The NCUA on Friday announced the closing of its Albany, N.Y. and Atlanta, Ga. field offices as part of a larger reorganization of the agency.
In announcing the plans, the NCUA said that improved efficiency, responsiveness and cost-effectiveness are the goals of the long-range restructuring plan.
It marks the first agency reorganization since 2003.
“The time has come for the NCUA business model to change,” Board Chairman J. Mark McWatters said. “Positioning the NCUA to meet the changing demands of the credit union system we regulate in a transparent and fully accountable manner while promoting efficiency and effectiveness is essential.”
“Months of very hard work by agency staff have produced a solid, commonsense plan that will help the agency respond to a new economic environment without sacrificing its ability to ensure the safety and soundness of our credit union system,” Board Member Rick Metsger said.
NCUA officials said that the agency workforce would be reduced by attrition.
In addition to closing the two regional offices, the agency also announced that it will:
- Restructure the Office of Examination and Insurance into specialized working groups.
- Realign the Asset Management and Assistance Center to include changes to the servicing business model and moving to a financial supervisory structure.
- Create an Office of Credit Union Resources and Expansion by reorganizing several agency functions: chartering and field-of-membership, credit union development, grants and loans, and minority depository institutions.
- Eliminate four of the agency’s five leased facilities.
The agency also intends to eliminate agency offices with overlapping functions and improve other functions, such as examination reporting, records management, and procurement.
Additional details of the plan, including budget savings, will be available at the agency’s upcoming fall budget briefing.
CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle praised McWatters for attempting to modernize the agency.
“We commend Chairman McWatters for his efforts to modernize agency operations by finding efficiencies and eliminating redundancies,” he said. “We look forward to continuing to actively engage with the Chairman as he continues to drive the agency towards reducing regulatory and examination burdens for credit unions.”
NAFCU officials also were pleased with the agency’s moves.
“NAFCU is encouraged that the NCUA is positioning itself for the future by committing to increasing efficiencies and eliminating waste,” said NAFCU Director of Regulatory Affairs Alexander Monterrubio. “We look forward to learning more about these structural changes and their potential impact on our members.”
