League President Carrie Hunt Preparing to Testify Wednesday on NCUA Budget

League President/CEO Carrie Hunt is preparing to testify Wednesday during an NCUA hearing on its 2023-2024 budget and the agency’s justification for its proposed expenditures.

“It is important to make sure that the NCUA understands the impact of its budget on credit unions, as they fund the agency.” Hunt expects to discuss the agency’s proposed staff increases and risk appetite; the blurring of NCUA’s roles as insurer and regulator and its impact on larger credit unions; the role NCUA could play in pushing for cybersecurity protocols that hold merchants to the same high standards as financial institutions; and she’ll ask the agency to consider the implications of a changed – and changing -- merger and chartering environment.

On that last point, she notes NCUA has been accommodating on issues surrounding mergers of equals across all asset categories, the purchase of bank assets, and mergers involving credit unions domiciled in different states. But other issues remain, some of which may be beyond the agency’s power to address, most notably the many market and operational challenges faced by small credit unions.

Lastly, Carrie will ask the agency to carefully consider an appropriate metric that measures the value of credit unions’ “investment” in NCUA and whether that “investment” is translating into real-world, marketshare gains for the nation’s credit unions.

The NCUA Chief Financial Officer will present the staff draft budget at a budget briefing open to the public and scheduled for Oct. 19, at 10 a.m. The Board will hear testimony that day from interested parties. Visit the agency's homepage (www.ncua.gov) to access a webcast of the hearing. As a reminder, you can submit written comments on the budget proposal by Oct. 28.