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NCUA released The NCUA Report featuring columns from agency board members, articles on agency initiatives and an overview of the agency's 2015 operating budget of $279.5 million. That budget figure is up 4.2 percent from this year's, but NCUA said it was the smallest percentage increase in seven years.

NAFCU has long urged NCUA to rein in budget growth and reduce spending where efficiencies have been found. The agency's budget this year was more detailed than in the past, but NAFCU continues to urge more disclosure about how budget dollars are allocated. NAFCU also urges NCUA to conduct a formal budget hearing before approving any operating budget.

In the report, NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz says, "The 4.2 percent increase ensures that we have the resources needed to do our jobs – protecting the safety and soundness of credit unions and being a vigilant steward of the Share Insurance Fund – in a manner that is efficient and recognizes that our operating costs are borne by the credit unions that we regulate and insure."

The 2015 budget was approved by a 2-1 vote during the November board meeting; Board Member J. Mark McWatters voted against. In her column in the report, Matz reiterated her statement from the meeting that "cutting the budget is not an option." "I know there will always be those who argue that NCUA should cut the budget - and that any increase is too big," she wrote, adding that any significant cut would require cutting staff.

Also in the report, NCUA Vice Chairman Rick Metsger answered questions about and defended the budget increase. Mark McWatters issued a statement pushing for increased transparency and fewer costs. McWatters said, "As a Board, we should remain mindful that we are spending other peoples' money – that is, the scarce resources of federal and state-chartered credit unions and their members. Any allocation of these funds should follow only after thoughtful reflection as to the necessity of the expenditures and whether the costs have been undertaken in the most efficient, effective, transparent and fully accountable manner."

The report also included a guest column from CFPB Director Richard Cordray on qualified mortgage safe harbors.