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As a first step toward implementing a longer exam cycle for credit unions – which has been long urged by NAFCU – NCUA Chairman Rick Metsger today announced a forthcoming 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.

The goal is to implement this change in two months, he said. Metsger also announced the creation of an agency working group to examine the issue. The policy change does not alter the current 12-month exam cycle employed by the agency.

Metsger made his announcement during an address before the Idaho Credit Union League this morning. NAFCU Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt welcomed the chairman's announcement as a sign of progress.

"We appreciate Chairman Metsger's response to our concerns about credit unions' exam cycles and continue to urge the agency to implement a longer exam cycle as soon as possible," Hunt said. "Healthy credit unions that have acted responsibly should not have to deal with such frequent exams, which are unnecessary and burdensome for the industry."

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.

NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger, accompanied by Hunt, met with Metsger in April to discuss exam frequency as well as how NCUA could do more to reform field-of-membership requirements. Metsger will preside over his first board meeting as agency chairman next week.

This year's Annual Conference and Solutions Expo in downtown Nashville will mark Metsger's first address to NAFCU in his capacity as agency chairman.