CUNA Calls for Extended Exam Cycle, Parity With Banks
“Credit unions deserve the privilege of providing customer service subject to comparable regulatory supervisory thresholds ..."
Now that the FDIC has made its exam schedule more flexible, CUNA wants the NCUA to do the same.
In a letter this week to the two members of the NCUA board, CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle pointed out that the regulatory overhaul legislation enacted this year included a provision that would increase the asset limit below which banks are eligible for an 18-month exam cycle to $3 billion in assets.
The previous asset limit was $1 billion.
Federal banking agencies have issued an interim final rule implementing that plan. However, the NCUA still maintains its $1 billion limit. That leaves credit unions on an uneven playing field, Nussle wrote.
“This regulatory disparity now serves as a comparative advantage for community banks,” he said.
Congress already has delegated authority to the NCUA to establish the frequency of examinations for credit unions.
“Credit unions deserve the privilege of providing customer service subject to comparable regulatory supervisory thresholds as applied to banking organizations,” Nussle wrote.
The NCUA strategic plan for 2018-2022 calls for implementation of examination cycles of up to 20 months and reducing the agency’s presence in well-capitalized and well-managed credit unions. The agency said that would enable resources to be focused on higher-risk institutions.