BOARD ACTIONS (FROM PAGE 3)

The strategic plan complies with the Government-wide Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan 2011 and the goals outlined in guidance from the Office of Personnel Management. Key workforce goals in NCUA’s strategic plan include:

; Workforce Diversity. Recruit from a diverse, qualified group of potential applicants to secure a high performing workforce drawn from all segments of American society.

; Workplace Inclusion. Cultivate an environment that encourages collaboration, flexibility, and fairness to enable individuals to contribute to their full potential.

; Sustainability. Develop structures and strategies to equip leaders with the ability to manage diversity, be accountable, measure results, refine approaches on the basis of such data, and institutionalize a culture of inclusion.

Additionally, the strategic plan requires NCUA to develop and implement a policy to improve the inclusion of minority-and women-owned businesses in NCUA’s contracting awards. NCUA has already developed this supplier policy and began implementation in April.

Rules Affecting Fair Housing, Flood Insurance,
and Agency Structure Updated

NCUA reviews each of its rules on a three-year schedule in order to update, clarify, and simplify existing regulations. The rolling review also aims to eliminate redundant or unnecessary rules.

As part of the 2011 review cycle, NCUA identified the need for minor technical corrections to the rules governing fair housing, flood insurance, and NCUA’s structure.

As adopted by the Board, the final rule:

; Updates nondiscrimination requirements for credit union operations (Part 701) to reflect the recent designation of NCUA’s Office of Consumer Protection to hear Fair Housing Act and Equal Credit Opportunity Act complaints. Credit unions engaging in real estate-related lending will have a reasonable amount of time to post updated Equal Housing Lender signs in public areas.

; Modifies the requirements of credit unions to use a standard flood hazard determination form (Part 760) to replace the Federal Emergency Management Administration’s mailing address with the www.fema.gov website address.

; Amends the rule on NCUA’s organization (Section 790) to add the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion created in 2011, incorporate the Division of Capital Markets into the Office of Examination and Insurance, change the title of the Chief Financial Officer, and update regional director descriptions.

The final rule became effective on March 21, 2012, upon its publication in the Federal Register.

All open NCUA Board meetings are tweeted live. Follow @TheNCUA on Twitter. Board Action Memorandums and NCUA rule changes are available online at www.ncua.gov.

CREDIT UNION ONLINE
ENHANCEMENTS NEXT MONTH

NCUA is planning to release an enhanced version of Credit Union Online in late May 2012 for natural-person credit unions. The online Credit Union Profile and 5300 Call Report system allows credit unions to self-manage profile information, submit data, and receive information from NCUA. Some of the changes include:

CU LOCATOR

; Enhanced user interface;

; Ability to print the Call Report and profile information in a PDF file;

; Call Report calculations and edits refresh during data entry; and

; Warnings within the profile to help credit unions identify missing information.

NCUA will provide more information and host a webcast in mid-May. The webcast will highlight the key changes to the system and provide credit unions the opportunity to ask questions of NCUA staff. NCUA will email registration information to credit unions prior to the webcast.

NCUA has launched a free mobile application—called CU Locator—for consumers. Available for the iPhone, the iTouch, and Android devices, the app puts finding the nearest credit union location at consumers’ fingertips. The CU Locator mobile application is available for download from i Tunes or the Android Market.