JANUARY 2013 NUMBER 1

WWW.NCUA.GOV

HIGHLIGHTS

2 Chairman’s Corner Silver Linings in the Wake of Hurricane Sandy

3 Board Actions NCUA Board Shaves 20 Percent Off 2013 Stabilization Fund Budget

4 Board Perspective An Idea Made Better

6 Credit Union Membership Growth Accelerates

8 Strong Board Leadership is Essential for Successful Credit Unions

9 Neighbor Works America Names Debbie Matz Vice Chair to the Board of Directors

10 Despite Fed Action, Interest Rate Exposure Remains

10 CFPB Extends Implementation of Remittance Rule

11 NCUA to Address Succession Planning for Small Credit Unions

11 NCUA Ranks Among Best Places to Work

12 Online Support for Small Credit Unions Now Available

Office of Examination and Insurance Report

CAPACITY, CLARITY AND CONSISTENCY
GUIDE NCUA EXAMS IN 2013

Industry Needs and Lessons from the
Great Recession Drive Changes

In 2012, the credit union industry achieved improved stability and performance after the deepest financial crisis since the 1930s. The lessons learned from the Great Recession are now shaping NCUA’s approach to regulating and examining credit unions.

Similarly, credit unions have made their needs and concerns known, and the agency has taken concrete steps to respond.

Capacity Focus

NCUA has worked to increase its supervision capacity, in part, by making better use of existing resources, such as the creation at the start of 2013 of the Office of National Examinations and Supervision. The new office will focus more resources on credit unions with assets exceeding $10 billion.

“As the industry evolves, NCUA is working
to keep pace,” NCUA Board Chairman
Debbie Matz said. “The agency continues to
study the examination program carefully,
looking for ways to use resources more
effectively and efficiently, create more
certainty and continuity, and ultimately
reduce burdens on credit unions wherever we
can, consistent with safety and soundness.”
In addition, NCUA continues the process of
allocating resources to where the risk is.
NCUA goes into 2013 fully staffed for its
annual exam program and with the capacity
to return the supervision of federally insured
credit unions in Nevada back to Region V
from Region I. The change in regional
alignment is a step toward normalizing
examination operations.

The changes coming in the 2013 examination process reflect these ongoing efforts. NCUA’s objective is to improve the capacity of credit unions and of NCUA itself, while providing better clarity and consistency for both examiners and credit union staff.

Examinations in 2013 will look at the capacity of credit unions in various areas, including matters like:

n Adoption of New Technology—Examiners will review how well credit unions put risk-management controls in place when expanding the use of technology, such as online banking and social media.