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NJCUL¹s NJ READ Quarterly Survey Evolves to Collaboration with Region 2 Leagues to Produce CU READ; Results Available

HIGHSTOWN, N.J. – Credit unions continue to feel the resource strain due to increased regulatory burdens and many credit unions say they are seeing items show up in their Documents of Resolution that they have never seen before, according to results of the Credit Union Regulatory Examination Assistance and Development survey of Region 2 credit unions.

Earlier this year the New Jersey Credit Union League conducted 1st and 2nd quarter regulatory and examination surveys in order to gather data on what credit unions are experiencing on the ground during the exam process. It has since evolved to include the leagues from Region 2 (California/Nevada, Delaware, Maryland and DC, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.)

“The crux of the survey is to utilize the results to work constructively with regulators on both how to improve the exam process and find areas ripe for regulatory relief, as well as give credit unions tools to deal with emerging issues,” said NJCUL President/CEO Paul Gentile. “Having an ongoing measurement of the exam process helps us as leagues better advocate with regulators because we understand what’s happening on the ground at credit unions and we can identify trends, both good and bad. It is not a ‘gotcha’ tool against regulators. It’s also helping us identify what is going very well in exams and could be broadened out.”

The survey is designed to capture primarily ‘non-anecdotal’ feedback on credit unions’ exam experiences. The Region 2 results will be mined on an individual league/association level for their state results, as well as roll-up into a broader Region 2 report that will be shared with NCUA, state regulators and CUNA. The NJCUL survey is the backbone for a new national survey effort recently announced by CUNA where Leagues throughout the country will gather ongoing data on credit union exam experiences. Credit unions can visit CUNA’s web site (cuna.org) and find the survey under Top Initiatives on the home page.

CU READ 3rd Quarter Survey Findings  

Key survey discussions at the meeting included topics such as excessive Documents of Resolution (DoR) being applied, level of satisfaction with exams, examiner time management issues and flexibility throughout the exam process.  On the subject of DORs, survey respondents believe that DORs continue to be heavier than in years past:

NCUA examiners scored high for professionalism and knowledge:

  • 64.4% of responding credit unions have been presented with a Document of Resolution (DoR) in their last exam.
  • 55.9% of experienced credit union leaders that responded strongly agree and agree they are seeing items in their DoRs that they have not ever seen before.
  • 54.6% indicated that they agree/strongly agree that items showing up in DoRs (no evidence of violation of regulation/state or federal law) are much heavier than ever before.
  • 80.8% of respondents said they strongly agree and agree that heavier regulatory/exam requirements increased pressure on credit union resources.

Exam positives included;

  • Examiners received high marks for professionalism and helpfulness, with both categories receiving a 45.8% ranking them as good and 33.7% ranking them as excellent;  44.6% felt their examiner(s) were good in terms of fairness and 33.7% in objectivity.
  • 51.8% of respondents agree that examiner(s) were knowledgeable about the credit union and 57.8% key Safety and Soundness issues and regulatory requirements.

In terms of exam length and scheduling issues, the key findings included:

  • 27.9% of respondents said their on-site exams lasted 13 days or greater, while another 45.2% responded that their exam lasted exactly from 4-9 days.
  • 48.1% of respondents strongly agree and agree that they have experienced examiners changing the exam date and time to accommodate the examiner’s schedule.

The Region 2 leagues/associations will continue to collaborate and intend to produce a CU READ 4th Quarter Survey to be released sometime in January 2013.   At the state level, the NJ READ group will continue to communicate with NCUA to further facilitate positive change and implementation of solutions that make sense.

To learn more about the NJ READ program and upcoming meeting dates visit www.njcul.org/njread.aspx.

The vision and mission of NJ READ is the following:

Vision:
We are the ‘voice’ for credit unions in advancing regulatory relief.

Mission Statement:
We provide a collaborative environment for evaluating regulatory and examination processes with the goal of identifying best practices and areas to advocate change.

We work constructively with the regulator community to ensure credit unions have a regulatory environment that is conducive for growth and success.

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