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Today: NCUA holds public budget briefing
The NCUA today will hold a public budget briefing to discuss its proposed budget for 2022 and 2023. The proposed operating budget estimates $326.6 million, representing a 3.6 percent increase compared to 2021.
The proposed 2022 capital budget is $13.1 million, a 30.7 percent decrease from 2021. The agency, however, increased the travel budget by $8.5 million, or 69.7 percent, for a total budget of $20.8 million. In addition, the NCUA also added 48 new full-time equivalents to the agency for a total of 1,247. Of note, the budget includes additional examiner staff in the NCUA’s three regions, which is concerning for NAFCU given the continued consolidation of the credit union industry.
The proposal also includes a change in expectations for how the extended exam cycle would operate, resulting in more credit unions being subject to annual exams. The agency would expand the criteria for credit unions that meet the annual examination requirements to include credit unions with assets between $500 million and $1 billion.
In response to the proposed budget, NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger noted the association's primary concerns were “the NCUA’s substantial travel budget increase and their assumption that travel can and should bounce back to pre-pandemic levels, as well as the significant increase in full-time equivalents."
Credit unions were encouraged by NAFCU to review and respond to the NCUA’s budget by Dec. 9., via the Federal eRulemaking Portal.
The association will be participating in the NCUA budget briefing and provide insights from the discussion – which will be streamed live on the agency's website – in tomorrow's NAFCU Today.
NAFCU will continue to engage the NCUA on its budget proposal and recommend ways the agency can save costs to help credit unions better serve their members.