Chairman’s Corner
EFFECTIVE REGULATION REQUIRES PLAIN WRITING

Many English teachers cringe when they hear the split infinitive—”to boldly go”—at the start of a Star Trek episode. I, however, cringe when I read something that is bureaucratic or difficult to understand. And, I get even more concerned when that document comes from NCUA.

promoting communication that is useful and easy to understand. We have already made improvements, and we’re working to do even more in the future.

As I hope you have noticed, at NCUA, we’re using clearer writing in our rules, examination reports, and letters to credit unions. We know that no matter how well intentioned our regulations and policies may be, they will be less effective if people can’t understand what we are saying.

Late last year, we launched a plain writing webpage found at the bottom of www.ncua.gov. We also have placed a renewed emphasis on staff education. Every member of our workforce has now completed the first level of plain writing training.

Debbie Matz

Chairman

Clear, concise communication is an important part of meeting NCUA’s mission. Plain writing is therefore a key component of our communications strategy. But what is plain writing? Simply put, it is a communication that you understand the first time you read it.

In our training, we provide examples of converting traditional bureaucratic language into plain writing. So, following are two examples to help you understand what we are trying to achieve.

Bureaucratese: “No one belonging to a not-for-profit, cooperative financial institution indemnified by an agency of the national government has ever been subject to the loss of even a single cent of his or her guaranteed deposit as the consequence of an insolvency.”

Plain writing: “No member of a federally insured credit union has ever lost
one penny of insured savings.”
Our ongoing focus at NCUA is consistent
with the Plain Writing Act, which President
Obama signed into law in late 2010. This
common-sense statute seeks to help users of
government documents find what they need,
understand what they find, and use what they
find to meet their needs.

To achieve these objectives, the law requires
federal agencies to improve their effectiveness
and accountability to the public by
And instead of reporting that “This particular institution’s Allowance for
Loan and Lease Losses has been underfunded,” examiners can simply say,
“You need to set aside more reserves to cover anticipated losses.”
These examples show how plain writing conveys the same messages in ways
that are easily understood by almost anyone. My goal is for NCUA to use
plain writing each and every time we communicate with you, including—
and especially—when issuing new rules or examination reports.

In short, our objective is to always present information in a useful, user-friendly format. If we miss that mark, please tell us. You can submit comments to plainwriting@ncua.gov. In the near future, we’ll make it even easier for you to comment about our plain writing efforts by clicking buttons on our website when you view our rules.

Please communicate with us. After all, only you know if we are communicating with you in a way that you understand.

BUREAUCRATESE
PLAIN WRITING

“No one belonging to a not-for-profit, cooperative financial institution
indemnified by an agency of the national government has ever been subject to
the loss of even a single cent of his or her guaranteed deposit as the
consequence of an insolvency.”
“No member of a federally insured
credit union has ever lost one penny
of insured savings.”