NCUA overturns CAMEL rating on appeal
This year has seriously flown by! December is here, and we are knee-deep in the holiday season. Soon we’ll be making (and breaking) New Year’s resolutions. Speaking of, I need to set up my planner for 2022 – I’ve got lots of big changes to look forward to, and that calls for plenty of planning. It really is my favorite time of the year!
In a decision and order on appeal published in November, the NCUA resolved a CAMEL rating appeal in favor of an unnamed (redacted) credit union. The appeal process took almost two full years, with the final decision coming in about one month short of that milestone.
The appeals procedure can be found in Part 746 of NCUA’s regulations, which outlines the steps a credit union must take. It can be an arduous process, requiring various written submissions, firm deadlines, and oral hearings. Before a credit union can get to the Supervisory Review Committee (SRC), it must first request reconsideration in writing from the appropriate program office. From there, the rules permit a credit union to seek review by the Director of the Office of Examination and Insurance (OEI), or the credit union may go directly to the SRC.
The appeal to the SRC must be in writing, and filed with the Secretary of the NCUA Board within 30 calendar days of receiving a written decision by the program office or the Director of the OEI, depending on where the previous decision came from (since the review by the Director of the OEI is not a mandatory step). In this stage of the process, the credit union may submit any additional information or documentation that is requested by the SRC, and an oral hearing will be scheduled, unless the credit union specifically requests the appeal be based entirely on the written record. The credit union may designate up to two “officers, employees, or other representatives including counsel” to represent them in the oral presentation. The SRC’s decision, which should be issued in writing within 30 calendar days of the hearing, gets published on NCUA’s website either in redacted form, or as a summary.
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