October 18, 2013
The Honorable Deborah Matz
Chairman
National Credit Union Administration
1775 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
RE: NCUA’s Fiscal Year 2014 Operation and Capital Budget
Dear Chairman Matz:
On behalf of the National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU), the only trade association that exclusively represents federal credit unions, I am writing in regard to the National Credit Union Administration’s (NCUA) fiscal year 2014 budget. Each November, the NCUA puts forth its budget for the following year. As the agency considers its budget over the next month, NAFCU urges NCUA to be vigilant in keeping every possible cost down.
NAFCU believes that it is incumbent on the agency, as the steward of the money it receives from federally-insured credit unions and their members, to administer each penny with the utmost diligence and respect to credit unions that pay for the operating expenses and administration of the agency. In that regard, NAFCU encourages the NCUA to look carefully at what works within the agency and reprioritize any current resources that can be used more effectively. Credit unions themselves are still in the process of recovering from the economic downturn and are finding ways to trim and retool their staffing to accommodate additional compliance burden.
Between 2009-2012, through mergers and liquidations, approximately 987 credit unions have ceased doing business. That is about 275 each year. Unfortunately, 2013 is on track to see the same number of credit unions disappear. With the number of credit unions the agency needs to oversee shrinking, NAFCU would like to see the budgeting for the year correspond.
Accordingly, NAFCU asks the NCUA to keep the 2014 budget levels at or below the 2013 levels. The NCUA has touted a number of cost saving measures that will impact the 2014 budget such as the creation of the Office of National Examinations and Supervision (ONES) and the 2014 regional realignment. The realignment alone should save more than $900,000 per year in improved efficiency and reduced travel costs. NAFCU applauds these efforts and implores the NCUA to continue thinking of ways to use their resources efficiently and effectively.
We also note that unless Congress acts, federal employees may receive a 1% pay raise in January. NAFCU asks the NCUA to take this into consideration when it works to keep overall budget increases at zero.
The 2014 budget offers an opportunity to show that the cost cutting measures put in place over the past few months are paying dividends for future budgets. As such, NAFCU urges the NCUA to keep the 2014 budget at or below the 2013 levels.
I look forward to hearing from you regarding this important matter. Should you have any questions or would like to discuss these issues further, please contact me via telephone at (703) 842-2215 or Carrie Hunt, General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Government Affairs by telephone at (703) 842-2234 or email at chunt@nafcu.org.
Sincerely,
B. Dan Berger
President and CEO
cc: Board Member Michael Fryzel
Board Member Richard Metsger