Newsroom

July 23, 2015

Matz to Congress: More OTR info to be posted, no delay on RBC

NCUA Board Chairman Debbie Matz told lawmakers Thursday that the agency soon will publish the unredacted auditor analysis of the agency's overhead transfer rate methodology but that it does not plan to delay final action on risk-based capital.

Matz was testifying before a hearing of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, chaired by Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas.

Neugebauer asked why NCUA's budget has been growing in recent years when other agency budgets, such as FDIC's, are shrinking. Matz responded that FDIC's and NCUA's operating budgets are comparable and that NCUA's budget has grown to ensure the agency sufficient resources to tackle challenges like those faced during the financial crisis.

The hearing drew numerous questions for Matz about the agency's budget process, disclosure and some rulemaking. For example:

Overhead transfer rate: Rep. Mick Mulvaney, the chief sponsor of H.R. 2287 which would require budget hearings and publication of draft budgets, raised the issue of the OTR analysis. He said much of the OTR analysis on NCUA's website has been redacted. Matz said it shouldn't be and that the unredacted report would be online soon. (The OTR is used to transfer funds from the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund to the operating fund to cover "insurance-related" activities.)

Budget hearings: Matz did not change stance on this issue and told Rep. Lacy Clay, D-Mo., that no other financial regulator holds hearings on its budget.

Risk-based capital: Reps. Bill Posey, R-Fla., and Blaine Leutkemeyer, R-Mo., questioned Matz about the need for a risk-based capital proposal when credit unions didn't cause the financial crisis and have fared well in its aftermath. Posey also expressed the need for legislation he sponsored with Reps. Stephen Fincher, R-Tenn., and Denny Heck, D-Wash., the Risked-Based Capital Study Act (H.R. 2769), that would stop NCUA from moving forward until several aspects of the rule, including legal authority, cost-benefit analysis, and impact on lending, are truly explored..

Third-party vendor examinations: Matz, who repeated NCUA's request for third-party exam authority, told Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., that NCUA has the expertise it needs to handle it.

Thursday's hearing marked Matz's first testimony before Congress since 2011.

NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger, in a statement, said NAFCU welcomed Thursday's hearing "and the opportunity to highlight credit union issues in a robust discussion."

Berger continued, "Although NAFCU and our members may not always see eye-to-eye with NCUA on every issue, we have the common goal of ensuring all federally insured credit unions remain vibrant, safe and sound."