Under the current examination process, the NCUA's decisionsaren't reviewed by third parties and credit unions don't receiveconsistent messages about what the agency looking for.

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Those are among the messages that JetStream FCU President/CEOJeanne Kucey and West Virginia Credit Union League President/CEOKenneth Watts plan to deliver to lawmakers at today's hearing abouta measure to revamp the examination process.

NCUA Executive Director David Marquis is also scheduled totestify on the measure, but his testimony hasn't been releasedyet.

In her prepared testimony, Kucey notes that under the currentsystem the NCUA “serves as the prosecutor, judge and jury,'' andthere is an absence of reviews by independent third parties. She istestifying on behalf on behalf of NAFCU and is on the association'sboard.

Kucey, whose Miami Lakes, Fla.-based credit union has assets of$126 million, said the current examination process is “by its verynature, can be inconsistent.''

She added that the standards by which credit unions areevaluated shouldn't change from examination to examination.

Kucey and Watts will be testifying before the House FinancialServices Committee's Subcommittee on Financial Institutions andConsumer Credit. The panel's chairman, Rep. Shelley MooreCapito (R-W.Va.) and ranking Democrat Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.)are the lead sponsors of the measure.

Under the bill, a financial institution that is unhappy with the resultsof its examination would have the right to appeal it to anadministrative law judge who would submit his or her findings tothe ombudsman of the Federal Financial Institutions ExaminationCouncil (FFIEC), which is made up of representatives of federal andstate regulatory entities. NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz is thecouncil's current chairman.

In Watts' prepared testimony, he said the bill is needed becauseoften examinations are “based on policy guidance and examiners'views of best practices rather than regulation and the law.''

He added that credit unions “have the right to manage riskwithout being directed by examiners to eliminate it.''

Watts, who is testifying on behalf of CUNA, noted that asurveyby the trade association found that 20% of credit unions weredissatisfied with their most recent examinations.