NCUA HOLDS 3RD ANNUAL
BUDGET BRIEFING AND PUBLIC FORUM
Projected 2004 Agency Budget Growth Modest at 2.99%
Oct. 10, 2003, Alexandria, Va. – The National Credit Union
Administration (NCUA) conducted its third annual Budget Briefing
and Public Forum here today to unveil its projected 2004 agency
budget and to accept comments from stakeholders. NCUA Executive
Director J. Leonard Skiles presented the budget projection that
will, if adopted by the NCUA Board at the level presented, combine
savings measures from agency belt-tightening, with an average
4.1 percent merit salary increase potential for employees, to
achieve an overall budget increase for 2004 of a modest 2.99
percent over the 2003 annual budget. The projected agency budget
for 2004 totals $150.4 million.
The annual Budget Briefing and Public Forum was initiated by
NCUA Chairman Dennis Dollar upon his becoming agency head in
2001. Now in its third year, the briefing has been well-received
by agency stakeholders at the federal and state levels.
“A more open NCUA budget process facilitates better understanding
between the regulator and the regulated,” said Dollar. “Although
we are an independent agency which should always maintain an
arms length relationship with those we regulate, we must also
recognize that credit unions fund our agency through their operating
fees and the transfer from their insurance fund. We should be
good stewards of those dollars and make sure our stakeholders
are aware of our ongoing efforts to use those dollars wisely
and to have the safest and soundest credit union system possible
for the over 80 million Americans who depend on their credit
unions.”
Regarding expense categories that will change in the 2004 projected
budget, Skiles reported payroll expenses, the major category
of expense for NCUA, will decline in 2004 due to reductions in
the number of full time employees; however, employee benefit,
travel, administration, labor relations and contracting expenses
are projected to increase for the upcoming year.
All three NCUA Board members were present for the budget presentation
by Skiles and heard oral comments from representatives of three
major credit union trade associations who provided their views
on agency expenses and priorities for 2004. The NCUA Board will
consider both the oral comments at the public forum as well as
submitted written comments, and vote on a final 2004 agency budget
at its November 20 Board meeting.
“I am pleased with the ongoing fiscal responsibility this
agency has demonstrated over the past several years which included
a reduction of the NCUA budget by one-half percent in 2003 and
further savings the Board approved at our 2003 mid-year review
that further reduced the NCUA budget by an additional $3.3 million,” said
Dollar. “I commend the NCUA Board for their diligence and
good stewardship of agency funds. They have steadily supported
the implementation of our Accountability In Management (AIM)
efficiency goals and have seen impressive results such as the
agency’s regional realignment plan which will be completed
in 2004 at a projected savings of $27 million over a 10 year
period.”
The three public witnesses making oral presentations today included
representatives of the Credit Union National Association (CUNA),
National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) and the
National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors (NASCUS).
NCUA will accept written statements and comments on today’s
presentation through November 10.
For interested parties, the agency’s budget briefing PowerPoint
presentation is available on the NCUA website at www.ncua.gov/budget.
The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), governed by
a three-member board appointed by the President and confirmed
by the Senate, is the independent federal agency that charters
and supervises federal credit unions. NCUA, with the backing
of the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, operates
the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF), insuring
the savings of 80 million account holders in all federal credit
unions and many state-chartered credit unions.
