanding unconscious bias. “All of us as human beings have unconscious or implicit bias. [We] make snap judgment decisions,” she explains. “If you look at the neuroscience, we do it in nanoseconds.”
  • The importance of including supplier diversity, as well as employee diversity, in the bank's DE&I framework.

Listen to the episode.

Registration Now Open for SDBA 2019 Bank Technology Conference

Technology PhotoThe 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. 

The SDBA will hold the 2019 Bank Technology Conference on Sept. 11 in Sioux Falls, with a reception the evening of Sept. 10. The conference will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn Sioux Falls South. This conference will provide attendees 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. 

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Podcast: Bankers and the Founding of the United States

To mark Independence Day this week, this bonus episode of the ABA Banking Journal explores the role of banking and finance in the American Revolution and the founding era. This week’s guest, John Steele Gordon, is an acclaimed economic historian whose books include Hamilton’s Blessing, The Great Game and An Empire of Wealth; he is also the ABA Banking Journal’s “From the Vault” columnist. In this episode, Gordon discusses:

  • How not having any chartered banks prior to 1782 put the United States at a disadvantage during the Revolution.
  • Conversely, how the Bank of England was a “secret weapon” for Britain during the war.
  • The role of patriotic financiers like Robert Morris in achieving U.S. victory.
  • The debates over a central bank in the post-revolutionary period and how they contributed to the development of the Constitution.
Listen to the episode.