In 2013, 28 NCUA employees were paid more than $200,000 and 51 individuals earned between $175,000 and $200,000 per year, according to data provided to CU Times in response to a FOIA request.
The NCUA's 2013 Top 20 earners are listed to the left.
General Counsel Michael McKenna was the highest paid employee at the agency in 2013 with a salary of $249,881 and Chairman Debbie Matz was paid the least out of the Top 100 salaries list with an annual compensation of $165,300.
NCUA Public Affairs Specialist John Fairbanks said Matz's current annual salary reflects the 2013 EX-03 rate for executive pay. Her salary will remain at that level in 2014 under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014, which froze pay for certain senior political officials, he added.
Former Board Member Michael Fryzel's Chief Advisor Sarah Vega, who will continue at the NCUA as incoming Board Member Mark McWatters' top advisor, was paid $201,086. Matz's Chief Advisor Steve Bosack was paid $195,979.
"Our concern is not so much with any individual salary. Is the agency holding the line with its budget in relation to the other regulators? So, we're going to be looking at these increases as compared to what other federal financial regulators are doing with their staff," Mary Dunn, CUNA SVP and deputy general counsel, said.
"We want the agency to have talented individuals," she added. "However, we also want the agency to manage its budget in a way that reflects the fact that credit unions pay for 99.9% of the agency's costs. So, we'll be looking at these salaries in line with what the other agencies do."
NAFCU President/CEO Dan Berger called for more transparency at the agency.
"(The) NCUA needs to be more transparent for all budget issues so credit unions can assess the value of their dollar on all agency operations," he said.
According to the NCUA, the 2013 budget of $251 million increased 6.1% from 2012′s budget.Mark Treichel, NCUA executive director, was the second highest paid at the agency with a $246,330 salary, followed by Jane Walters, region II director, at $246,330, Herbert Yolles, region III director, who retired at the end of 2013, earned $235,882, and James H. "Buddy" Gill, senior strategic communications and external relations advisor to Matz, at $235,000.
Todd Harper, director of the Office of Public and Congressional Affairs, earned the sixth highest salary at $234,999 followed by Tawana James, director of the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion, who retired this year, at $234,259. In 2013, John Owen Cole, Jr., director of capital markets had a salary of $233,266, Scott Hunt, director of the Office of National Examinations and Supervision, had $232,830 and Charles Keith Morton, region IV director, had $229,048.Larry Fazio, director of the Office of Examination and Insurance, was the 15th highest paid with a $218,406 salary.
Fairbanks said the agency is only allowed to report base salary, not bonuses. "Bonus information, which is tied to performance ratings, is withheld pursuant to the FOIA exemption at 5 U.S.C. sec. 552(b)(6), permitting agencies to withhold information, the disclosure of which would constituted an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy," the NCUA said.
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