When the people paying the bills are the same ones being regulated, someone had better check the receipt.
That’s the thinking behind Curt Long’s upcoming appearance at the NCUA’s public budget hearing. Long is chief economist and vice president of data and research at America’s Credit Unions. He’ll testify before the National Credit Union Administration Board on Tuesday, November 17, at 10 a.m. ET, weighing in on the agency’s proposed 2027-2028 staff draft budget.
The numbers on the table: the proposed 2027 budget comes to $325.4 million, up 2.9 percent from 2026. The operating budget, though, climbs 8.2 percent. Long wants the board to keep a tight grip on spending, explain its ongoing reorganization more openly, and prove that its efficiency efforts are actually working.
Think of it like a home renovation. A contractor says the kitchen remodel will save you money on energy bills down the road, and maybe that’s true. But you’d still want an itemized quote, a timeline, and some proof the savings show up once the dust settles. Long is asking the NCUA for roughly the same thing.
“Because the NCUA is funded directly by the credit unions it regulates and insures, keeping agency costs under control is critical,” Long said. “As the NCUA moves forward with its reorganization and technology investments, NCUA should ensure that any budget increases are strictly necessary, clearly demonstrate how efficiency gains are translating into lower costs, and provide clear transparency into staffing decisions, overhead transfer rate calculations, and examination timelines.”
His written testimony, submitted ahead of the hearing, lays out five recommendations for the board to weigh before it finalizes anything:
- Publish the intended December 2027 organizational structure and the office consolidation schedule before final budget approval.
- Bring back office-level staffing and spending breakouts from earlier budgets, and look hard at vacancies instead of automatically refilling them.
- Explain the variables behind the 20-basis-point increase in the overhead transfer rate, then review the methodology once the reorganization wraps up.
- Keep assessing when off-site reviews can meet examination goals, which would help hold down travel costs.
- Spell out the specific tasks and expected staff or contractor savings tied to new artificial intelligence and analytic tools, and report annual performance metrics on examination lengths and application processing times.
The hearing takes place at NCUA headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, and will be livestreamed on the agency’s website. Public comments on the staff draft budget stay open through November 30.
If you work at or serve on the board of a credit union, this is your money on the line, since the NCUA’s costs flow back to the institutions it oversees. Watch the livestream if you can, and if you have thoughts on staffing, exam schedules, or those overhead rates, you have until November 30 to put them on the record.
Related:
A Smaller NCUA Shouldn’t Come With a Bigger Budget, Say Defense CUs