Educational Opportunities 

The Illinois General Assembly has been very busy during its previous legislative session. Notably, it amended the Illinois Victims Economic Security and Safety Act ("VESSA") to apply to employers with 15 and up to 49 employees.   Prior to the amendment, VESSA applied only to employers with 50 or more employees. Credit unions with 15-49 employees are now required to provide up to eight weeks of unpaid leave for an employee or his or her family or household member who is a victim of domestic or sexual violence. As a result, credit unions will need to develop a VESSA policy as well as draft sample forms for employees to use.   The VESSA QuickBites session on November 5 (Session Code: 661) will inform credit unions of their obligations under VESSA, provide sample forms and policies to ensure compliance. 

Does your website comply with all applicable Federal Regulations? Do you know what trigger terms may be on your website and the corresponding required disclosures?   The Website Compliance QuickBites session on November 10 (Session Code: 663) will cover the regulatory requirements applicable to your website. Specifically, we will highlight the following areas: 

• Logo Requirements. Where and what size do we need to make the NCUA and Equal Housing logos? 
• Regulation Z and Truth in Savings trigger terms. What are the trigger terms and what do we need to disclose? 
• Online account opening requirements. What is the E-SIGN Act and what do you have to do to open accounts online? What disclosures are required? 
• Fair Lending. Does your website violate the Equal Credit Opportunity Act?

We will spend the most time on the most common website compliance violations and how your credit union can avoid them. Our focus will be on providing you with tools and insights that you can take back to your credit union and immediately improve your compliance efforts on the web. 

Lottery scams, internet scams, e-mail scams and multiple variations target your members. While your members may be the target and fall victim to what seems to others to be an obvious fraud, often it is your credit union that suffers the financial consequences of your members’ unwitting involvement with con artists.  Con artists utilize a variety of schemes to dupe members, which ultimately involve counterfeit postings to your members’ accounts. At the Detecting Scams Involving Counterfeit Checks, Go Chex, Money Orders and More telecourse on November 17 (Session Code: 664), learn the red flags and practical steps to avoid losses associated with these ever increasing fraud schemes. The information gained in this enlightening session will protect your members and your credit union.  This session will cover:

• Insight into the scams targeting your members and your credit union 
• How  sites like GoChex and other online payment systems used by members place you at risk 
• What “red flags’ are indicative of counterfeit deposits and check fraud 
• Training you can develop to identify and eliminate the acceptance of counterfeit checks 
• Methods other institutions are utilizing to combat this specialized form of fraud 

Your Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) Exam may be approaching and there are some new “hot spots” you may need to look at before the examiners arrive. Many credit unions did well on the first round of BSA examinations but have been surprised at the added scrutiny in subsequent exams. You may really have to enhance your program to include some of the following “hotspots” during the next BSA exam.   Attend the BSA Exam Hotspots QuickBites session on November 19 (Session Code: 665) and learn about key issues, including:

• Products in electronic banking. 
• Cash intensive businesses, charities and much more. 
• You will also be asked about any new products and services and how your credit union incorporated these into your risk analysis. 
• Are you meeting the enhanced due diligence expectations for a baseline member profile? 
• What are you doing to mitigate the risk involved in these newer products and services? 
• Learn how to use the exam manual to prepare for upcoming examinations for your credit union. Work smarter, not harder! 

Looking ahead to next month on December 1, an in-person session and a telecourse will be offered to provide an overview of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and Regulation (RESPA) and Reg X (Session Codes: 682 & 683, respectively). They will focus on the most recent revisions to this law/regulation taking effect January 1, 2010, including: 

• New GFE – (1/1/2010 Implementation Date)
• New HUD-1/HUD 1A (for all transactions in which the new GFE is used) - (1/1/2010 Implementation Date)
• Tolerances – (1/1/2010 Implementation Date)
• Elimination of FHA cap on origination fees and recent changes to their FAQ’s - (1/1/2010 Implementation Date)
• TILA’s recent early disclosure rule changes
• Average charge (optional)
• Servicing disclosure statement 

Conflict is an everyday occurrence in the workplace yet employee disagreements can impact not only the involved employees’ productivity, but also the productivity and morale of their coworkers. Conflict can even disrupt the entire team, including the top performers.  On December 2, the Solving Employee Disagreements QuickBites (Session Code: 677) session will cover: 

• Defining and naming the problem. 
• A process for working through employee disagreements. 
• How to reduce drama. 
• Helping employees solving their problem(s) collaboratively. 

As applicable based on the most recent revisions, the Reg Z and Truth in Lending Act QuickBites session on December 10 (Session Code: 681) will address Regulation Z and discuss practical effects and obligations of credit unions under such revisions/guidance. We will also address common compliance concerns and common violations by/for credit unions under Regulation Z and how to avoid these problems. This will address the understanding of basic concepts and practical audit/due diligence options to help avoid related liability. 

Round out your educational year with an Annual Compliance Update to receive end-of-the-year updates on new or amended laws passed in 2009 that affect your credit union operation. By staying on top of the changes and avoiding potential liability, you will save time, money and energy.  Changes in Illinois and/or Federal laws and regulations on the following: 

• Authority to Serve Non-Members/Related Issues 
• New Convenience Accounts compared to Joint Accounts/Terms and
  Authorities 
• New Guardianship Act and Guardianships Overview 
• New Requirements for Credit Cards Issued to Minors and to College Students 
• New Mortgage Loan Originator Registration and/or Licensing Requirements 
• New Grace Period Notice regarding Mortgages in Default 
• New Notarial Record Requirements 
• Overview of Certain Aspects of Open-End Lending Changes 
• New Policy Requirements regarding International ACH Transaction 
• Share Insurance Coverage Changes 
• And much more……… 
  • Overview and Comparison of Garnishments, Citations, Subpoenas. 
  • Review of Vendor Management Requirements and Sample Policy.  How to keep the team productively intact. 
  • Other technical changes.
  • What CUs will want to be aware of from a legal, compliance and audit point of view. 

This critical update will be offered on December 9 Naperville (Session Code: 678), on December 16 as a telecourse for Illinois only credit unions (Session Code: 679), and on December 17 in downstate Rantoul (Session Code: 680) 

For a complete calendar of all Educational offerings, please click here.