ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Beginning with the Sept. 30 reporting cycle, NCUA will require less information from credit unions about credit union service organizations (CUSOs) on Call Reports.
“NCUA is working to make reporting easier and Call Reports more informative,” NCUA Board Chairman Rick Metsger said, “and this is another part of that important process. It’s also part of my Continual Quality Improvement effort to find ways to streamline agency operations by looking at the nuts and bolts of agency operations and finding new ways, both large and small, to improve the NCUA’s processes and programs.”
Going forward, NCUA said that credit unions will only be required to submit aggregate CUSO loan and investment information on the Call Report. All other required information is now being collected directly from CUSOs through the agency’s CUSO Registry.
Direct reporting eliminates redundancy, increases data integrity, and reduces credit unions’ reporting burdens. It also improves data quality, as CUSOs are in the best position to provide accurate and timely information, NCUA stated.
NCUA has required CUSOs to agree to provide information directly to the agency effective June 30, 2014, and registration for the CUSO Registry was held between Feb. 1 and March 31 this year.
In May, NCUA announced a comprehensive review of Call Report and Credit Union Profile content. An agency working group has been gathering information through a public comment-and-review process. NCUA has extended the reporting deadline for third-quarter Call Reports to Oct. 24.
“This regulatory relief is a victory for credit unions due to the advocacy efforts of the CUNA/League system,” said Andy Price, CUNA senior director of advocacy and counsel. “After CUNA conducted extensive outreach to our members to assist the NCUA in its reform efforts, we asked the NCUA to make this change and we’re appreciative of the agency’s actions today.”
NAFCU believes the change is a good first step towards removing redundant information gathering on the Call Report.
“But the agency should examine and adopt NAFCU’s full list of recommendations in order to provide additional relief,” said NAFCU Senior Regulatory Affairs Counsel Michael Emancipator.
NAFCU noted that in August the trade association wrote NCUA with an extensive list of specific and actionable recommendations from its members. NAFCU’s recommendations for the call report modernization include leveraging technology and software solutions to streamline data entry and submission, removing data fields that do not pertain to safety and soundness, hosting routine training and guidance on the Call Report for credit unions, and updating the Call Report to integrate information that credit unions already produce to help facilitate the reporting process for credit unions.