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NAFCU is urging credit unions to participate in NCUA's planned working group to develop ideas to make the agency's examination cycle more flexible, a longstanding goal of the association.

The working group is called the Exam Flexibility Initiative; it will convene meetings and teleconferences among agency staff and credit union stakeholders in coming months. NAFCU encourages credit unions to contact Alexander Monterrubio, director of Regulatory Affairs, if they are interested in participating in the working group.

On Thursday, NCUA Chairman Rick Metsger asked for credit unions' input regarding the agency's efforts to modernize its examination and supervision program. NAFCU welcomed the move and reiterated its call for extended exam cycles for well-run, healthy credit unions.

NCUA also set up an email address for credit unions to contact with comments, ExamFlexibility@ncua.gov, and a webpage on the initiative.

Earlier this month, Metsger announced the elimination of strict calendar year exams for every federal credit union and for all federally insured state-chartered credit unions with more than $250 million in assets. Metsger said he hoped to implement the change within two months.

NAFCU has repeatedly asked NCUA to return healthy credit unions to a longer exam cycle as it will save NCUA resources and relieve credit unions of the burden of more frequent exams. Credit unions are the only federally regulated depository institutions held strictly to a calendar-year cycle for examinations.