NCUA Regional Offices Shuffled

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-NCUA announced last week how it planned to follow through with the regional office shuffle approved at the agency’s November board meeting. NCUA plans to move its San Francisco-based Region VI office to Phoenix, Ariz. and cease operation of its Region IV (Chicago) office. Nine western cities were considered for the site. Region VI will begin relocating immediately and should be completed no later than the end of 2004, though current timetables suggest as early as year-end 2003. Region I will remain in Albany, but take Michigan credit union supervision under its wing. Supervision of credit unions in Arkansas and Louisiana will shift from Atlanta to the Austin regional office. The Region II Alexandria office will take over West Virginia, while Indiana and Ohio will go to the Region III Atlanta office. Illinois, Missouri and Wisconsin credit union supervision, now under the Chicago regional office, will shift to the new Region IV Austin office, and Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico, now in the Austin regional office, will be moved to the Region V Phoenix office. The five-region alignment is scheduled to become effective January 1, 2004, though a short transition period may be required. The cost cutting measures are projected to save the agency approximately $27 million over 10 years and are part of NCUA Chairman Dennis Dollar’s Accountability in Management study.