ALEXANDRIA, Va.–NCUA will hold a public budget briefing today for its 2022-23 draft budget at 2 p.m.
The event will be livestreamed at www.ncua.gov.
The biggest increase in the budget is related to NCUA’s return to in-person examinations as well as plans to hire nearly 50 new employees, an issue the CU trade groups and others have challenged as the number of credit unions continues to decrease.
As CUToday.info reported earlier, NCUA has proposed:
- A 2022 total budget of $345.3 million, which 1.2% higher than the 2021 budget
- An operating budget is $326.6 million, which is 3.6% higher than in 2021
- A 2022 capital budget of $13.1 million, or 30.7% lower than in 2021
- A Share Insurance Fund administrative budget of $6.2 million, or 21.7% lower than in 2021.
Among those who will be offering feedback and input during the briefing is CUNA Chief Economist Mike Schenk. In a call with members of the media, Schenk applauded the agency for providing budget items and information in advance and for holding the briefing, noting NCUA is the only financial regulator to do so and that CUNA believes it is “good public policy.”
“The budget document is clear, comprehensive and very well developed,” said Schenk. “The expenditures generally align with priorities the agency has previously talked about and which CUNA has examined.”
How New Plan Differs
While supportive of NCUA’s disclosures, Schenk said the agency’s 2022-25 strategic plan, which underlies the budget, differs from earlier plans in several ways.
“In particular, we are very concerned with the changes the agency has made with examinations,” he said. “We believe the agency should stay focused on safety and soundness and the budget should not reflect what we would refer to as mission creep. The other thing is there is a pretty significant difference in the discussion of climate-related financial risks. We think it’s an important topic, of course, but we are very concerned that perhaps the agency is moving into the realm of mandates rather than advice and assistance. Credit unions are not going to resolve the climate crisis the nation faces and NCUA should not engage in initiatives that push into that direction.”
The proposed budget summary and additional information can be found on the Budget and Supplementary Materials page on NCUA.gov.
The board is scheduled to approve a final budget at its Dec. 16 open meeting.