The NCUA on Monday will announce new deadlines for second and third quarter call reports in an attempt to provide relief to credit unions, Chairman Rick Metsger said Friday.
Responding to the concerns of credit unions that said the Fourth of July holiday will give them less time to prepare the reports, Metsger told CU Times the agency will shift the deadlines by a couple of days.
In the interview, Metsger also said he is committed to reviewing the entire call report process.
Metsger and his staff previously announced that by the end of the year, the agency likely would adopt an end-of-month deadline for the reports, rather than the current due date that floats based on the calendar month.
Metsger also said within the next few months, the NCUA will issue final field of membership regulations that can withstand the expected onslaught of the banking industry.
"I think we're going to have a very good product that is within our statutory responsibility," he said.
He also said his staff and NCUA Board Member J. Mark McWatters' staff will meet soon to discuss the issue.
In addition, he said he is prepared to take on the banking industry, which has argued that broadening the FOM rules violates federal law.
"They always make noise," he said. "My job is not to regulate the banking industry."
Metsger also elaborated on the agency's intention to expand the entire exam process with the intention of updating it to take new technology into account. He had said that might entail fewer onsite examinations.
A working group headed by Keith Morton, regional director for the Region 4 office in Texas, will report back to the agency on the issue in September, he said.
The chairman said a staff briefing on the issue of supplemental capital may be scheduled for as early as July, adding that is an important aspect of his desire to provide clarity to the credit union community.
The NCUA also remains committed to allowing small credit unions to form networks, he said. Metsger highlighted that issue at CUNA's Governmental Affairs Conference earlier this year.
"This is tightly in the hands of small credit unions," he said, adding that the agency is ready to help those institutions with any regulatory roadblocks. "That has to be their issue."
Meanwhile, the NCUA board remains in a state of flux. Former Chairman Debbie Matz left at the end of April and President Obama appointed Metsger chairman at the beginning of May. McWatters has been nominated to the Export-Import Bank, but the nomination has become embroiled in the continuing debate over the existence of the Ex-Im Bank. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby of Alabama said he will not take up the nomination.
Adding to the uncertainty are comments from McWatters that the board should not tackle large regulatory changes while there are only two members.
Nonetheless, Metsger said he is confident that the two-person board will operate well and added McWatters was very happy with the new briefings system he has planned for board meetings.
"I think that's going to work very well," he said.
And he said he is confident that if McWatters does move to the Ex-Im Bank, the board can operate with one member.
"The agency has functioned with one member before," he said.
He added he has received no indication that Obama will nominate a third member any time soon. However, he said he does not want to dwell on the various scenarios he might confront.
"I want to focus on the here and now," he said.
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