ALEXANDRIA, Va.–During a relatively low-key meeting here, the NCUA board OK’d the 2019 Annual Performance Plan, adjusted Civil Money Penalties for inflation, approved one state’s request for changes to its Member Business Loan Rule, and got an update on the agency’s redesigned website.
The Annual Performance Plan (APP), which has three key goals—ensure a safe a sound CU system, provide a regulatory framework that is efficient and transparent, and maximize agency performance to ensure mission success—is designed to provide specific direction as outlined in NCUA’s 2018-2022 Strategic Plan. “In an ongoing effort to further strengthen NCUA’s planning and budgeting process, the 2019 APP was developed simultaneously with the 2019-2020 budget,” agency staff said in presenting the update. “Offices were required to justify how new and recurring projects and additional staffing requests further the purpose of the NCUA’s strategic goals and objectives, and to identify specific performance indicators that can demonstrate the results of budgetary investments.”
The 2019 APP highlights the performance goals, indicators, and targets that will be used to measure the agency’s performance, NCUA said.
A copy of the 2019 Annual Performance Plan can be found here.
Following the update from agency staff, NCUA Chairman J. Mark McWatters said he wanted to attract particular attention to NCUA’s progress on attracting and retaining a highly skilled and diverse workforce.
“Those are easy words to say; I think everyone says those words now,” McWatters said. “It’s something else to actually be doing something about it. We can talk the talk, but can we walk the walk? At the senior staff level, looking to women, for example, from 2017 to 2018 the number of women increased by five percentage points. Minorities increased at senior staff level by 21%. We have also added members of the LGBTQ community to our community and have created a diverse environment where the LGBTQ community feels totally welcome here.”
Civil Money Penalties
The NCUA board approved an adjustment for Civil Money Penalties for inflation. NCUA staff said that in 2018 the agency collected 22 CMPs representing $8,800 overall.
A copy of the final rule can be found here.
Illinois Member Business Rule
The board approved the Illinois’ regulator’s request for a change in Member Business Loans to align with the rules for federal charters when it comes to one-four family residences.
Following the meeting, NASCUS CEO Lucy Ito said, "NASCUS applauds the NCUA Board’s approval of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation’s adoption of NCUA’s recent member business loan rule (MBL). The Illinois rule aligns with recent changes to the Federal Credit Union Act by excluding ‘1 to 4 family residential property’ from the definition of commercial loans. MBL and commercial rules are unique, in that, states that wish to have their own rules must have NCUA approval. With today’s unanimous board vote approving the rule, NCUA agrees that the Illinois rule governs MBL and commercial lending for Illinois federally insured state-chartered credit unions.”
Redesigned Website
The NCUA board was given an update on the redesign of www.ncua.gov, work on which began in early 2018.
The emphasis in the redesign has been on five areas, staff said:
- Homepage
- Usability and Accessibility of the Navigation
- Data-driven Content Features
- Site Search
- Consistency and Quality Assurance
There has also been particular emphasis on improving site search capabilities. Staff said the new site includes redeveloped or new landing pages, an improved careers section, and an expanded calendar that includes deadlines for filing comment.
NCUA staff said regulatory guidance letters and press releases are the most searched area of the site. The agency is welcoming feedback at pacawebeditor@ncua.gov.
Both McWatters and NCUA Board Member Rick Metsger had praise for the redesign (shown below).
“When dealing with the previous NCUA website, which I avoided whenever I could, I felt like I was playing Where’s Waldo, especially on the search,” said McWatters. “The new site is fantastic. But let’s keep in mind this is a work in progress and not cast in stone. While we have launched what we consider our best efforts today, please give us your feedback to help improve it.”
NCUA staff said separately the agency’s consumer-facing site, www.mycreditunion.gov, saw 800,000 visitors in 2018.