To help bankers keep track of developments related to the 2019 novel coronavirus, the American Bankers Association (ABA) recently released pandemic planning and business continuity resources for banks. This members-only webpage has information and resources from the Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, financial regulatory agencies and others. The page also includes information on frauds and scams that have been reported in conjunction with the outbreak. The page will continue to be updated as more information becomes available. View the resources here.

The ABA will also host a free webinar on the coronavirus and pandemic planning this Thursday, March 12, at 1 p.m. The webinar will provide an overview of the health threat and review CDC guidelines on virus transmission; help bankers assess their business continuity plans and highlight available resources to assist with planning; and review leading industry practices and lessons learned in a 2007 pandemic exercise conducted by public and private-sector participants. You can register for that webinar here.

VBA Endorsed Provider Compliance Alliance is offering their Pandemic Planning Policy to VBA member banks. This policy provides guidance to assist bank personnel in performing their respective duties and responsibilities to ensure the availability of critical financial services of the bank in the case of a pandemic. The objective of the policy is to mitigate risks from both internal and external sources. Download the policy here.

To keep you up to date, VBA Endorsed Provider S&P Global has launched Coronavirus: The Global Impact, a weekly newsletter highlighting their best insights into public health, the global economy, its sectors and commodity markets. You can sign up here to receive this newsletter on a regular basis. View their most recent updates here.

Atlantic Union Bank
Andrea Weissbart – Vice President, Workplace Solutions Relationship Manager

Bank of Botetourt
Adam Midkiff – Director of Merchant Services

Bank of Clarke County
Deborah Addo – Board of Directors

Benchmark Community Bank
Ashley Lafata – Assistant Vice President, Retail Training Officer

Burke & Herbert Bank
Alexis Santin – Director of Treasury Management Services

Freedom Bank of Virginia
Kathleen Johnson – Vice President, Marketing Director

HomeTrust Bank
Jason Capps – Assistant Vice President, Commercial Portfolio Manager

MainStreet Bank
Karly Tomlin – Vice President, User Experience Coordinator

Pinnacle Financial Partners
Dana Sanders – Chief Audit Executive
Brad Sears – Managing Director, Asset Management

Community banks are in a sink-or-swim moment. They’ve taken steps to offer customers the same features and functionalities as bigger banks and neobanks, but they are up against another challenge: the elements that draw consumers to one financial provider over another, and who they turn to for advice when making a decision about a financial provider, has shifted. Here are three ways community banks can use the changing definition of community to reimagine their strategic vision.
(Banking Dive)

The Richmond Fed has published the latest issue of its quarterly journal. Articles examine female representation on Reserve Banks' boards of directors and analyze recent data on discount window borrowing. (Richmond Fed)

Consulting & Training, Marketing
Haberfeld
Haberfeld is an employee-owned company with three decades of experience helping community banks grow by acquiring more profitable business and retail customers, increasing core deposits and retaining top employees. Haberfeld's growth strategy embraces technology-based, ROI-focused marketing, extensive, on-site training, and data-driven recommendations on products, policies and procedures. For more information, please visit www.haberfeld.com.

Accounting/IT Consulting & Services
CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
CLA is a professional services firm that provides wealth advisory, outsourcing, audit, tax and consulting. For more information, visit www.claconnect.com.

IT Consulting & Services
Fujitsu Americas Inc.
For over four decades, Fujitsu has been a trusted technology partner to financial service providers around the globe. Their years of experience working within the banking sector have led them to develop an in-depth understanding of the demanding climate in which bankers operate, and the need for agility, flexibility and security in serving customers. Banking is evolving at an unprecedented rate, and this pace of change is further exacerbated by increased regulation and low interest rates driving fierce competition. Customer expectations and demand for new digital services are rising, with customer retention becoming less about loyalty and more about the ability to provide innovative 24/7/365 services with high levels of transparency and security. Within banking, digital transformation is a priority. Digitalization enables you to act quickly, scale rapidly, remain agile and keep pace with changing customer and regulatory demands. For more information, visit www.fujitsu.com.

Compliance & Security Services
Assura, Inc.
Whether you are looking for long term security management or would like to tackle a specific cybersecurity issue, Assura has you covered. Let them show you why using Assura is like pressing the easy button for cybersecurity. For more information, visit www.assurainc.com.

Overdraft Programs/Credit & Lending Resources
Velocity Solutions
Founded in 1995 and servicing the transaction accounts of over 30 million consumers and business owners, Velocity Solutions is the leading provider of revenue-driving solutions for community banks. Their Velocity Intelligent Platform™ powers all of Velocity’s solutions, using machine-led intelligence that delivers powerful analytics and drives revenue, deposits and loans to their client financial institutions. Velocity’s ability to swiftly and proactively develop innovative new solutions stems from their seasoned leadership team, allowing them to forge a true consultative relationship with their clients and help them succeed within the ever-changing economic, technological and regulatory environments. For more information, visit www.myvelocity.com.

Accounting/Compliance Services
ARCSys
Since 2009, ARCSys has been addressing the complex CECL standards with the most robust software solution in the industry. The ARCSys team, staffed by accountants, offer implementation to calculation support including loading your data, validating your data, recommending segment class structures, and model recommendations. For more information, visit www.arcsysonline.com.

Over the past 2.5 years, the leadership-focused podcast, The Heartbeat has interviewed 49 groundbreaking leaders. Some of the most influential leadership lessons from those interviews are featured here. (Signal V. Noise)

Given their extraordinary and unnecessary tax benefit, large credit unions should be held accountable for meeting the needs of the very communities they were created to serve in the first place. (ABA Banking Journal)

In this article, VBA Endorsed Provider Investors Title Insurance Company shares tips and guidance for key resources bankers can use to protect their business from growing fraud threats.