MnCUN is pleased to announce a new mentorship opportunity coming this June. The Tri-state Mentorship Match is designed to build, grow, and support professionals while inspiring a commitment to a career in the credit union movement. The program is being offered in collaboration with the Minnesota Credit Union Network, Montana’s Credit Unions, and the Wisconsin Credit Union League.

​Mentoring is a special partnership between two people based on commitment to the mentoring process, common goals and expectations, focus, mutual trust and respect. Both the mentor and the mentee give and grow in the mentoring process. Mentoring is a cost-effective, valuable tool for developing the credit union movement’s most important asset, our people. Participants in this 12-month program could be paired with a credit union professional working in any of the three partnering states. 
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Applications for both mentors and mentees will open this June; with pairs being matched in August. Watch for additional details coming soon. With questions, please contact Andrea Molnau or Mara Humphrey. 

​​The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) seeks input on the policy used to set the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund Normal Operating Level (NOL). 

U.S. Senator Smith, in partnership with Senator Sasse (R-NE), introduced the Senate companion to the Credit Union Governance Modernization Act in the House. This bill creates a pathway for federal credit unions to expel members without a full vote of their membership. 

​​“This bill is an important update of the federal credit union charter and prioritizes the safety of credit union members and the staff that serve them,” said Mark Cummins, President and CEO of the Minnesota Credit Union Network. “We appreciate Senator Smith’s commitment to strengthening the security of Minnesota credit unions.”

​“We thank Sens. Smith and Sasse for their bipartisan bill that would modernize the Federal Credit Union Act to support staff and member safety,” said Jim Nussle, President and CEO of the Credit Union National Association. “We look forward to working with them to advance this bipartisan legislation so that we can bring credit union governance into the 21st century.”
 
You can access bill text here.

Yesterday, Governor Tim Walz signed into law a bill to bring parity to state-chartered financial institutions and allow them to offer checking accounts to people that have had accounts forcibly closed within the preceding 12 months, just like federal charters are able to now. The bill passed the House unanimously on May 14. MnCUN thanks the bill's authors, Representative Jim Davnie and Senator Karin Housley, for their support of credit unions. 

​Work Remains on the 2-Year State Budget
Last week, the Minnesota Legislative leaders came to an initial agreement on the two-year budget, but not before the constitutional deadline for adjournment.

Legislative leaders have laid out a timeline laid that committees will have budgets set by May 28 and bills completed by June 4. To try to avoid any collapse of this deal, any policy changes included in the bills must be signed off on by the Speaker of the House, the Senate Majority Leader and the Governor.

The plan is to convene for the special session on June 14 and be done within a day or so. If legislative leaders are unable to draft legislative language around the top-level budget targets they’ve agreed to by that date, Minnesota state government will go into a partial shutdown, which hasn’t happened since 2011. 

​The Minnesota Credit Union Employee Benefits Plan (Benefits Plan), an association health plan for employees of Minnesota head-quartered credit unions, is preparing to provide quotes for 2022. The Benefits Plan offers an opportunity for credit unions to come together to purchase and offer health and ancillary benefits to employees and their families.

Through the Plan, credit unions have increased bargaining power and are able to reduce cost and risk volatility. In 2021, the benefits plan grew to 17 employer groups and currently provides coverage for over 800 individuals. We expect to be able to provide quotes for 2022 by the end of July.

​If you are interested in learning more, please visit our webpage or contact Tim Tacheny or Tommy Rempfer of MnCUN

Registration and sponsorship opportunities will be available the first week in June. Watch our website and the Pulse for more information coming soon!

The spring Innovation P2P will be a facilitated roundtable discussion around credit union strategies for reaching and serving new members. This will be an interactive session with a panel discussion of credit union experts, credit union case studies and an open format dialogue. Panelist details to come! 

We will open up the webcams and audio lines for the group to join our facilitated discussion. All aspects of this session have been created with the intention of shared learning among facilitators and attendees. We will be asking attendees to actively participate before and throughout this session.

Date: Thursday, June 17
Time: 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Location: Webinar/Video Conference 
​Cost: $39
This event will be made only via webinar/conference call. Webinar and call in instructions will be provided to registered attendees.

​For a list of all P2P sessions, visit our Peer-to-Peer (P2P) webpage. With questions, please contact MnCUN Director of Engagement Ben Hering by email or call at (651) 288-5519.

Invest in the Community Investment Fund (CIF) or Charitable Donation Account (CDA) to support the improvement of member financial well-being. These unique investments provide credit unions the opportunity to donate a portion of the dividends earned to both the Minnesota Credit Union Foundation and the National Credit Union Foundation.

Grant programs at both Foundations support initiatives designed to directly improve the lives of credit union members. Services include financial literacy education, professional training, and emergency assistance – on both the state and national levels.

​For more information on how the CIF and CDA programs work, please visit the National Credit Union Foundation website or contact Andrea Molnau, Executive Director, Minnesota Credit Union Foundation by email or by phone at 651-288-5527.

In total, 79 individuals have been designated as Credit Union Builders over the past nine years. The names of the recipients and the contributing credit unions are permanently displayed in the Minnesota Credit Union Network’s lobby as a tribute to those who have dedicated time and energy to building the credit union movement.
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​​Contact Andrea Molnau, Executive Director of the MnCUF with questions.