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NCUA Board Chairman Rick Metsger, in the latest edition of The NCUA Report, discusses the agency's plan to hold an Oct. 27 public budget briefing and the decision to release budget information for public review roughly six weeks before the actual budget vote.

Metsger announced the budget briefing date, which is the day the board will also hold an open meeting, shortly after Labor Day. NAFCU has long urged a return to yearly budget briefings in public. In July, agency Board Member J. Mark McWatters called holding a public budget briefing the first step toward a better budget, noting it would ensure better transparency and accountability to credit unions.

In his September column, Metsger said those who wish to comment on the budget after the preliminary documents are released will have two ways to do so: sign up to comment in-person at the 2 p.m. Eastern Oct. 27 open budget briefing or submit comments through NCUA's website.

McWatters explained some key facts about the Temporary Corporate Credit Union Stabilization Fund, noting that the fund is not a "bailout," as he has heard some describe it. McWatters said the fund "benefited federally insured credit unions and their members because it lessened the severity of assessments during the recession" and also benefited the Share Insurance Fund, allowing it to maintain its resources during the recession.

He further explained that if projections as of year-end 2015 hold for the fund, "potential total refunds and depleted capital recoveries for the credit union system range from $1.6 billion to $3.2 billion."

This month's NCUA Report also discusses the agency's new incident management system, ways to help detect and deter insider fraud and how credit unions can talk to their members about personal finance.