“It's almost like the budget increases are automatic and we're just asking the board members to stop and pause – is there a need to increase the budget ever year?” Mary Dunn, senior vice president and deputy general counsel at CUNA said.

“We're not saying that NCUA employees that perform well and actually provide good value to the agency don't deserve consideration for merit increases but we do think this whole area of employee costs in something that needs to be reviewed. Every organization needs to review it and I think credit unions don't have the awareness of what NCUA may be doing to hold costs down in that area,” she added.

Carrie Hunt, NAFCU senior vice president of government affairs and general counsel, said NAFCU would not support any budget increase unless there is a demonstrated need.

“We're looking for a conservative, responsible budget,” Hunt said. “It has increased in recent years, yet the number of institutions is decreasing.”