SDBA Bringing Legislation to Reject CBDCs and Protect Financial Privacy

SDBA Bringing Legislation to Reject CBDCs and Protect Financial Privacy

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, August 23, 2023
For More Information: 605.224.1653 or [email protected]

PIERRE, SD – Aug. 23, 2023– The South Dakota Bankers Association (SDBA) announced today that it will bring forward proposals opposing and rejecting the adoption of central bank digital currency (CBDC) to the 99th Session of the South Dakota Legislature. SDBA, through its alignment with the American Bankers Association, has helped to craft model policy circulated through the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) processes this summer. The model policy will be voted upon by the ALEC board this coming Saturday, August 26, and if passed, SDBA will offer it to the upcoming South Dakota legislative session for consideration.

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The Uniform Commercial Code: Competing Visions for South Dakota

The Uniform Commercial Code: Competing Visions for South Dakota


FOR RELEASE: Wednesday, March 22, 2023
CONTACT: Natalie Likness, South Dakota Bankers Association, 605.224.1653

For over 60 years, all 50 states have had the Uniform Commercial Code on their books, which has been crucial to fueling interstate commerce. The UCC is a legal and commercial framework that has underpinned transactions over those years. It has been successful in creating certainty and security for Americans engaged in commercial activity of all sizes and locations.

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SDBA Op-Ed: ‘We Stand on the Facts: HB 1193’

SDBA Op-Ed: ‘We Stand on the Facts: HB 1193’

The 98th legislative session is nearly in the books, as only “veto day” remains, Monday, March 27. At the end of session, to our surprise, Governor Noem vetoed HB 1193, “An Act to Amend Provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)”. A few persons have cast a cloud of falsehoods claiming this measure does not advance and include certain digital assets and instead sets the stage for a central bank digital currency (CBDC). That simply isn’t true.

The 2022 UCC Amendments were drafted for adoption nationwide, over a three-year period with significant input from cryptocurrency advocates. They provide the commercial law reforms that owners of cryptocurrency have desired, allowing them to do more with these assets to unlock value and create wealth. With these updates, the law gives transactions in digital assets legal certainty. This will allow the cryptocurrency industry an opportunity to thrive in South Dakota and across the United States.

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SDBA Op-Ed: ‘Bank on’ the facts: HB 1193

SDBA Op-Ed: ‘Bank on’ the facts: HB 1193

As the 98th session of the South Dakota Legislature winds down, the team at the South Dakota Bankers Association (SDBA) is busy preparing for our final week of work with our state legislators. It is also during this time that we reflect on the significant role SDBA member banks and the broader business community play in helping us navigate the legislative process. We are grateful for our motivated, engaged and informed banking and business community. Before we wrap up this session, I find it imperative to set the record straight and correct the false claims being made regarding HB 1193, “An Act to Amend Provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC).”

To understand what the bill aims to do, it is important to understand the UCC and its purpose. The UCC is the product of law commissioners from each state who serve together on the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) to develop uniform, model acts, or state laws, for adoption by state legislatures. It is not federal law, nor is it developed by the federal government. Let me be clear, these 2022 amendments to the UCC are drafted by the ULC for adoption in states across the nation, and by doing so, it keeps Congress from imposing federal laws into areas where states should be sovereign.

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Schaefer Honored by American Bankers Association with Inaugural Emerging Leader Award

Schaefer Honored by American Bankers Association with Inaugural Emerging Leader Award

 

PIERRE, SD – Sept. 28, 2022 – Kristina M. Schaefer, executive vice president, chief risk officer & chief administrative officer, general counsel, First Bank & Trust, Sioux Falls, S.D., was honored by the American Bankers Association as a recipient of its inaugural ABA Emerging Leader Award. This new award recognizes the next generation of bank leaders who are committed to the highest standards of achievement and service to both their industry and their local communities. Schaefer and 10 other winners will be recognized together during next week’s ABA Annual Convention.

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July Emerging Leader: Andy Hubbart

As part of the SDBA’s mission to grow South Dakota’s future bank leaders, we feature a monthly emerging leader. This month’s feature is on Andy Hubbart from BankWest in Pierre.

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First Dakota National Bank Goes “Above and Beyond”

Jeremy Grady

 

Neighbors helping neighbors is one of the reasons small town South Dakota is such a great place to live. The May 12 derecho swept through the eastern portion of the state and left an overwhelming amount of destruction in its path. Salem was one of the hardest hit communities that day.

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2022 National School for Beginning Ag Bankers

The 2022 National School for Beginning Ag Bankers was held on the campus of Black Hills State University in Spearfish on June 20-23, 2022.

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The Undercover Millennial: Clint Pulver

The SDBA/NDBA annual convention went out with a bang as Clint Pulver pulled everyone out of their seats to become part of an interactive drumline.

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2022 SDBA/NDBA Annual Convention

More than 250 individuals from South Dakota and North Dakota and their business partners came together and celebrated all that was accomplished this past year at the 2022 SDBA/NDBA Annual Convention on June 13-15 in Bismarck, N.D. The theme of this year’s event was “Onward!”

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Bankers Recognized at SDBA Annual Business Meeting

Steve Bumann with BankWest and Tony Nour with First PREMIER Bank were recognized for their service on the SDBA Board of Directors. 

 

The SDBA held their Annual Business Meeting as a breakfast on June 15 in Bismarck, N.D.

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SDBA Membership Elects 2022-2023 Officers

L to R: SDBA President Karl Adam, Chair-Elect David Nelson,
Chair Dave Bangasser, and Immediate Past Chair Kristina Schaefer
(Not pictured: Vice Chair Dylan Clarkson)

 

SDBA membership elected officers for 2022-2023 during the SDBA’s Annual Business Meeting on June 15th in Bismarck, N.D. The SDBA’s new officers are:



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SDBA Welcomes New Emerging Leader Board Member

Josh Horak, Bank President of First Interstate Bank in Sturgis, S.D., recently joined the SDBA Board as the Emerging Leader liaison.

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Jody Bender Joins the SD Bankers Foundation Board

The SD Bankers Foundation welcomes new board member, Jody Bender. Jody was raised in Mobridge, S.D. and attended SDSU, earning a bachelor’s in Commercial Economics.

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June Emerging Leader: Marlyn Benavente

As part of the SDBA’s mission to grow South Dakota’s future bank leaders, we feature a monthly emerging leader. This month’s feature is on Marlyn Benavente from Dacotah Bank in Rapid City.

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First PREMIER Bank is #CastlewoodStrong

It was the afternoon of Thursday, May 12th, and much of eastern South Dakota braced for an evening of rough and dangerous weather. It was the kind of weather that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Before long, social media feeds quickly filled with images of massive storm heads or “cloud walls” that looked as ominous as they sounded. We later learned from the National Weather Service (NWS) that the so-called “cloud wall” had a name: derecho. South Dakotans along the I-29 corridor will not soon forget it, either. Before long, the day’s cautions lead to warnings and storm sirens that bellowed across the town of Castlewood, South Dakota.

EF2 tornado in Castlewood

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SDBA Seeking Photos for 2023 Scenes of South Dakota Calendar

2022 Calendar Cover

The SDBA is currently accepting photo submissions for its 2023 Scenes of South Dakota Calendar. The calendar features photos of South Dakota submitted by South Dakota bankers, their family members and customers.

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ABA report: Farm banks' ag lending ticks up in 2021

Agricultural lending by U.S. farm banks increased 5.5% in 2021 to $99.6 billion, according to the American Bankers Association’s Farm Bank Performance Report. The change is based on a 7.5% increase in outstanding loans secured by farmland and a 2.9% increase in agricultural production loans.

The annual report examines the performance of the 1,553 banks specializing in agricultural lending. In 2021, farm banks provided access to Paycheck Protection Program funds, originating 538,154 PPP loans worth $14.6 billion, distributed by more than 7,500 branches in rural America. Farm banks continue to be a major source of credit to small farmers, holding more than $43.8 billion in small farm loans ($500,000 or less), including $9.9 billion in micro farm loans ($100,000 or less) at the end of 2021.

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Cyber-Safe Travel

Summer is a popular time to travel whether it be for a relaxing overnight trip or a week away exploring a new destination. You are likely taking along that smartphone or other device to assist with getting directions, locating or identifying points of interest, and capturing that special photo. Practicing good cyber hygiene before, during, and after your trip will help secure your devices and allow you to connect with confidence when you’re away from home.

Quick note if you are traveling with business equipment: It’s best that you leave your work devices behind; however, if you can’t leave home without them, ensure that you are following your organization’s policies and procedures for protecting the devices and the information they contain while traveling.

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Memorandum for Remote Work Staff of South Dakota Banks

The Division is providing this guidance to assist bank management with defining remote work conditions and corresponding security protocols. South Dakota bank staff may conduct banking activities provided the remote work location is physically located in South Dakota and adequate security protocols are implemented. With respect to remote work in other states, it is permitted to the extent it follows this guidance and allowed by the host state regulatory authority. Banks that allow remote work by their employees must draft and implement comprehensive policies and procedures to ensure remote work is conducted in a secure and professional manner. A comprehensive remote work program should implement, at minimum, the following requirements and limitations:

1. Ensure in-person interactions with customers and consumers are not conducted at the
remote work location and the remote location is not represented as a business location,
branch, or Loan Production Office (LPO);
2. Maintain secure virtual private networks or similar system and other appropriate
safeguards for customer data, information, and records;
3. Ensure employees have secure internet connections and all security updates and patches
are up to date on all remote devices;
4. Employ appropriate risk-based monitoring and oversight processes of work performed
from a remote location and maintain records of the oversight process;
5. Ensure customer information and bank records are not maintained at the remote location;
6. Ensure customer information and bank records remain accessible and available for
regulatory oversight and examination;
7. Provide appropriate employee training to keep all conversations about and with
customers conducted from the remote location confidential, as if conducted from a bank
branch or LPO, and to ensure remote employees work in an environment that maintains

confidentiality.

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