NAFCU to NCUA: Tailor budget approach on cost-saving lessons learned during pandemic
NAFCU Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Ann Kossachev Wednesday participated in the NCUA’s public budget briefing to share key credit union feedback on the agency’s 2022- 2023 budget proposal. In her testimony yesterday, Kossachev thanked the NCUA Board for its transparency during the budget process and shared concerns around the budget proposal.
During the briefing, Kossachev commended the NCUA for taking advantage of cost-saving opportunities for its operations during the pandemic, however, pointed out that even with these savings, the agency continues to increase its draft budget. “In fact, the 2022 Operating Budget would increase by 3.6 percent and the 2023 Operating Budget would increase by over 13 percent,” said Kossachev. “But the Operating Budget currently contains a surplus and NAFCU reiterates its recent request, in a letter dated September 21, 2021, to return any surplus funds to credit unions directly or via a credit against 2022 budgeted expenses.”
Kossachev also sent a letter to NCUA Chairman Todd Harper, Vice Chairman Kyle Hauptman, and Board Member Rodney Hood to provide input on the NCUA’s Budget Justification and other budget materials, outlining NAFCU’s recommendations. Kossachev also called on the agency to avoid announcing policy changes through budget documents and to push forth efforts for budget decreases rather than increases.
Regarding the NCUA’s move to add 48 new full-time equivalents (FTEs) with the majority of those FTEs being examiners Kossachev, in her letter, questioned what risks the agency was looking to mitigate and why “current resources do not allow the agency to adequately address those risks.”
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