NCUA Chairman Kyle Hauptman during the Dec. 18, 2025 Board meeting.
The NCUA Board on Thursday approved a significantly smaller operating budget for 2026–2027 while receiving an update on the performance of the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund during its seventh and final open board meeting of 2025.
Four NCUA Board meetings were canceled or withdrawn in the months following President Donald Trump’s firing of Board Members Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka in April. For most of the year, Chairman Kyle Hauptman has served as the only member of the board.
The Board approved combined Operating, Capital, and Share Insurance Fund administrative expenses budgets totaling $316.2 million for 2026, a reduction of $79.2 million and 288 staff positions compared with 2025 levels. The approved budget includes 967 staff positions, reflecting a leaner agency following deferred resignations and retirements. The combined budget for 2027 was set at $325.3 million, also below prior projections.
“I’m proud to deliver a NCUA budget unlike any in recent history,” Chairman Hauptman said. “It’s different mainly in that it’s much smaller than in prior years, but it’s also different in that it directly helps credit unions do what NCUA wants them to do: stay financially solvent.”
The 2026 operating fee rate will be 24.65% lower than in 2025, according to agency officials.
During his opening remarks, Hauptman acknowledged the agency’s workforce transitions and emphasized a new regulatory approach.
“They’ve continued to work hard and keep the agency moving with a small and leaner team,” he said, referencing staff departures through retirement and the deferred resignation program.
Hauptman also highlighted the launch of the agency’s NCUA Deregulation Project, a long-term initiative to review and revise existing regulations. “The goal of this deregulation is akin to spring cleaning,” he said. “This is about the smaller credit unions … making the job of running a small credit union less burdensome.”
The Board also received a briefing on the Share Insurance Fund’s third-quarter performance. The fund reported $100.4 million in net income and $24 billion in assets, while the number of CAMELS 4 and 5 credit unions declined from 122 to 118. Two credit union failures during the quarter resulted in approximately $7 million in losses to the fund.
"As we move into 2026,” Hauptman said, “we look forward to implementing this new mission … so credit unions can do what they do best.”
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