Letter to House FSC leaders on 5-member NCUA Board

NASCUS WRITES LAWMAKERS, NOTES INTEREST IN 5-MEMBER NCUA BOARD PROVISION
Acknowledges ‘slight increase’ in expenses of expanding board

NASCUS President and CEO Lucy Ito has written to House Financial Services Committee leaders Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) and Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) expressing interest in the CHOICE bill’s provisions calling for a five-member NCUA Board, and suggesting it be expanded to include designation of a seat for a state credit union regulator.

Ito sent the letters to the committee leaders Wednesday.

“In our view, expanding the board from three members to five would enhance the board’s deliberative process, expand its collective expertise, and improve the efficient administration of NCUA business,” Ito wrote. “We also would like to work with you to broaden the impact of this provision shall it move forward. That is, by designating one of the seats on the board for a candidate who has served as a state credit union supervisor. Doing so would provide important perspective about the impact of federal regulations on states and local communities – which is sorely needed by all levels of government,” she stated.

In the letter, Ito acknowledged that concern by some that the number of NCUA Board members will expand the budget of the agency. “We have analyzed those costs, and we estimate that (based on the 2016 NCUA budget of $290.9 million) each additional board seat would cost approximately $979,000, for a total of just under $2 million – an increase in the agency’s budget (for 2016) of just over two-thirds of 1% (0.67%). This slight increase is clearly not material,” she wrote. The NASCUS leader added that the association “would welcome the opportunity to work with you” as the legislation moves forward.

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NASCUS President and CEO Lucy Ito’s letter to House FSC leaders on 5-member NCUA Board