A budget of $321 million for 2018 – up less than 1% from the previous year – was approved by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board Thursday, reflecting what the agency calls “significant steps to increase efficiency and control” it has taken.
“The agency in July announced its restructuring plan that includes closing 40% of its regional offices, eliminating overlapping office functions, and re-tooling its business model,” the agency said in a release.
Overall, the agency’s budget is made up of $298.1 million for its “operating budget” (which includes staff salaries and benefits, travel, rent, communications, utilities, administrative and contracted services), $15.4 million for its capital budget, and $7.4 million for expenses related to administering the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF), the federal savings insurance program for credit unions.
The agency noted in a release that the 2018 operating budget includes a net decrease of 42 full-time-equivalent positions from 2017.
The credit union agency also adopted its budget for 2019 Thursday, which (right now) will be $331.4 million, a 3.2% increase from 2018. Most of that growth comes from the capital budget, which will expand by $5.8 million or – 37.6%. In its budget documentation, the agency indicates the increase is due to “information technology software development investments,” which grows nearly three-fold from 2018 to 2019.
The operating budget will be $302.7 million, a 1.5% increase from the previous year; the share insurance fund budget will essentially remain the same.
NCUA said its 2019 spending plan includes a net decrease of 14 full-time-equivalent positions, which will be realized through attrition.