WEEKLY UPDATE FROM MONTANA'S CREDIT UNIONS | March 7, 2025 | |
Happy Friday! It's story time. Once upon a time, one of us had a college teammate who was late to practice the Monday after daylight saving ended. She was in trouble for being late, but her lateness indicated she must have skipped all her classes that day and didn't catch her mistake until late afternoon. The moral of this story is not about how we're so old we were in college without cell phones. Rather, it's a cautionary tale about neglecting to adjust to the time change. While your phone will automatically adjust to the time change (unlike "back in our day"), you should probably set the rest of the clocks in your house an hour FORWARD before falling asleep Saturday night. | | |
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Beneficial Ownership Rule: Compliance with FinCEN's Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) rule continues to change. After court rulings over the last few months, compliance was placed on hold, back on track, and finally extended to March 21. With the new date looming, this week's update from FinCEN will likely be the most important.
Also, on March 2, the Treasury Department announced it would not enforce any penalties or fines associated with the BOI rule against U.S. citizens or domestic reporting companies. It will be issuing a proposed rulemaking soon to narrow the scope of the rule to foreign companies only.
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Small Credit Union Webinar Series: Starting Monday, March 17, the African-American Credit Union Coalition will be hosting a series of informative webinars designed "to empower and elevate small credit unions." Register for each session by clicking on the dates below:
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March 17: Reimagining the Small Credit Union
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March 19: Built Just For You: Solutions for Small Credit Unions
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March 25: Leveraging Innovation for Growth & Sustainability
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March 27: New Models to Help Credit Unions Survive and Thrive
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Montana Moves to ELT: Montana is implementing ELT (electronic lien and titling) technologies starting March 17. To facilitate their system change, counties will be unable to process vehicle transactions March 13-14. After March 17, lienholders will be invited to enroll with a Montana-approved service provider to view and manage titles and liens electronically. This includes adding liens, perfecting liens, releasing liens, deleting liens, and performing title inquiries. This change will likely prompt confusion and questions from your members, so be sure to let your whole team know so they are aware of the timing and are aware for member questions. | | |
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Spring is for Award Nominations: Nominations are open for the Montana Credit Union Professional of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, and Young Professional of the Year awards. Do you know a Montana credit union professional or a board/supervisory committee member who has contributed mightily to their credit union? If so, nominate them so we can celebrate their efforts and achievements. Download the appropriate form above and send it in by May 1.
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Helping Members During Uncertain Financial Times: Potential government layoffs and a possible shutdown are top of mind for many of your members. Credit unions take care of their members, though, and that starts with communicating that value with them. Last week, we received an email from the Defense Credit Union Council on how credit unions can support members facing financial uncertainty, and we've converted it into an easy-to-read infographic for you and your teams. Whether you have existing programs to assist members — or you're thinking about adding new ones — this infographic might give you ideas on communicating programs with your members. | | |
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What We're Reading, Watching, and Listening To
Financially Educated Kids = Financially Fit Adults: This article from Bankrate is particularly timely since April is CU Youth Month. (More resources coming soon!) In the article, you'll find key insights from a study on the correlation between early financial education and strong financial habits into adulthood.
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Personal Finance Blog: You've probably heard of the KISS method (Keep it Simple, Stupid). It can also be extended to budgeting and is a great way to help your members — especially first-time budgeters — learn how to take control of their finances. This week's blog is a great place to start fresh with your finances this spring. | | |
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Advocacy Update
69th Montana Legislature: It had been a fast-paced two weeks at the 69th Montana Legislature as committees wrapped up pre-transmittal work, shifting focus to the House and Senate floors. Thanks to the grassroots efforts of our Advocacy Champions, we successfully stopped three key bills we opposed (SB 489, SB 240, and SB 176). A huge thank you to everyone who contacted their senators and to Greg Strizich, Eddie Black, and Cyrus Malkin for delivering powerful testimony in opposition.
Our work will continue on other bills when legislators return next week. While the transmittal deadline is a major milestone, “nothing is dead until sine die.” Stay engaged — your voice makes a difference!
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2024 Impact Report: Last week, we shared our 2024 Impact Report with you. Over the next few weeks, we'll share bite-sized pieces with you to highlight our 2024 accomplishments and share our exciting plans for 2025.
Week one focuses on advocacy. $30,000 was a magical amount in 2024. Collectively, credit unions and your members across the state raised some pretty amazing funds:
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$30,754 was raised for MCUCD, which supports financial education, our FiCEP certification program, and more
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$30,139 was raised for Shodair Children's Hospital, setting a new record
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$31,111 was raised through PAC fundraising — $14,486 of which will stay in Montana to work for our political advocacy efforts
In 2025, we're looking forward to expanding on the success of our Advocacy Champions community and working with the Taylor Luther Group on our advocacy efforts at the state capitol and beyond. Be sure to check out our full 2024 Impact Report (linked above) for more data points!
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LSG Strategic Alliance Partner: We’re excited to introduce our newest Strategic Alliance partner! PRIME is a digital marketing agency based in Bozeman that has partnered with credit unions for over a decade. As a full-service digital marketing agency, they can handle marketing consulting, content marketing, brand development, paid media, and Web design. Check out our website to learn more about PRIME and how they can work for your credit union.
Webinar: Risks & The Lending Landscape: Navigating the lending landscape is challenging. Considering the complexity of risks associated with fraud, vendor due diligence, artificial intelligence, internal controls, and regulatory compliance — specifically fair lending — there has never been a better time for credit unions to focus on the strategic discussion to help you thrive in the current environment. Register to join TruStage risk consultants Jim Bullard and Bob Bouvier at noon (MDT) on March 19 as they address the changing dynamics and risks in the lending landscape. They’ll also share actionable mitigation steps to help you minimize losses related to lending at your credit union.
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THE CREDIT UNION DIFFERENCE | |
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Congratulations to 1st Liberty FCU's Steve Grooms on his induction into the Credit Union House Hall of Leaders earlier this week. Just 20 leaders from across the country are selected for this honor each year, and we're so pleased to have Steve's unwavering support of the credit union movement be recognized. Troy Stang, Credit Union House chair said of the recognition, “These leaders exemplify the spirit of the Credit Union Movement, setting the gold standard in
member service, strengthening the credit union community, and championing advocacy to
protect the not-for-profit, cooperative financial services model. We deeply appreciate the
lasting impact they have made—and continue to make—on credit unions."
Steve has spent the last 42 years exemplifying the #CUDifference. Throughout his career, he has consistently championed the credit union mission, tirelessly advocating for the credit union model at the state and national levels. His legacy as a bold and passionate leader exemplifies the values of the Credit Union House Hall of Leaders, and his contributions continue to inspire those in the movement.
Congratulations, Steve! (Pictured here from left to right: Gerry, Steve, and Steve's wife, Roz. Click to enlarge.)
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GAC: Gather, Advocate, Celebrate
2025 GAC is a wrap! (A quick video recap is above.) Over 6,000 credit union champions gathered this week in DC to talk about the credit union difference. Montana had over 25 folks in attendance from 10 of our credit unions.
I have attended GAC every year since 2007, and it’s always a highlight. Here are my favorite reasons to attend:
Gather. Coming together for a common purpose — advancing credit unions — is rewarding and exhilarating! Uniting around our common purpose and shared values enables us to amplify our voices and speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves — millions of hardworking Americans struggling every day. We gather for them. To tell their stories. To fight for them. To provide hope for a brighter financial future.
Advocate. This is why and how we gather. I am so proud of our Montana credit unions! On Wednesday, they told our story to all our elected officials at the Montana Coffee (a longstanding tradition of our Montana delegation where they host a coffee every Wednesday for Montanans visiting our nation's capital), during a PAC event to deliver a check of support, and during individual hill visits with our Senators. In these meetings, we talked about these issues:
- The credit union difference
- Taxation
- Fraud and data security
- Interchange
- CDFI
In each issue, one of our Montana credit union champions told their story and how it impacts their credit union, members, and community.
Back home in Montana, Karen and other credit union champions testified on critical issues facing our credit unions at the state level during this legislative session.
While it has been a busy week for advocacy in DC and at home, I'm so thankful we have an army of advocates ready to jump in on behalf of our credit unions. I am so proud of each of you! I am reminded of how blessed we are to have the wonderful and committed team at Montana's Credit Unions as well as our engaged credit unions. Together, we make a difference, and Montanans benefit!
Celebrate. Another GAC favorite for me is the celebration of credit union champions. Every day saw a celebration of individuals who have devoted their lives to serving others. I loved celebrating these leaders! We celebrated our own Steve Grooms from 1st Liberty as he was inducted into the CU House Hall of Fame. I know for every person honored from the main stage, others continue to do the great work of credit unions. It's in our DNA. It's how we roll!
I'm headed into the weekend with an extra bounce in my step knowing we have so many advocates around the country and across Montana serving our members and communities.
Cooperatively, Gerry
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