WEEKLY UPDATE FROM MONTANA'S CREDIT UNIONS | October 4, 2024 | |
|
Happy National Co-op Month! This year's theme from NCBA CLUSA is "The Future is Cooperative." While we're looking forward to 2025 being the "Year of the Cooperative," we're also celebrating in the present by acknowledging the unique business model of our favorite cooperatives — credit unions. Here are a few tools if you would like to celebrate, too:
Continue reading to find a few truly cooperative ways to participate.
| | |
CUAid Open Year-round: The Foundation has been in contact with impacted leagues to offer aid to affected credit union employees and volunteers. CUAid is open for donations all year round because it's always a good time of the year to live the people helping people philosophy. | | |
|
2025 Herb Wegner Memorial Award Winners Announced: A recent media release from The Foundation announced the four distinguished awardees:
- Teri M. Robinson, CEO of Ironworkers USA FCU in Oregon
- Michael Valentine, President/CEO of BCU in Illinois
- Deborah A Wege, Cooperative Community Advocate of BECU in Washington
- Maine Credit Unions’ Campaign for Ending Hunger in Maine
Congratulations to all of the award winners on this recognition!
| | |
Join us at GAC: Registration is now open for the 2025 Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC), the credit union industry’s largest advocacy event, happening March 2-6, 2025, in Washington, DC! This year’s theme, "Together We Move — Moving with purpose. Moving with passion. Moving with strength," will bring together credit union leaders from across the country to advocate for the industry on Capitol Hill. You’ll also want to reserve your room in one of the two MCU hotel blocks before December 20. Contact Karen for the password to request the group guest room rate or for more information. Don’t miss this powerful opportunity — register today! | | |
|
Advocacy Update
National Defense Authorization Act Amendments: America’s Credit Unions, alongside state leagues, are urging Congress to reject harmful amendments to the FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). They oppose proposals such as expanding interchange price caps, disrupting on-base financial services, and increasing credit union liability for payment fraud. These provisions are not included in current House or Senate versions of the bill.
| | | |
|
Be Wild Registration Deadline Looms: Be Wild registration ends Tuesday, October 8! You don’t want to miss your chance to connect with credit union professionals from across the state and learn from advocacy experts during three fun-filled days, October 22-24 in Billings. | |
|
This Week's Blogs
A Direct Line: The FOMC’s 50 basis point rate cut has big implications for credit unions. Lower borrowing costs could boost loan demand but also bring higher credit risks and margin compression. Credit unions need to balance profitability, interest rate management, and member expectations. Read this week's blog from Millennium Corporate CU's Ian Trebilcock to stay proactive and adjust your strategies to thrive.
Consumer Blog: Life is complicated, and money can be messy. You make more than your partner does. They have more debt than you do. You have student loans to pay. They have child support payments to keep up with. When you get married, combining assets might be the most complicated part of the process. This week's consumer blog — and coordinating social media posts — have ideas for getting your life and money situated.
| | |
Staff Day on Tuesday: We love learning, growing, and adapting together at the league. This Tuesday, our team came together (pictured above) to review the results of our recent engagement survey and revisit our goals for 2024. How can we keep improving our service to our members in the future? It's a question we strive to answer every single day. | | |
|
New Partner = New Solutions for You: We're excited to announce a new partnership with CU DigiLend, a cutting-edge technology platform that offers white-labeled solutions for credit unions. This strategic partnership will bring CU DigiLend's innovative point-of-sale financing program to our member credit unions, enhancing your ability to provide convenient, flexible financing options to your members and support local businesses.
This collaboration not only strengthens MCU’s service offerings but also helps you expand your reach, attract new members, and enhance your financial product portfolio. We hope you join us for an introductory webinar with the Wisconsin league on Tuesday, October 8.
| | |
TruStage Webinars: In October, TruStage is hosting two timely webinars. The first — Planning for 2025: From Forces to Choices on October 9 — will share key findings from market forces research and can help guide credit unions in preparing for 2025. On October 16, Cyber Landscape Threats will cover cybercrime risks and related controls that can help you navigate the evolving cyber environment. | |
Virtual IRA Training: This year, we’ve teamed up with the Tennessee Credit Union League to offer Montana’s credit unions timely IRA training at a reduced rate. Register today to secure your spot to join the highly skilled Ascensus trainers for online training on October 16 (IRA Essentials) and October 17 (IRA Advanced) from the convenience of your desk. | | |
|
Upcoming Learning Opportunities: October is the perfect time to learn something new. Here are a few of the upcoming webinars from the Credit Union Webinar Network:
- Empowering Financial Markets
- Auditing Consumer Real Estate Files
- Electronic Payment Fraud
Visit their website to find a webinar perfect for you and take advantage of the current "buy one, get one" promotion!
| | |
|
As you know by now, October is National Co-Op Month. The Community 1st FCU Ekalaka branch is working cooperatively with Southeast Electric this month to offer exciting days of celebration. What a fun way to celebrate the #CUDifference all month.
| | |
|
As I mentioned in last week’s Parting Shot, we are kicking off an MCU “Meet the Staff” podcast. You all know that our team rocks in their commitment and service to you. Now, get to know them even better as you listen to a different staff member each week. This week’s podcast features April.
Here's a quick introduction: As the Office Manager/Bookkeeper, April Bogy manages the daily operations and functions of Montana’s Credit Unions. April focuses her time on maintaining budgets, financial data, inventory management, and compliance reporting. April loves to travel with her husband and four kids. Exploring and seeing new places is always an adventure April is willing to take. Most days you will find her relaxing at home with her dogs (5) and cats (3), cooking a homemade meal, or traveling the great state of Montana.
What I really appreciate about April is that she is always looking for ways to make our work more efficient and effective. She brings ideas and solutions, and she manages our office very well, always with a smile and a “can-do” mindset. Afer listening to the podcast episode, reach out and thank April for her service to Montana’s Credit Unions and her commitment to each of you!
| | |
| Which is your favorite fall festivity? | | | | | |
|
|
This is an internal publication of Montana's Credit Unions intended for our affiliated credit unions and their official family.
If you unsubscribe to the President's Report using the button below, you will unsubscribe to ALL of MCU's newsletters. To be removed from this distribution list only, email Michelle.
For more information, call us or visit our website.
| | |
Montana's Credit Unions | 800-745-5546
| |
| | | |
