NAFCU calls off 2021 in-person conference

The National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions on Tuesday announced that its 54th Annual Conference and Solutions Expo, scheduled to begin July 27 in Savannah, Ga., has been cancelled. The event would have been the first major credit union conference to return since events began being cancelled and moved to a virtual sphere last March.

“This is not a decision we have made lightly, but one we believe is in the best interest of all those involved due to the conference’s expected large in-person attendance,” Dan Berger, the trade group’s president and CEO, said in a press release. “NAFCU remains committed to providing our member credit unions with the same high-level quality educational services they have come to expect from us via other virtual channels.”

Webinars and other digital options are being designed in place of various topics that would have been covered during the conference, and other, smaller-scale NAFCU events are still planned for 2021. The group’s annual Congressional Caucus in September is still currently planned as an in-person event in Washington.

While summer is traditionally a heavy time for credit union events, this year could be similar to 2020. Along with NAFCU, the World Council of Credit Unions has already cancelled its in-person event in Glasgow, Scotland, in favor of a virtual conference, and America’s Credit Union Conference, the annual summer event from the Credit Union National Association, is not included on the trade group’s 2021 online calendar.