The Best Resources For Staying Up To Date on Compliance News

Compliance and regulations are on the mind of credit union executives nationwide. In a recent article, Looking to Shed the Weight of Compliance Burdens?, it was revealed that 98% of CU executives identify compliance burden as a top critical concern for their credit union in 2017. As new regulations such as CECL or TILA/RESPA are added and amended, credit unions may struggle to keep up and remain compliant. Below are three resources for executives to stay on top of the latest news in the compliance world:

1. Online resources.  There are a wealth of online resources, blogs, forums, and more to subscribe to or simply just check periodically to stay up to date on the latest news.  Here are some of our favorites:

• https://www.cuinsight.com/ - A free resource with an option to receive daily emails that target all the issues credit unions face.
• https://www.nafcu.org/compliance/ and https://www.cuna.org/compliance/ - We recommend subscribing to their feeds or following them on the social media platform of your choice. These are great locations to download resources and workbooks, especially if you are a participating member.
• http://www.policyworksllc.com/news.cfm - Frequently updated blog, with some very informative whitepapers available for educational downloads.
• http://www.cutimes.com, http://www.creditunions.com and http://www.cujournal.com/compliance/ - Subscribers to these publications receive the full complement of resources, making the subscription well worth the price for the valuable insight provided.

2. Local collaboration opportunities. Credit unions are known for how well they work together and collaborate in order to achieve success as an industry.  Many cities and states offer groups and leagues for this very purpose.  As an example, we have a number of clients in Ohio who are a part of the Ohio Credit Union League's CUConnection, where they state their goals as such:  "The foundation of the credit union movement is built on the principles of collaboration and cooperation. Given the challenges many credit unions face in the current environment, the Ohio Credit Union League... has created the Credit Union Connection Program to promote collaborative partnerships between individual credit unions in Ohio.  The goal of the Credit Union Connection Program is to provide opportunities for the sharing of best practices and intellectual resources."

3. Executive forums and continuing education opportunities.  Outside of local groups, there are many organizations that sponsor online forums and opportunities to stay up to date through classes and furthering education, such as the Credit Union Times Leadership Forum. LinkedIn groups, like the Credit Union Network Group, which boasts over 30K members, can be a great way to get in on the discussion.

4. Your Core Provider. Credit union executives are busy people. Especially in smaller credit unions that can't afford the luxury of having a compliance officer. Having vendors on your side that you rely upon to stay on top of compliance is crucial. You should expect your credit union core software provider to keep you up to date on new regulations, and more importantly, to provide you with the tools and programs to stay compliant.