Seven new positions will be added to the employee roster of the federal credit union regulator following a “midsession” budget review by the agency board Thursday.
The money to pay for the positions was realized from a 2021 National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) budget surplus of $15 million, savings resulting from diminished staff travel during the coronavirus crisis.
The seven positions will be added to the agency’s cybersecurity program (three new positions), the NCUA Board secretary (one position), and the agency’s office of ethics counsel (three positions), taking up $11 million of the surplus. The balance of the $15 million will be “reprogrammed,” with $2.4 million going to address cybersecurity support, employee relocations, and “human capital analytical support” (for analysis of compensation plans and diversity/equity/ inclusion programs and practices), and approximately $1.6 million to cover employee leave payouts.
Also, as part of the budget review, staff told the NCUA Board that, by year’s end, a “residual budget balance” (or surplus) of about $24.6 million will be left, which the agency said “can be used to offset future budget needs by the agency.”
In other action at the Thursday meeting, the board heard a quarterly report on the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF), which noted an equity ratio for the fund, as of June 30, at 1.23% – three points above the minimum allowed by law before a “restoration plan” (including assessment of a premium) can be established by the board, but well below the fund’s current “normal operating level” (NOL) of 1.38%.
Board Member Rodney Hood, after hearing the report, said he wants the board to consider resetting the NOL to 1.3% at either the October or November board meetings.