WASHINGTON–Using suggestions and feedback from credit unions, CUNA has sent a comment letter to NCUA as part of its request of input on the necessity and accuracy of the information it collects. The letter includes recommendations for enhancing the quality, utility and clarity of the collected information, according to the trade group.
CUNA reported its requirements survey uncovered several concerns with the 5300 Call Report and the 4501A Profile Report, including:
- Limited Resources. 79% of respondents agree that filing requirements are a “big deal” and 44% agree that the reporting requirements are “very burdensome.”
- Inadequate Support. Survey respondents told CUNA they often find the reporting process and systems difficult to understand and see significant gaps in support resources.
- Need for improvements. Credit unions see substantial room for improvement in Call Reports as well as in the reporting process. For example, 70% of survey respondents indicate that they believe that Call Reporting requirements should be changed to better reflect credit union size and complexity, CUNA reported. Sixty-four percent agree that well-capitalized credit unions should be able to file abbreviated quarterly reports. Similarly, 52% agree that well-capitalized credit unions should be able to file reports less frequently.
CUNA said it offered these “guiding principles” to NCUA when it comes to revising the Call Report and profile:
- Revise the forms to make them intuitive and easy to use.
- Only collect data that is accurate, relevant, and usable.
- Collect data that more accurately reflects safety and soundness concerns.
- Remove data that has little or no supervisory value or value to the industry for peer-to-peer comparison.
- Remove data where the effort of collection outweighs the supervisory value. Only collect new or additional data through the reports if it results in an overall reduction in regulatory burden or an improved/more efficient exam.
- Improve the clarity and descriptive quality of the instructions to the Call Report and profile documents.
- Eliminate odd-quarter reporting for any credit union below the $50 million asset thresholds that report a net worth ratio above 10%.
During a conference call with the media, Andy Price, CUNA’s senior director of advocacy, said, “Our general principals were to revise the forms to make them more intuitive and easy to use, only collect data that reflects safety and soundness concerns, and remove data that has little supervisory value.”
He added CUNA has been “generally supportive” of the steps taken by NCUA to date.