WASHINGTON – The NCUA is always on the hot seat for its budget, but that's typically not the case for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which again has approved a budget cut. The FDIC's Board recently approved a $1.1 billion Corporate Operating Budget for 2004 at its most recent meeting. This figure is just slightly under last year's budget. When combined with anticipated investment spending of $115 million in 2004 for multi-year investment projects, the total for 2004 is expected around $1.2 billion. "I am very pleased that we have been able to maintain last year's reductions in operating expenses while adding several new key initiatives," FDIC Chairman Don Powell said. "We continue to make progress on further reducing spending by becoming a more efficient and cost conscious organization. Of particular note are the savings we have been able to realize through the implementation of our new risk-focused examination procedures for small, well managed banks."