A change in the operating fee schedule methodology that would exempt federal credit unions with assets of less than $2 million – up from $1 million – is out for comment until Sept. 5, according to a notice published Wednesday by the institutions’ federal regulator.
The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board issued the proposal for comment June 22 with a 60-day comment period. The original, July 6 Federal Register notice gave an Aug. 7 comment deadline, but the notice Wednesday corrected that to Sept. 5.
The proposed change in the methodology was issued on a unanimous vote of the agency’s board. Besides raising the exemption threshold, the proposal would establish a process to update the exemption threshold in future years based on the credit union system’s annual asset growth.
The operating fee schedule shows how much in operating fees that federal credit unions must pay to fund the agency’s operating budget.
Released with the unanimous approval by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board, the proposal would affect adjustments to the methodology the agency’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer uses to determine how it apportions operating fees charged to federal credit unions (FCUs). According to the NCUA, the proposal increases the threshold below which FCUs are exempt from paying an operating fee from $1 million to $2 million and establishes a process to update the exemption threshold in future years based on the credit union system’s annual asset growth.
The NCUA uses income from the fees to fund part of its annual budget. The other major income portion to the agency comes from the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF), which transfers a share of its annual earnings to cover “insurance-related costs” to the agency.
Reg lookup: Request for Comment Regarding National Credit Union Administration Operating Fee Schedule Methodology