WASHINGTON–Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) has sent a letter to NCUA Chairman Todd Harper seeking more information on what he said are “three important matters concerning the NCUA.”
Those three issues are the Modern Examination and Risk Identification Tool (MERIT), the Virtual Examination Project, and the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF).
Specifically, Toomey, who is the ranking member on the Senate Banking Committee:
- Wants to know whether the broader rollout of NCUA’s MERIT program will occur this year.
“While COVID-19 made it difficult for in-person examiner trainings to take place as the agency intended in 2020, it is important that NCUA move forward with a successful and full implementation of MERIT as soon as possible, even if training is done virtually,” wrote Toomey. “A new resource for credit union examinations is long overdue as the financial services marketplace has drastically changed since the system was last updated over 25 years ago. In addition, my understanding is that over $40 million has been spent on developing MERIT since 2015. After such a considerable investment of time and money, it is reasonable to ask when this initiative will finally come to fruition.”
- Urged NCUA to accelerate its agency-wide digital efficiency initiative, the Virtual Examination Project. “Created and funded in 2017, this project was expected to deliver a report in 2020 discussing alternative methods to remotely analyze aspects of the financial and operational condition of credit unions,” Toomey wrote. “While last year’s public request for information regarding strategies for future examinations and supervision utilizing digital technology was encouraging, NCUA adopting efficiencies and off-site examination capabilities is as important as ever.”
Additional Questions
Finally, Toomey cited Harper’s recent statement that, “[I]t is increasingly clear the question is no longer if we have to assess a Share Insurance Fund premium, but when and how much.”
To that end, Toomey has asked NCUA to provide his office with answers to the following questions:
- When does the NCUA plan to officially launch MERIT or will the launch be delayed again?
- How much did NCUA anticipate this project would cost and has the budget increased since the announcement of the project? If so, why?
- Given NCUA’s unique budgeting and contracting authority, how was the vendor selected for MERIT?
- How much of the NCUSIF covers operational expenses of the agency and how has this evolved since the inception of the NCUSIF? Likewise, how much covers actual losses of failed credit unions?
In addition, Toomey also cited a statement by Harper during NCUA’s Feb. 18 meeting during which the chairman said he is seeking to change the NCUSIF and work with Congress to do so.
“Please provide detail about any statutory changes and actions Congress would need to take,” Toomey said.