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| NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz answers questions during a question and answer session between North & South Carolina credit unions. The meeting was part of Hike the Hill in Washington, DC. |
North and South Carolina credit union representatives spent Tuesday afternoon meeting with officials of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) as part of their Hike the Hill trip this week. The credit union group of nearly 40, which was comprised of CEOs, senior managers, and volunteer board members from the two states, spent over an hour discussing concerns and hearing from NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz and top NCUA officials.
“There are times we agree and times we disagree with actions taken and decisions made by NCUA,” said John Radebaugh, NCCUL President. “Our meeting earlier this week was an opportunity to offer our input and to hear from our regulator. The exchange was valuable.”
NCUA addressed a range of questions from the audience, including ~ Reg Flex and the impact of fixed asset limitations on credit unions, and the dual examination of NC state chartered credit unions and the release of a state CAMEL code. Both credit unions and the NCUA shared their perspectives on the dual exam issue before moving on to other topics.
Other items discussed included increasing the threshold for the definition of a small credit union, exam findings that rise to the level of a DOR, NCUA handling of corporate credit union restructuring, filing of SARs, training and responsibilities for board members, and examiner interaction with the credit union supervisory committee.
Among those on hand representing the NC Credit Union League was Jeanne Couchois, VP of Compliance and Risk Management. Couchois provided NCUA with specific examples of examination concerns on behalf of the North and South Carolina credit unions she assists.
“We wanted to be as specific as possible when raising concerns with Ms. Matz and the NCUA staff,” shared Couchois. “I know credit unions are concerned about retaliation and sharing exam findings, but if there are issues with examiners we need to make NCUA aware of our concerns at both the Region III level and the Board level.”
Those in attendance from the NCUA included:
Debbie Matz, Chairman
Steve Bosack, Chief of Staff to Chairman Matz
David Marquis, Executive Director
Larry Fazio, Director of Examination and Insurance
Laura Rodriquez, Deputy General Counsel
Kent Buckham, Office of Consumer Protection
Martha Ninichuk, Deputy Director of the Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives.
Buddy Gill, Senior Strategic Communications and External Relations Advisor
Todd Harper, Director of Congressional and Public Affairs
Al Garesche, Deputy Director of Congressional and Public Affairs