The President's Perspective

​Jim Nussle is coming to Bismarck!  Be sure to join us for our leadership event in August.  Plus, DakCU signs on to joint letter to NCUA asking for PCA considerations. 

Greetings and welcome to the beginning of Summer 2021!  While many parts of the Dakotas had experienced summer-like temps and weather patterns for most of the month, the summer solstice occurred last night at around 10:30 p.m.  central time when the sun reached its highest and northernmost point the night sky, thus officially kicking off the start of summer in the northern hemisphere.  So, happy summer – enjoy!

Dakota Leadership Event Added to Calendar.
I am pleased to kick off the summer season with an exciting announcement!  We have secured a special visit from Jim Nussle, President/CEO, Credit Union National Association (CUNA) for Wednesday, August 25th in Bismarck.  Jim will host an in-person credit union CEO Town Hall and leadership forum for our Dakota credit union CEOs and leaders.
 
The event will be held at the National Energy Center of Excellence (NECE) on the Bismarck State College campus.  This senior level, C-suite event will also be held in conjunction with our CU Professionals Forum that same day and our Foundation Golf Scramble at Apple Creek Country Club on August 26th.  We have secured a block of rooms at the Hampton Inn & Suites on the BSC Campus for the 25th and 26th and there is no cost for this event!  We do want to know how many guests to expect so kindly register here.

A tentative agenda for the two days in Bismarck:
Wednesday, August 25 

• 9:00 a.m. – Foundation Board Meeting and Planning Session, NECE, BSC Campus.
• 11:00 a.m. – CU Professionals arrive
• 11:30 to 1:00 – Luncheon with Jim Nussle and special guests
• 1:00 to 3:30 – Town Hall and Open Forum with Jim Nussle and Jeff Olson
•  Jim Nussle Town Hall Dialogue:

• The credit union outlook post pandemic
• The CUNA League System today
• Legislative and regulatory hot buttons 
• The political landscape in DC
• The 2022 election
• Open dialogue and Q & A with Nussle

• 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. – CU Professionals Forum, NECE, BSC Campus
• 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. – Social at Paddle Trap on the Missouri River

Thursday, August 26

• 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. – Dakota Credit Union Foundation’s Annual Golf Scramble at Apple Creek Country Club, 8921 Highway 10 Bismarck, ND.   

 
Update – Dakota CU CEO Virtual Town Hall Tomorrow.  
I wanted to let you know that we will have Pace Bradshaw, Vice President and Head of Government Affairs for VISA joining us on our quarterly CEO Town Hall tomorrow, June 22nd at 3:00 p.m. CT.  Mr. Bradshaw will share information on prospective legislation that would impact the interchange rates on credit card transactions and thus negatively impact credit unions and credit card issuers income potential on electronic transactions.   He will also share information on an educational opportunity for North Dakota small businesses that VISA will be sponsoring around the state this summer. We will also go around the horn and share news and updates on the legislative and regulatory fronts, as well as sharing league actions and activities.  I’m looking forward to connecting on Tuesday.  The link to the Town Hall was sent in an email invite. If you need the Town Hall virtual meeting link, please let me know at [email protected] and I’ll send it you directly.

#ILOVEMYCREDITUNION Social Media Blitz Rollout Webinar this Week!  
I’m also looking forward to connecting with Dakota credit union leaders, marketing professionals, and your social media coordinators for the #ILOVEMYCREDITUNION social blitz campaign set to launch on July 30th. 

As a reminder, the virtual meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 23rd at 11:30 a.m. (CT).  We’ll be joined by Staci Hering from the Illinois Credit Union League.  They are the driving force behind the campaign effort and have done all the groundwork.  The Zoom meeting will provide a brief overview and demonstration on how fun this is going to be.  Click here to register. 

Here’s the best part!  If we get just five credit unions from each state to participate, we’ll be eligible to win $25,000 that we can donate directly back to our Dakota Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals!  Everything you need to participate can be found at the resource hub.  This is going to be great – hope to see many of you on our call!
 
DakCU Signs Joint Letter to NCUA.
Late last week, the Dakota Credit Union Association joined 34 other state credit union leagues and the Credit Union National Association in signing on to a joint industry letter to the NCUA, urging the agency to actively engage Congress to pursue changes to section 1790d of the Federal Credit Union Act.

Credit unions entered the crisis last year extremely well capitalized; however, the impact of the ensuing economic crisis has and will continue to put stress on credit union capital levels.  Among other things, these capital levels have been impacted by the economic assistance sent by the government to consumers.  These payments, in many cases, have been deposited into credit union accounts and have presented downward pressure on otherwise healthy capital levels.  NCUA lacks the statutory flexibility it needs to help credit unions navigate certain capital situations induced by natural disasters, public health crises, other emergencies, including governmental responses.  The requested changes would provide the NCUA Board additional tools to aid otherwise healthy credit unions that encounter crisis induced PCA challenges.  You can see the letter here. 

​Have a great weekend everyone! 

​President/CEO
Dakota Credit Union Association