"I would like to be briefed on that, as I was not fully aware of that," McWatters said. "Although there has been progress which is the reason I mentioned twice in my statement that there has been progress … compared to the level of transparency a few months ago, this is a pretty dramatic improvement."

In an exclusive interview with CU Times following the board meeting, McWatters said there hasn't been much transparency in the five years Matz has served as Chairman, and while he appreciated the turnaround seen in the last few months, it shouldn't have been difficult to accomplish in the past.

"There's been a lot of low-hanging fruit which should have been on the website earlier," he said. "We have a website. This is 2015, right? So you should be able to do it with a few clicks from your computer."

McWatters had begun to say that he would still like to see more detailed reports released to the public, but was pulled away for a scheduled closed-door meeting with the NCUA board.

Despite agreeing that the budget is more transparent than before, McWatters still voted against the resolution to adopt the changes to the remainder of the 2015 budget.

"As I stated at the November 2014 board meeting and reiterate here today, I will find it challenging to vote in favor of another NCUA operating budget unless the transparency of the budget and the budgetary process is materially enhanced and the credit union community and general public are afforded sufficient opportunity to comment on the proposed budget and OTR prior to action by the board," he said at the meeting.

Matz and Vice Chairman Rick Metsger, who praised employees for their work on reducing the budget, both voted in favor of the resolution.

Transparency has been a long-standing issue for the NCUA. During the meeting, Matz pointed out that the agency remains committed to providing budget transparency, noting that the Board Action Memorandum it posted this morning provides detailed narratives under each category of spending increases and decreases. It also created a budget resource center on its website, which includes independent audits of all NCUA funds, spending plans and breakdowns, and FAQs.

"The NCUA leads financial institution regulators in budget transparency," Matz said. "We are proud of our efficient and transparent budget – and most importantly, we are proud of our results as a regulator and insurer."

However, NAFCU sent a letter last week to the agency calling for more transparency in its budget, and after Thursday's meeting, in which the NCUA approved a $1.3 million budget reduction as well as an elimination of the 5% limitation on federal credit union investments in fixed assets, NAFCU released a statement that continued to ask for transparency in the budget.

"In terms of the agency's mid-year budget review, NAFCU continues to urge the NCUA to ensure it is making the very best of the dollars credit unions pay – dollars credit unions otherwise would be using to strengthen operations and meet the needs of their members," President/CEO Dan Berger said. "Credit unions are obligated by law to provide these monies, but that does not preclude the NCUA from its responsibility to operate in an efficient manner – or to be open about the manner in which the funds provided by credit unions are utilized."

Jim Nussle, president/CEO of CUNA, praised the removal of the fixed asset threshold and added that transparency is best for credit unions as a whole.

"Additionally, CUNA supports any and all efforts for budget transparency by the agency," he said in a statement. "Much is needed to make the process work better for credit unions and their members."