A lot of the scuttlebutt around the industry over the last couple of weeks has been about transparency and fiscal responsibility. Take for instance, the NCUA's announcement that it's cutting back on spending for its examiner education conference in Florida.

Advances in technology have created invaluable savings to provide educational opportunities across all businesses. At the same time, it's also made education and business less personal. I can't think of a single company or government agency that isn't in the people business.

Dealing with other people is exactly what examiners do for a living, so the NCUA bringing them all together in one place is a good thing. When examiners can gather face-to-face to discuss issues they're having or trends they're seeing–even if it's over free donuts or beers–is a good thing for them and for credit unions. It's not as if the NCUA is bringing everyone to St. Kitts or on an Alaskan cruise as some credit unions regularly participate in.