Coronavirus scuttles conferences from CUNA, NAFCU, others

This story is part of Credit Union Journal's ongoing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. Additional coverage can be found here.

The cancellations keep coming.

More credit union conferences are being cancelled or postponed due to the coronavirus.

The CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council’s annual conference, which was slated to kick off next week in Orlando, was put on hold Wednesday, while on Thursday the trade group called off its Consumer & Residential Mortgage Lending School and all other events through April 10.

“Given growing concerns and feedback from credit unions, CUNA has postponed the CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council Conference,” the trade group said in a statement Wednesday. “We’re continuing to evaluate our live events and will share information as decisions are made to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all involved. We sent an email to all attendees today so they could contact their various travel and accommodation providers since the event is right around the corner.”

That’s a stark change from March 3, when CUNA President and CEO Jim Nussle said none of the various councils’ conferences were expected to be cancelled, in part because they received strong attendance and the group was following guidelines set forth by federal agencies.

The National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions on Thursday also cancelled its Spring Regulatory Compliance School, which was set for next week in Arlington, Va. The trade group said other events, including its 2020 annual convention in Vancouver this summer, are still expected to take place.

The credit union service organization PSCU on Wednesday also announced it was canceling its 2020 Member Forum, scheduled to run April 21-23 in San Francisco. The CUSO will instead hold a virtual event during those days and expects to announce a new date for an in-person event once that is finalized.

These announcements follow on the heels of cancellations or postponements from NASCUS, CULytics and CO-OP Financial Services. Multiple other conferences are scheduled to take place in the coming months, and while more changes are likely, none have yet been announced.

This story was updated at 3:42 P.M. on March 12, 2020.