A shutdown of the federal government Tuesday will not halt theNCUA's operations, the regulator said Monday in a release.

Federal agencies were funded through Monday, and becauseCongress could not agree upon a funding deal in time, non-essentialstaff will not report to work Tuesday.

As an independent, self-funded agency, the NCUA said it does notrely on congressional appropriations, so the shutdown will notapply to the Alexandria, Va.-based regulator.

NCUA Board Chairman Debbie Matz on Monday encouraged creditunions to maintain a state of readiness to help their members who may be affected bya potential government shutdown.

“Members will have questions and they will have needs, so creditunions should have plans to respond if Congress does not passlegislation to keep the government running,” Matz said.

“Credit unions that serve federal workers and the military haveresponded before to members' financial needs resulting fromfurloughs, reimbursement delays, suspension of government programsor the closing of federal buildings housing branches. They need toprepare to do that once again,” she said.

In April 2011, NCUA issued guidance through a Letter to Credit Unions, urging federally insured credit unionsto take steps in the event of a federal government shutdown,including:

• Ensuring policies provide flexibility to respond to members'financial needs.
• Preparing for service interruptions if a shutdown affectsaccess to credit union offices located in federal buildings.
• Prudently working with affected members, including providingadvances to individuals receiving direct deposits from the federalgovernment.
• Developing contingency plans with respect to participation ingovernment programs that may be affected by a federal governmentshutdown.
• Communicating response plans to members, staff and volunteersin a timely manner.

Consistent with safety and soundness, the NCUA said, creditunions also may want to consider offering special programs toassist members who need short-term loans, create loans with specialterms and rates, or offer payment flexibility.