WASHINGTON—The FDIC’s board on Tuesday approved a $2.21 billion operating budget for 2016, down 4.7% from 2015. The FDIC’s decision comes shortly after NCUA approved raising its budget 4.1% for next year.
The FDIC board also approved an authorized staffing level of 6,569 positions for 2016, a net reduction of 317 positions authorized for 2015.
"As the U.S. banking industry continues to show improvement and the number of bank failures steadily declines, we remain focused on fulfilling the responsibilities of our mission while prudently managing costs," FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg said.
“Chairman Gruenberg’s comments about the strength of the banking sector could just as easily apply to the credit union system,” said Ryan Donovan, CUNA’s chief advocacy officer. “The credit union system not only continues to show improvement but has shown its strength consistently throughout the crisis. In fact, the number of credit union failures during and since the crisis pales in comparison to the number of bank failures. The FDIC budget action once again leaves us asking: why does NCUA refuse to reduce its budget?”
NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger emphasized that the trade association and its members have long urged the NCUA board to look at each line item of the budget “with the explicit goal of achieving cost-savings. NCUA, as the steward of credit union’s dollars, must ensure that it develops a realistic and cost-effective budget because every dollar saved by NCUA in its operating expenses enables credit unions to better serve their members. In this instance, we encourage NCUA to follow FDIC’s lead in reducing its operating budget and reprioritize any current resources that can be used more effectively.”