Pub. 15 2020-21 Issue 6

WWW.NEBANKERS.ORG 8 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Richard J. Baier, President and CEO, Nebraska Bankers Association N BA Friends: A common frustration shared by our members re- gardless of their size, geogra- phy, or business model is complying with the ever-growing rules and regulations imposed by various regulatory agen- cies. As a result of input received from members, your NBA board of directors recently approved expanding our existing partnership with Compliance Alliance (C/A) to offer access to compliance audit services through Review Alliance and a new Virtual Compliance Officer (VCO) program. These services will be offered to NBA members at highly competitive rates. These services are part of Bankers Alliance (B/A), the only national compli- ance company created for bankers by bankers and now includes C/A, Review Alliance (R/A) and the VCO. In 2012, the NBA partnered with 23 other state bankers’ associations to create C/A. C/A provides a subscription- based, comprehensive compliance service. Subscribers have access to compliance officers via phone, email or chat. Compliance calendars, unlim- ited document reviews, bank training programs, forms, flowcharts, checklists, compliance tools, and more are also part of the bank subscription license. Twenty-seven NBA members currently subscribe to C/A. It is important to note banks that subscribe to C/A also receive free access to the NBA’s Compliance Handbook. I have talked with a number of our C/A customers who tell me it is one of their most valuable vendors. R/A was founded in 2020 to offer competitively priced compliance audit services to bankers within the BA foot- print. Audits are conducted by highly trained and certified staff and provide a risk-based approach to compliance test- ing. Transactions are reviewed efficiently and effectively, focusing on streamlining the review process by using technology whenever feasible. All audit services include exit meetings with bank person- nel. Bank management responses are in- corporated into every final product. R/A audits regularly pass regulatory scrutiny by federal regulators. Bankers often joke that the fastest- growing job within the industry is the position of “compliance officer.” The VCO program was designed as an alternative for banks who struggle to find and retain competent and committed compli- ance staff. A highly trained compliance specialist serves as the VCO for several fi - nancial institutions across the country in its simplest format. While your bank still maintains an internal staff member with the title of “compliance officer,” the VCO serves as a banks’ compliance expert. Benefits of using a VCO include retaining highly trained staff that are continuously educated on the ever-evolving world of compliance, monthly monitoring, and communication to access daily risk, com- pliance committee steering, policy and procedure guidance, reduction of staff