Credit Union Exam Solutions Presents With Flying Colors

NCUA held its mid-year budget on July 20 and approved six new staff positions:

Cybersecurity Support:

An addition of four positions is requested to augment the NCUA’s cybersecurity and is consistent with independent, third-party assessments of the NCUA’s cybersecurity efforts. Two positions would focus on vulnerability analysis. Worldwide cybersecurity vulnerabilities disclosed in 2022 increased by over 25% to 25,227, with 56% of those being exploited within one week after disclosure. To counter this growing risk, OCIO has made significant efforts over the last several years to reduce response times for threat mitigation; however, the continued increase in the number of vulnerabilities and the workload this creates warrant the addition of two positions. The other two positions requested would help with cloud architecture and security, and management of the NCUA’s cloud strategy. Moving information technology services to the cloud changes the cybersecurity responsibility model and requires a strategy for a secure move while capturing the new risk landscape after the move. For this effort OCIO requires two additional positions to manage and secure the NCUA’s enterprise architecture in the cloud while minimizing the impact of cloud migration to on-premises systems.

• Support to Credit Unions:

An addition of two positions is requested to augment CURE’s consumer access efforts. The Consumer Access Division processes field-ofmembership expansions and conversions, bylaw amendments, low-income designation requests, charter conversions, and ad hoc special projects. In the past few years, the division has received an increased number of applications of all types, which have simultaneously become more voluminous and complex. Based on estimated work hours for these transactions, the workload for 2023 is more than double what it was in 2018.

The additional positions will allow CURE to better support the agency’s mission to assist credit unions with providing access to safe, fair, and affordable financial products and services to current and potential members, including those of modest means. CURE is committed to the continuous review of the field-of-membership process and procedures to ensure an efficient and positive customer service experience which include the streamlining of information requirements and improving clarity in application forms. Management will analyze and identify potential adjustments and clarifications that will reduce staff time for processing applications.

This includes field-of-membership expansions and new credit union charters. CURE will support customer service by implementing technical changes that will reduce duplicative or unnecessary administrative requirements, follow the time requirements for certain field-ofmembership transaction codes, and implement enhancements to the CAPRIS system that will allow CURE to process all occupational and associational common bond groups, regardless of potential membership size. Currently, credit unions that request changes to their field-of-membership exceeding 3,000 individuals must use paper-based forms, and NCUA staff reviews and processes these requests manually. The enhancements to CAPRIS are scheduled to begin in August.

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