CUNA Volunteer Institute
Topics & Objectives

Please note that the Topics/Objectives listed below are subject to change.

Compliance Issues Update

New President, new laws, new regulations, consumer protection, mortgage lending, credit card practices, overdraft protection, money laundering, civil monetary penalties, bank closures, you’ve heard all the buzz words lately, but are you up-to-date on everything you need to know to protect your credit union and ensure that your credit union remains compliant? As a board member, it is your job to ensure appropriate policies and procedures are in place to protect the credit union. Learn the hottest information about new and changing laws and regulations.

Corporate Credit Union Sustainability & Impact on Income and ROA

Many credit unions across the country have seen the impacts on the income statement and balance sheet caused by the Corporate Credit Union sustainability program. While the debate rages from all sides – the reality is that steps need to be taken to sustain fiscal health. Some key questions to ask include:

• How solid is your strategic plan and does it integrate well with your budget process?
• Does your CU have a true handle on the cost of all products?
• Does the ALCO provide the standard of guidance needed to succeed?

Current Environmental Trends for Focused Strategic Planning

When it comes to strategic planning, you have a lot of tough decisions to make. This session will guide you through the key trends and forecasts that affect your credit union’s future bringing confidence and success to your planning.

Exceptional Governance During Trying Times

When business is flourishing and the bottom line is well-to-do, governance is trouble-free. Nonetheless, when lending is constrained, losses are threatening, and industry ambiguity is the primary item of dialogue, serving as a board member is demanding. In this session you will discuss if boards should boost their levels of engagement, absorb themselves in tactical planning, and grow to be more hands-on.

How the NCUA May Raise the Bar for the Board

What’s the old saying "if you want something done, give it to the busiest person?" At a time when many boards are wrestling with a myriad of issues, NCUA is looking for boards to step-up regarding the skills needed to govern credit unions. In this session you will discuss some of the key areas that are attracting NCUA’s attention and steps that can be taken to improve and demonstrate better management skills.

How to Protect Your Personal Assets

The responsibilities and liabilities of a credit union director are immense and growing, especially in today's economy. Hear perspectives and experiences to help you better serve your members, perform your duties, and mitigate your personal liabilities. Join expert John Wallace in this interactive session as he discusses current trends that impact such topics as:

• The duties of a director
• How to protect your personal assets
• Ten questions you can ask to ensure better protection of your personal assets

Into the Trenches of Merger Considerations

In this session, you will learn about what it means to take core samples of loans and find out why not following policies and procedures is worse than not having them. You will also hear about the bitter taste of bankruptcy and the heartache of foreclosure.

Member Business Lending & the Current Environment

The environment for member business lending has changed considerably in the last 18 months – has your program made the needed adjustments to monitor increasing risk, deteriorating credit quality, and shrinking spreads? Whether you have an existing program or are looking at opening an MBL program, these keys will benefit your organization. This session will outline three key areas that impact existing or start up MBL programs profitability and the steps to take to ensure continued success in turbulent times.

• Dealing with slow paying MBL’s is different than dealing with slow paying consumer loans
• Increased scrutiny of credits begins with a solid servicing plan
• We all prefer to offer great rates and minimal fees to our Member Businesses – but does this make sense when our bottom line is being assaulted and the prognosis is for higher cost of funds

The 5 Biggest Post-Merger Heartaches

Mergers may present some significant opportunities for credit unions in these troubled times, whether you’re the merger or the mergee. Consider some of the major areas that should be looked at carefully but are often ignored including these potential headaches:

• You mean there’s due diligence to be done beyond IT?
• They said they kept decent records.
• What about the alphabet soup of compliance?
• Just how much can you stand from a lawyer?
• What do you mean they have "different" computers?

The Board's Responsibilities & Ethical Considerations

Bad press, collapsing financial institutions, liability, new governance laws, just a few reasons why it is important for credit union board members to keep up-to-date with the latest information regarding board responsibilities and ethics. Although many duties are delegated to the CEO and credit union staff, board members still retain numerous legal responsibilities and potential liability if those duties are not properly carried out. Attend this session to learn more about board governance, responsibilities, and ethics. Specific items of focus will include fiduciary duties, conflicts of interest, member expulsion, removal of board members, who has the right to attend board meetings, board training requirements, and more.

The Perfect Storm: Lender Liability & Lending Trends in Today's Economy

With foreclosures, repossessions, and other collections on the rise, it is important to understand how lender liability and lending issues can create additional losses and exposure for your credit union. In this session, you learn about key lending issues and trends related to this sleeping exposure that is beginning to awake. In addition, you will learn about key ways to mitigate lender liability through enhancing credit, lending policies, and foreclosure and repossession processes to protect your credit union.

Total Executive Compensation in Credit Unions

Credit unions face an increasingly challenging operating environment. Attracting and retaining executives with proven track records is critical to the success of your credit union. Do you have the information you need to create competitive compensation packages that also maximize the benefits for your members? If not, this session will examine nationwide trends in executive compensation as well as provide industry benchmarks for credit unions with $100 million or more in assets.

Who are We? Where are We? And Where do We go From Here as an Industry?

The events of the past year or even the past few months have impacted the credit union movement in dramatic ways. And the winds of change are blowing. We are at a critical juncture and we must arm ourselves to make the best moves for the industry in order to continue to bring the best options to our members. You’ll hear from industry experts about the state of the industry, regarding the economy, regulations, and the current climate.