NAFCU on Tuesday released a letter that President/CEO Fred Becker sent to NCUA Board members, supporting recommendations the agency’s Office of Inspector General made in an Aug. 31 report to improve the examination and complaint processes for small credit unions.
In the letter, Becker also made another request for the NCUA’s National Supervisory Policy Manual to be made public.
According to the OIG report, the NCUA has clear exam policies and standards, but carries them out inconsistently. However, the regulator’s policy manual effectively addresses the issue, the report said.
Becker said NAFCU requested a copy of the manual under the Freedom of Information Act on July 10, but rescinded the request after the NCUA said the manual would be made public. However, the NCUA has not released the document.
The OIG report also determined the NCUA has an adequate exam appeals process; however, “there are operational and organizational deficiencies related to compliance monitoring, the regional determination process, the Supervisory Review Committee, and the Ombudsman position.”
The report recommended improvements in those areas, and according to the report, NCUA management agreed to implement them. Becker also urged the NCUA to better communicate with credit unions the agency’s standards and policies to conduct examinations. The NAFCU chief cited previous concerns it had shared with the regulator regarding examiners’ recent use of Documents of Resolution and Preliminary Warning Letters that were applied differently than during previous exam cycles.
“In fact, on more than one occasion, examiners used one or both of these draconian measures on programs credit unions have not even implemented,” Becker wrote. He added that the agency plans to issue a letter to credit unions on the topic.
