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Board Action Bulletin

Public Comments Also Sought on Agency’s Draft Five-Year Strategic Plan

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Jan. 21, 2016) – The National Credit Union Administration Board convened its first open meeting of 2016 at the agency’s headquarters here today and unanimously approved the release of three items for public comment, including the agency’s:

• Methodology for calculating the annual Overhead Transfer Rate;
• Methodology for calculating the annual Federal Credit Union Operating Fee; and
• Proposed
  2017–2021 Strategic Plan describing NCUA’s strategic goals in the areas of safety and soundness, consumer protection and financial literacy, and workforce development and diversity.

The Board also unanimously approved technical amendments to the agency’s regulations to reflect changes in the function and reporting responsibilities of the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion.

Comments Sought on Overhead Transfer Rate and Federal Credit Union Operating Fee Methodologies

NCUA will take public comments on how the agency’s Overhead Transfer Rate and Federal Credit Union Operating Fee are calculated after the Board voted to publish both methodologies in the
Federal Register.

Both methodologies have previously been available on the
Budget and Supplementary Materials page of the agency’s website. NCUA Board Chairman Debbie Matz announced at the Board’s November 2015 open meeting that she would request publication of both methodologies in the
Federal Register, and comments will be posted on the agency’s website, as is done with proposed rules.

“I am certainly open to considering new ideas to simplify or improve both methodologies, as long as the methodologies remain objective, equitable and neutral with respect to charter type. Summaries of the comments, along with the Board’s responses to the comments, will be published later this year in the
Federal Register.”

The methodologies describe the process for calculating the Overhead Transfer Rate and the Federal Credit Union Operating Fee, which are the two primary funding mechanisms for the agency’s operating budget.

“The calculations NCUA annually performs to determine the Overhead Transfer Rate and the Operating Fee are purely mathematical, free of subjective and political judgments,” Matz said.

The Operating Fee formula was originally established in 1979. The Overhead Transfer Rate methodology has been in place since 2003 and was validated in 2011 by an independent accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Comments on the methodologies must be received within 90 days of publication in the
Federal Register.

Draft Strategic Plan Sets Goals for a Changing Financial Services Environment

The NCUA Board approved for public comment a proposed
2017–2021 Strategic Plan. The plan summarizes internal and external factors affecting the agency and the credit union system, evaluates NCUA programs and risks and provides goals and objectives.

The agency’s three strategic goals described in the draft five-year plan are:

• Ensuring a safe and sound credit union system;
• Promoting consumer protection and financial literacy; and
• Cultivating an inclusive, collaborative workplace that maximizes productivity and enhances impact.

“The credit union system has grown and evolved since the end of the financial crisis,” Matz said, “and NCUA continues to strive to keep pace with that growth and change. The draft plan provides a detailed description of the agency’s goals, the steps we’ll take to reach them and the offices responsible for getting us there, which in turn drives the agency’s budget process. Releasing the draft strategic plan for public comment is part of NCUA’s ongoing commitment to transparency. We look forward to reading the comments we receive.”

Copies of the agency’s proposed
2017–2021 Strategic Plan, as well as previous strategic plans and annual performance plans, are available online
here. Comments on the plan must be received within 60 days of publication of the
Federal Register notice about the strategic plan.

Board Approves OMWI Restructuring

NCUA will complete a restructuring of its Office of Minority and Women Inclusion with the Board’s approval of a final rule (Part 790) that will have the OMWI Director serve as the agency’s Director of Equal Employment Opportunity and report to the Board Chairman.

NCUA established its Office of Minority and Women Inclusion in 2011, with its Director reporting to the agency’s Executive Director. At that time, the agency’s EEO program operated separately from OMWI. In 2014, NCUA merged the EEO program into OMWI, but the lack of a permanent OMWI Director delayed the completion of the restructuring. When the final rule becomes effective, the OMWI Director will assume the EEO Director’s responsibilities and report to the Chairman. The change in reporting also complies with the letter and the spirit of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which required the creation of NCUA’s Office of Minority and Women Inclusion.

“Enhancing diversity and inclusion is a top priority for me and for our agency,” Matz said. “Since we created the office in 2011, the OMWI Director or Acting Director has met regularly with me, and we have worked together closely on issues of diversity and inclusion. Now that the Equal Employment Opportunity office has been merged into OMWI and we have a Director in place, we can update our reporting structure.”’

The final rule, available online
here (opens new window), is effective upon publication in the
Federal Register.

NCUA tweets all open Board meetings live. Follow

@TheNCUA (opens new window) on Twitter, and access Board Action Memorandums and NCUA rule changes at

www.ncua.gov. NCUA also live streams, archives and posts

videos of open Board meetings online.