WASHINGTON, DC (July 21, 2016) — National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt issued the following statement regarding the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board briefing today on the mid-year budget review and its 2017-2021 strategic plan during its open board meeting today.
“NAFCU and our members appreciate that NCUA Board heeded our concerns regarding the exam cycle and voted to eliminate a strict annual exam cycle for federal credit unions and eligible federally-insured state-chartered credit unions as part of its 2017-2021 strategic plan. We support NCUA’s efforts to present long-term goals and objectives for the industry. We urge NCUA to maintain its focus on improving its transparency and making operational improvements,” said Hunt. “We also renew our support for moving healthy credit unions to an extended exam cycle, which would provide much-needed regulatory relief.”
The policy change does not alter the current 12-month exam cycle employed by the agency, but is a first step toward implementing a longer exam cycle for credit unions. NAFCU has repeatedly asked NCUA to return healthy credit unions to a longer exam cycle as it will save NCUA resources and relieve credit unions of the burden of more frequent exams.
This change was adopted into the agency’s 2017-2021 strategic plan by a 2-0 vote.
The NCUA Board today also conducted a mid-session budget review, which projected $2.7 million in reduced spending. During the briefing, NCUA provided a breakdown of large blocks of spending, including contracted services, as urged by NAFCU.
In January, the NCUA Board released its 2017-2021 strategic plan, summarizing three goals: safety and soundness, financial literacy and a diverse and skilled workforce at the agency. NAFCU responded to the plan in April, urging the agency to keep its focus on transparency and operational and regulatory improvements – including moving healthy credit unions back to an extended exam cycle.
NCUA Board Chairman Rick Metsger spoke at NAFCU’s Annual Conference and Solutions Expo in June, where he announced the agency will hold a public briefing in October and release the details of the 2017-2018 budget plans in advance. NAFCU long advocated a return to public budget hearings from the agency. NAFCU has urged NCUA to make the budget details available to credit unions 60 days before the briefing.
The board today also received a report on the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund. The agency noted that no future assessments are expected this year. NAFCU will continue to monitor the health of the fund and work with the agency to ensure that credit unions and their members are protected from any unnecessary assessments.
The National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions is the only national trade association focusing exclusively on federal issues affecting the nation’s federally-insured credit unions. NAFCU membership is direct and provides credit unions with the best in federal advocacy, education and compliance assistance. For more information on NAFCU, go to www.nafcu.org or @NAFCU on Twitter.
