Compliance Blog

Feb 06, 2023
Categories: Operations

What Should Be Included in Your Monthly Board Meeting Report?

Has your credit union ever wondered what must be included in a monthly board meeting report? If so, read on for some helpful tips!

While there is no comprehensive list stating what must be included, most credit unions have fairly comprehensive packets each month based on what the board needs to review that particular month (such as if certain policies are up for review, etc.)

A good starting place is the Federal Credit Union Act (FCU Act). The FCU Act outlines federal credit union board of directors powers and duties, and section 1761b specifies the business that shall occur at monthly board meetings, including:  

“(15) review at each monthly meeting a list of approved or pending applications for membership received since the previous monthly meeting together with such other related information as it or the bylaws require; 

(16) provide for the furnishing of the written reasons for any denial of a membership application to the applicant upon the written request of the applicant

(17) in the absence of a credit committee, and upon the written request of a member, review a loan application denied by a loan officer;” (Emphasis added).

Based on the above, it would appear that the board should have access to member information provided on member applications, as well as certain loan information.

Additionally, this NCUA Letter to Credit Unions addresses filing requirements for Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) and states that:

“Credit union management must promptly notify its board of directors (board), or a committee designated by the board of directors (committee), to receive notice of any SAR filed. Notification must be at least monthly. Notification at the monthly board meeting is adequate, unless the seriousness of an activity merits immediate reporting.” (Emphasis added).

Your credit union will also want to include information related to investment activities. This NAFCU blog discusses investment reports that may be helpful. Of note, the blog talks about Chapter 12 of the NCUA’s Examiner’s Guide (the Investments section of the Online Examiner’s Guide), which states:

“The credit union board of directors may delegate the authority, but not the responsibility, for making investment decisions. The board must retain ultimate responsibility.” (Emphasis added).

Furthermore, the blog discusses that section 703 of NCUA’s regulations “governs investment requirements for credit unions. Under section 703, there are several reporting requirements that a credit union is required to fulfill, depending on the type of investment.” The blog also provides some examples of investments that section 703 requires reporting for if the Federal credit union chooses to invest in them. Among these include non-security investments,  securities and derivatives.

Another item to consider is in regard to social media. This FFIEC Consumer Compliance Risk Management Guidance regarding social media states that “[c]omponents of a risk management program should include… [p]arameters for providing appropriate reporting to the financial institution’s board of directors or senior management that enable periodic evaluation of the effectiveness of the social media program and whether the program is achieving its stated objectives.” (Emphasis added).

Additionally, this NCUA Letter to Credit Unions discusses loan charge-off guidance and reporting. The letter provides that “[m]anagement should report loans charged off under the delegated authority to the board at the next regularly scheduled board of directors meeting. NCUA recommends the board ratify all delegated charge offs.”

When you take all of the above information together, it appears that credit unions should include details regarding membership information (such as new members/denied members), certain loan information, SAR filings, investment activities, social media information, delinquency/charge-off reports, and major policies up for review in the monthly board packets.

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About the Author

Tara Simpson, NCCO, NCBSO, Regulatory Compliance Counsel, NAFCU

Tara Simpson---NAFCU-Regulatory-Compliance-Counsel

Tara Simpson joined NAFCU as a regulatory compliance counsel in July 2022. In this role, Tara assists credit unions with a variety of compliance issues.

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