In advance of his speech last night to a joint session of Congress, President Biden yesterday unveiled the "American Families Plan," a $1.8 trillion proposal that calls for significant federal spending on education, children and families, nutrition and other initiatives through direct expenditures and targeted tax credits.

The administration proposes to pay for the President’s plan through an increase of the top individual rate to 39.6% from 37%, elimination of the capital gain rate preference for taxpayers with income of more than $1 million, elimination of certain real estate 1031 exchanges and an increase in Internal Revenue Service enforcement.

The SDBA reminds those planning to attend the 2021 Quad States Convention on June 14-15 in Rapid City to reserve their hotel rooms soon as some venues are filling quickly. This year's convention is being held at The Monument, which is the former Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. 

The SDBA has reserved blocks of hotel rooms at the Holiday Inn Rapid City-Rushmore Plaza, Howard Johnson and Ramkota Hotel and recently added a block of rooms at The Rushmore Hotel & Suites. The cut off dates for the room blocks vary by hotel from May 11-17. View hotel details. 

The South Dakota Supreme Court heard arguments for and against Amendment A in Pierre on Wednesday. Voters last November approved Amendment A, which legalizes recreational marijuana for people over age 21 and gives the power of regulation to the South Dakota Department of Revenue.

In February, a Circuit Judge ruled in favor of those trying to stop Amendment A, and supporters are appealing to the state’s highest court. At the heart of the lawsuit is whether the amendment comprises more than a single subject, which it cannot, and whether the amendment is considered to be an amendment or a revision to the South Dakota Constitution.

By a bipartisan vote of 321 to 101 on Monday night, the House passed the SAFE Banking Act of 2021, the ABA-supported bill that provides clarity to financial institutions seeking to serve legitimate cannabis businesses. “We thank Rep. Perlmutter (D-Colo.) and the bill’s 180 cosponsors for their leadership and support and urge the Senate to move quickly to pass this much-needed legislation to clarify these issues for both the banking industry and regulators,” ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols said after the bill's passage. 

Earlier in the day, ABA and 51 state bankers associations wrote to lawmakers in support of the bill, which provides a safe harbor for depository institutions seeking to serve legitimate cannabis-related businesses in states where such activity is legal. The SDBA thanks Congressman Dusty Johnson for voting in support of the bill. 

The 2021 Bank Compliance School is set for May 24-27 in Bismarck, N.D., and virtually. Compliance Alliance is offering the school in partnership with the South Dakota Bankers Association, North Dakota Bankers Association, Montana Bankers Association and Wyoming Bankers Association.

Lending compliance will be covered on May 24-25, and operations compliance will be covered on May 26-27. Attendees can register for the entire school or the lending or operations modules. Compliance officers, internal audit staff and any employee who assists with compliance management should attend the school.

The SDBA will hold the 2021 Agricultural Credit Conference in person on July 21-22 at the Ramkota Hotel & Conference Center in Pierre.

ABA and six other financial trade groups last Thursday requested that the Internal Revenue Service improve its Get My Payment website to provide more accurate and timely information about the status of economic impact payments. In a letter to the IRS, the groups called for timely updates to the database that would allow, for example, a recipient to know as soon as possible if his or her ACH payment was returned and reissued as a paper check. The groups also requested that the website accept bank routing information from payment recipients again to reduce reliance on paper checks.

To improve the payment process, the groups also asked that the site include a notice informing recipients that financial institutions do not have access to recipient information and that the information provided on the site may be inaccurate due to delays in updating accurate status of the payment.

The future of the banking industry depends on developing the next generation of leaders today. As banking continues to evolve, it is critical for leaders to continue their growth and development.

The ABA will hold the Emerging Leaders Forum virtually on April 28-29. Bankers participating in this two-day virtual forum will hear from ABA leadership and experts on the science of energy management, organizational change, strategic thinking and other thought-provoking topics. Confirmed speakers include ABA Chairman Jim Edwards, ABA CEO Rob Nichols, Dr. Sahar Yousef and Professor Lucas Miller from UC Berkeley, Wharton professor Jonah Berger and expert negotiator Scott Wayne.

Financial institutions complying with the Current Expected Credit Loss standard (CECL) in 2023 have to manage a myriad of new data, modeling and forecasting considerations. With new requirements comes new expertise and time constraints.

The Graduate School of Banking (GSB) at the University of Wisconsin will be host an in-depth virtual workshop, CECL Foundations, on May 11-12. The workshop will describe the new standard, recommend modeling best practices, identify key players at the financial institution, examine forecasting and share case studies from those who have done it before, including the SEC-filing institutions who implemented last year.

Whether you're in need of on-demand project support, looking for a scalable win-win to connect with students from underrepresented backgrounds or looking for ways to connect with students in this virtual environment, micro-internships can be a valuable tool. BankTalentHQ, an SDBA endorsed vendor, has partnered with Parker Dewey, an organization which specializes in coordinating the innovative concept of micro-internships.

Micro-internships are short-term, professional projects that typically require between 10 to 40 hours of work by the college student or recent grad and are due within a few days to a few weeks. While the projects may not be the best use of time for you or your team, college students and recent grads are excited to gain professional experience.  As a result, not only do you get on-demand support, but this also allows banks to see if someone is a good fit for a permanent role.

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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.