Background
The NCUA's operating budget is funded exclusively by the credit unions it regulates and insures. As such, every dollar spent by the agency has a direct impact on the daily operations of credit unions and is an additional dollar that cannot be used toward the benefit of their members. Since 2008, the NCUA has increased its budget nearly every year, resulting in a near doubling for 2021's requested budget.
Traditionally, and before the decade-long trend of budget increases, the NCUA had public budget briefings. Unfortunately, around the time that the NCUA started drastically increasing its budget, the NCUA suspended its budget briefings. In particular, in 2009, the NCUA authorized nearly 60 additional employee positions, including 50 additional examiners, bringing the total number of full-time equivalents to approximately 1,020. This was the first time in history that the agency surpassed the 1,000 mark for full-time equivalents. This trend continued in 2010, with an additional 75 positions, including 57 examiners. At this time, the annual public budget hearings were suspended.
The NCUA reinstated the public budget briefing process in October 2016 and has continued since then to hold public briefings and provide increased transparency into the budget process. Also, as of May 2018, the NCUA is required to publish a draft of its annual “detailed business-type budget” in the Federal Register, hold a public hearing on the draft, and address comments submitted by the public per an amendment to the Federal Credit Union Act by Section 212 of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (S. 2155).