11/23/2016

Information about Training

In the beginning of 2016, we were using CU Digital University for our online training, but it cost $2600 per year, and we only used it for BSA Training. After some research, I found BAI (Bank Administration Institute), which costs $2160 per year, almost a $500 savings. BAI has over 200 interactive and up-to-date online courses that are developed by a team of regulatory compliance experts. The training offered through BAI is more extensive, there are more classes to choose from including training for:

  • Human Resources Issues- Sexual harassment, Diversity, ADA, Workplace violence
  • Lending Laws and Regulations
  • Financial Institution Activities
  • Corporate Compliance Laws and Regulations
  • BSA/Anti-Money Laundering Laws and Regulations
  • Financial Products and Service Laws and Regulations

Benefits of BAI Training

Buckeye State Credit Union is an $85M credit union with 55 employees. After having a bad year financially, a new CEO was brought on to make some changes. In the last 12 months, 26 employees have been hired, that is almost a 50% turnover. These 26 new employees include our entire Executive Team and all of our Branch Managers. We have to offer adequate, effective training to our employees that ensure compliance with the regulators. This will, in turn, make them more knowledgeable when working with members to find the best products and services for them.

There are over 200 classes available through BAI. They can be scheduled specific to the job: a loan officer would have some different training than a teller. Some of the training is even available in a game: BSA and Reg E training is done playing a game like Jeopardy, and New Hire training is done playing a game like Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

There is also an entire section for Compliance where BAI posts monthly updates about “What’s New in Compliance”. This is a great resource to our company, because we are small and don’t have the manpower to have someone in a position to do the research it would require to find out every new and upcoming regulatory changes.

Why Do We Require Funding?

Buckeye State Credit Union has been in the red for the last two years. We made a profit in September, but it is the first time since December 2013. We are struggling to fix the mistakes made by previous management, and our goal is to get out of the red in 2017. In order for that to happen, we are taking a lot of hits in 2016 to make a clean start in the next year. We are cutting back expenses everywhere we can, including a lot of outside training that we had in the past but cannot afford right now.

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