The NCUA Board is now fully staffed. Former Oregon State Sen.Rick Metsger took the oath of office Friday morning in a privateceremony on Capitol Hill.

Metsger fills the seat on the three-seat panel vacated by GigiHyland last year. He joins Michael Fryzel and Chairman Debbie Matzand was sworn in by General Counsel Michael McKenna as the20^th board member the NCUA has had since its inception,the agency said in an announcement.

“I will do everything within my power to fulfill the trustplaced in me by the president and the Congress to ensure both theintegrity and the continued safety and soundness of our nation'scredit union system in a rapidly changing marketplace,” Metsgersaid in the announcement.

“For me, the most important task is the continued protection ofthe Share Insurance Fund, which protects credit union memberdeposits up to $250,000, from losses,” he said.

He added, “As I said during my confirmation hearing, my visionis for NCUA to be recognized as an agency that manages its ownfiscal house well, proposes regulatory action that is effectivelytargeted to achieve the desired outcome without placing unnecessaryburdens on the credit unions themselves and, above all, maintainsthe confidence and trust the American public places in their localcredit union.”

Metsger, a former board member at Portland Teachers Credit Union(now the $3.4 billion OnPoint Community CU), was nominated by President Barack Obama in mid-May. He wasconfirmed by the Senate on Aug. 1, after a June 27 confirmationhearing before the Senate Banking Committee, and his term expiresAug. 2, 2017.

He served in the Oregon State Senate from 1999 to 2011, and waselected Senate President Pro Tempore in 2009. He also has served onthe Oregon State Treasury Debt Policy Advisory Commission andbefore entering public service, worked as a radio and televisionjournalist.