NCUA Board Members Share Diverse Perspectives on 2025 Budget Proposal
At NCUA's recent budget briefing, each Board member offered distinct insights on the proposed 12.2% budget increase for 2025. Their comments reveal different priorities and concerns about the agency's financial direction from each Board Member. The following summarizes the positions of all three.
Chairman Todd Harper
Harper emphasized the budget as a starting point for discussion, not a final product:
"The NCUA staff draft budget is a starting point for discussion. It's not a final product. That's why the NCUA Board is interested in receiving stakeholder input."
He highlighted key investments in the proposal:
"This year's staff draft budget makes critical investments in areas like:
- Ensuring robust cybersecurity in the credit union system and at the NCUA
- Recalibrating examination and supervision
- Making investments to automate processes for new charters
- Supporting smaller minority depository credit unions
- Enhancing analytical capacity
- Strengthening consumer financial protection"
Vice Chairman Kyle Hauptman
Hauptman focused on three key numbers that concerned him:
"12% - that's the increase in the budget... The first time I heard that was actually not from the document. I was at conferences and people would walk up to me."
"$10,000 - that is how much per credit union extra we're asking... Credit unions and their members have things they could do with that $10,000. Buy braces, get food, eat, pay the rent."
"2.8% - that is what the IRS has already put out for inflation for this year... If you're on Social Security, you're going to get 2.8% more. A lot of credit union members, that is their sole income."
Board Member Tanya Otsuka
Otsuka emphasized the budget's reflection of agency priorities:
"The budget of an agency, organization or even household is a testament to its priorities and it's no different here. Our budget reflects the goals we seek to accomplish as an agency and where we are investing resources to ultimately protect our system of cooperative credit."
She highlighted several key investments:
"The additional headcount and capital investments are crucial to the success of policy priorities that I support, mainly:
- Supporting small and MDI credit unions
- Expanding our Consumer Financial Protection program
- Maintaining a robust exam and supervisory process, especially for large credit unions"
Areas of Agreement
Despite different perspectives, the Board members agreed on several points:
- The importance of stakeholder input
- Need for careful review of the staff proposal
- Commitment to reaching consensus
- Recognition of NCUA staff's hard work
Looking Forward
The Board must now work to reconcile these different viewpoints and stakeholder feedback. Chairman Harper noted:
"I look forward to working with the vice chairman and board member Otsuka to reach a consensus on the agency's 2025 and 2026 budgets."
The Path Forward
The Board will accept written comments until November 27th, with final budget discussions expected in December. The challenge will be finding the right balance between necessary investments and cost control while maintaining NCUA's effectiveness as a regulator.
Key Dates:
- November 27: Written comment deadline
- Early December: Board negotiations
- December 17: Target for final budget consideration
[Note: All quotes are taken directly from the public budget briefing. Final budget decisions remain pending.]
The entire budget briefing is available HERE.
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