ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Jan. 9, 2013) – National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board Chairman Debbie Matz is the subject of an interview in the latest edition of LEADERS magazine.
In the interview, Chairman Matz discusses NCUA’s response to the recent financial crisis, the importance of communication and the current health of the credit union industry.
On responding to the financial crisis: “We needed to act decisively to stabilize the credit union system . . . approximately 2,200 of the 7,000 credit unions were at risk, so we had to stabilize the system by rigorous supervision, rather than by regulation, which takes time. . . .”
On communication: “On my first day as Chairman, I released goals for NCUA, one of which focused on engaging stakeholders: ‘NCUA will be an agency that listens and encourages exchanges of ideas.’”
On the health of the industry: “The credit union system has come through the downturn quite well. The industry is exceptionally well-capitalized . . . return on assets is 86 basis points . . . loan delinquencies and charge-offs are trending in the right direction—down.”
LEADERS is a quarterly magazine featuring interviews about the thoughts and visions of leaders in government, business, academia, labor, religion, science and the arts. The current issue is available online here. Chairman Matz’s interview is part of a special section on women leaders available here.
President Barack Obama nominated Matz to serve as NCUA’s eighth board chair. After confirmation by the U.S. Senate on Aug. 7, 2009, she was sworn in on Aug. 24, 2009. Matz previously served as an NCUA Board Member from January 2002 to October 2005. Matz also serves as chair of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) and is one of 10 voting members of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC).
NCUA is the independent federal agency created by the U.S. Congress to regulate, charter and supervise federal credit unions. With the backing of the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government, NCUA operates and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, insuring the deposits of nearly 94 million account holders in all federal credit unions and the overwhelming majority of state-chartered credit unions.
--NCUA--