Credit Union Exam Solutions Presents With Flying Colors

Hey everyone, this is Mark Treichel
with some breaking news, uh, from the

NCUA board , the NCUA board held their
first board meeting since Kyle Hauptman

was named chairman by President Trump.

And they can't act on much because
regulations are frozen, right?

So they originally had two items
on their agenda, the NCUSIF.

Briefing, which is where they release
camel data, and that was kind of ho hum.

There was pretty much no change
there, although the board did,

say we have to remain vigilant.

Harper made some comments about
Code 3s becoming Code 4s in complex

credit unions, over 500 million.

Which was interesting, but the big
focus was two things, NCOA staff

morale, and the insurance fund, , and
the fact that there have been no losses

on insured credit union deposits.

Why are these two things,
, paramount to NCOA right now?

Because of, , the many Donald Trump
President Donald Trump, presidential

orders that are impacting federal
agencies, the hiring freeze, the

buyout, the lack of independence
for independent agencies, which I've

discussed here with the discussions
about the possibility of the banking

regulators being merged, including NCUA.

By the way, I did a podcast yesterday
with John Ney about, the real and

imagined fears as it relates to that.

And time will tell how that works out.

But there's the fear of reorganization,
the fear of losing your job, et cetera,

et cetera, which reminds me before I
go any further, there's a quote that I

used to refer to about reorganizations
a lot because reorganizations.

Cause chaos, and they've been causing
chaos since, uh, at least 2010 BC

when Petronius the Arbiter said, we
trained hard, but every time we formed

up teams, we would be reorganized.

I was to learn that we meet any new
situation by reorganizing and a wonderful

method it can be for creating the illusion
of progress while producing confusion,

inefficiency, and demoralization.

There's also another quote that relates
to that I am reminded of and this is,

it is, it must be remembered that there
is nothing more difficult to plan, more

doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to
manage than the creation of a new system.

For the initiator.

That would be Trump, and Musk, has the
enmity, FYI, enmity means hatred, of all

who would profit by the preservation of
the old institutions and merely lukewarm

defenders and those who would gain by the
new ones, and that's, Niccolo Machiavelli.

There's a lot of concern from NCOA
staff about reorganization, there's a

lot of concern about, is my job safe?

And think about this, you've
got probationary employees

who are relatively, generally
speaking, brand new to government.

And when they see these things in
the press, they don't know the truth.

They don't know the falsehoods.

They don't know what is going to do.

Some agencies are
getting rid of all their.

, probationary employees.

Some agencies are accepting everybody
who applies, to the eight month buyout.

And there's chaos at NCA right now.

And you can tell that there's chaos
because they focused on staff morale

because they made reference to the
executive director saying that he

heard that it was great to see the
operating fee schedule come out.

From credit unions, , from the,
from, excuse me, from the NCUA board.

And why?

Because it's mundane.

The NCUA staff are getting deluged with
press about, the inadequacies of federal

government, about fraud, waste, and abuse,
which I think is very minimal at NCUA.

, I think the IG there does an
amazing job, , editorial comment.

And the reality is, there is
chaos, there is concern, and N.

C.

U.

A.

Staff, , being pleased to see something
mundane as opposed to be getting messages

saying, you need to tell us, tell me
the 5 things you achieved this week.

There's chaos there,
and it's clear that, N.

C.

U.

A.

Board is is.

Showing leadership, by making
statements that they have open

door policies to remain calm.

The other side of remaining calm is
they don't want, , a run to happen

at credit unions, just like the banks
don't want runs to happen at banks.

And there is a podcast I want
to refer you to in that regard.

It's the banking with interest podcast had
an episode today called what the hell is

going on part two merging OCC and FDIC.

So they talk about the mergers but they
talk about all the weird messages that

the host and the guests are getting as it
relates to the insurance fund of the DIF.

Kyle Houtman made reference to
that, that he was on Reddit looking

up things about NCUA, although I
couldn't find them when I looked.

I'm sure they're out there, but they're
getting messages about the safety of

the insurance fund and the fund is safe.

Have less than 250, 000 at
a bank or at a credit union.

You're going to get your money back.

So remain calm as it relates to
that, but it's clear they want staff.

Um, to find some solace in the fact
that the board, , isn't going to

overreact any more than they might
have to related to these things.

But, , it remains to be seen
how many people do leave N.

C.

U.

A.

I've spoke to the fact that I think
exam cycles are going to get elongated.

I think staff turnover will go up.

There'll be people.

What happens in these instances is
people who can leave and have other

alternatives, just go pursue them.

A lot of people will be
leaving NCUA because of that.

There'll be people leaving because of the
fact they don't want to take it anymore.

They'll be leaving because, hey,
I was going to retire in June, so

just give me my six months anyway.

And then what remains to be seen
is how NCUA will respond as it

relates to probationary employees.

The other takeaway I want to mention here
is originally there were two items on the

NCUA agenda, the NCUSAF briefing and an
item to make somebody presumably Almost

certainly, Harper, vice chair at NCUA.

Now there's no requirement to have a vice
chair, but Hauptmann had decided to do it.

Then it mysteriously
disappeared from the agenda.

They didn't talk about it.

I put a post on right before the
board meeting, when I realized

this, that NCUA had pulled it.

And by the way, I don't
believe they complied with.

The sunshine rules relative to that, if
something gets pulled, they're supposed

to say, Hey, we had to pull it because
of matters that we can't get into.

And we didn't have time to
notify the public, but we've

pulled that from the agenda.

I think there was a conscious
decision not to do that because

I'm sure that the general council
would have advised them to do that.

It's interesting they chose not
to do it or that there was an

error and they didn't do that.

But I had, posited that.

They could have voted by notation vote and
then talked about the fact they did it.

But since there was no reference
to how Harper being the vice chair,

there was no reference to the fact
that they were contemplating it.

I believe Hauptmann decided it wasn't
wise to make a Democrat the vice chair

right now because of the state of
politics, or somebody told him that

he shouldn't do it and they pulled it.

, And I'm not exactly
sure when that fell off.

I noticed it this morning.

, and that is very, very curious.

All right.

So here's about 10 minutes of the
NCUA board talking about the safety

of the insurance fund, talking about
the importance of staff morale,

all good news for NCUA staff.

It was a feel good meeting
from that perspective.

Lastly, if you're going to be at GAC
and you want to chat, let me know.

I will see you there.

I'll be there Monday and Tuesday
and we'll be recording some short

snippets for the podcast and
reporting that here via the podcast.

All right, without further
ado, here is the NCUA board.

Hauptman: Morning everyone.

I call this meeting of
the SRA Board to order.

, this is my first board meeting.

I'm the chairman.

It's an honor.

I serve as the 13th chairman of
NCUA and advance the priorities for

growth, opportunity, and innovation
in the credit union system.

I want to thank the president
for his trust in me.

I also want to thank my colleague
Todd Harper for his service through

some challenging times for NCUA
and the credit union system.

So as the last few weeks, there
have been a flurry of executive

orders, uh, affecting the
federal workforce, including us.

Some of those directives
may bring changes to NCUA.

All of us at this table understand
that change and uncertainty can be

challenging for a number of parties.

The credit union system, stakeholders,
and most definitely NCUA employees.

All of us at NCUA, including the
board, are diligently assessing

how these announcements may affect
NCUA, our operations, regulatory

structures, and our workforce.

To my colleagues at NCUA who may be
watching, the work each of you does every

day keeps our credit union system thriving
and keeps our credit union members strong.

There's also loads of
misinformation and rumor out there.

I've spent some time recently
reading forums on Reddit that touch

on NCUA or federal employees, and
there is some crazy stuff out there.

There's people moving their money
out of banks and credit unions and

buying treasury bonds or gold because
they think, they hear that federal

deposit insurance is going away.

And that's not even one
of the crazy rumors.

Let's continue to stay focused on
our mission and we, the board, will

continue to support your work as
we navigate any changes together.

Thank you for your patience
and your dedication to NCUA.

One thing that struck me last week, our
executive director mentioned how much NCUA

staff liked seeing an email about this
year's fee schedule for credit unions.

And I was curious why a fairly
routine, mundane topic would

generate a positive reaction.

But it was precisely because it was
mundane, and now it made sense to me,

it was a sign that the big picture
hasn't changed, NCUA business continues.

The normalcy of it was
positive and reassuring.

Uh, when I asked any of my 1, 200
colleagues here at NCUA to reach

out to me anytime, by phone, teams,
email, Uh, well, we on the board

don't have any more info on White
House directives than anyone else.

I'm happy to talk to you about
problems and possible solutions.

I'll tell you what I know and don't know.

And to the people we work for, the
142 million Americans who pay into

the Share Insurance Fund, know
that NCWA's mission is unchanged.

There are still 4, 500 credit units to
examine, and most importantly, 20 million

or so Share Insurance Fund that is the
true north for each of us on the board.

Our deposit insurance is unchanged.

The exams are continuing just
like the rest of the work here.

Be assured we have not
taken our eye off the ball.

We're aware that uncertainty, uh,
surrounding one's employer and job

isn't new for credit union members.

Many credit unions were
founded by employee groups of

companies that no longer exist.

Also, just in the four years I've been
on the board, we've lost a thousand

credit unions in this country.

We're aware that most Americans,
the people who pay my salary,

live a daily reality of
uncertainty that we're creating.

situation.

Uh, in a normal year, like this
year, about 10 million Americans

lose their job in the normal churn.

Four years ago, 21 million job, 21 million
Americans lost their job in one month.

So just, I want to send a message that
we at NCA, we understand the way the

real world works and the people who
pay us, we understand their reality.

So maybe just grant us a bit
of grace as we adjust to work

through these changes here at NCA.

And again, your money is safe.

In the NCA insurance fund and it's
safe at NCA insured Credit unions.

Our NCA staff are professionals and they,
and credit union members should know.

The management around here has worked
around the clock to ensure we still

meet the needs of America's credit union
members and my outstanding NCA coworkers.

And finally, I know as chairman, I could
steer some priorities to the agency,

but any concrete actions require board
approval and that requires some measure

of compromise on the part of all parties.

Discussions among my colleagues.

I've always been in good faith
and the spirit of cooperation

during my tenure on the board.

Through plenty of give and take, none
of us gets everything we want, but all

of us get usually something we wanted.

I look forward to continuing
that collaboration with my board

colleagues now that I'm chair.

That concludes my remarks.

I now recognize board member Harper.

Harper: uh, Mr.

Chairman, uh, and again, let me
offer my sincerest congratulations

um, on your, uh, progress.

new position.

I will also say this.

Um, as you and I discussed the other day,
there are many burdens of being chairman.

You really don't have an idea
until you sit in the seat.

And again, I offer to you Um, my hand
to help guide you just as past NCUA

chairman have helped guide me, uh, as part
of the kitchen cabinet over the years.

Um, second, I want to echo, um,
our NCUA team of professionals is

our greatest asset and resource.

They protect people, they protect
deposits, and they protect taxpayers

from losses at the shared insurance fund.

We need to keep that in mind.

And we need to continue to
demonstrate the compassion that we

have worked to build at this agency.

And I'm very proud that we've
worked to build at this agency

over the last several years.

Um, as a servant leader, my job,
again, is to listen, to learn, and to

find ways to lead that bring us to,
back to where the chairman suggested.

And that is consensus and compromise.

I do value all of the
work of our NCUA team.

I also do want to remind everybody, as
the chairman said, that your deposits at

federally insured credit unions are safe.

Up to at least 250, 000.

That hasn't changed.

That's not going to change.

And that's we're not going to take our
eyes off of that at any point in time.

With that, I'll end my comments
here with what I always send

my emails to staff with.

And that is be safe.

Be well, be kind.

Well said.

Board Member Oskar, you're recognized.

Hauptman: Thank you.

Um, excuse me.

Uh, I also want to congratulate,
uh, Chair Hoffman on his new role.

Um, and think, uh, board member Harper,
former chair Harper for his leadership.

Um, you know, I I do appreciate
the board's ability to continue

to work together on tough issues.

We did so last year, and I think
we will continue to do that this

year and in the coming years.

Um, and I want to, you know, echo
some of the comments that have

already been made, but Um, you know,
I have been deeply troubled by the

attacks on the federal workforce
who are here to serve the American

people and speaking directly to my N.

C.

U.

A.

colleagues.

I want you to know that as a former
career public servant myself, I have

the utmost respect and admiration
for the work that you do at the N.

C.

U.

A.

A lot of you have been in federal
service for your entire careers.

Many of you are veterans.

Many of you have private
sector experience as well.

Um, so I just want to reiterate my, um,
reverence for the work that you do and

the dedication with which you do it.

Without you all, we would not
have a strong examination program.

Questions from credit unions and
consumers alike would go unanswered.

We wouldn't be able to charter
new credit unions or process

field membership applications
or provide technical assistance.

Or issued guidance to the credit
union industry and the list goes on.

Um, so thank you for what
you do day in and day out.

Um, you are extremely
important to the agency as my

colleagues have, uh, also said.

And I think the continuity of staff
and our ability to stay, uh, keep our

eyes on the prize, keep our eyes on
the mission is extremely important.

Um, I also wanna reiterate
my open door policy.

When I joined the board last year, um.

Um, I, I, I noted that and, um, I
want to reiterate it, uh, right now.

So as you and your teams navigate changes
here at NCUA, as you, uh, you know, as

you navigate new issues that we may come
across from a substantive standpoint,

really with anything, please feel
free to reach out to me and my staff.

Um, I really do have an open door policy.

And again, thank you for
all the work that you do.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yeah, um.

I think we agree.

One thing about this, this isn't the
Pentagon, the giant 2 million employee

thing where like almost no one ever
even sees the Secretary of Defense.

This isn't the Federal Reserve where
it's kind of hard to get an audience

with the Federal Reserve chair, even
if you're pretty senior at the Fed.

We're pretty easy to reach and talk
to, and I think that's a good thing.

Okay, that's it from , Hollywood,
Florida, the NCOA board reporting

that staff morale is important.

Staff is the number one resources.

Your deposits are safe.

And one last quote, , Winston Churchill,
one of my favorite quotes and one

of my daughter's favorite quotes.

I said it so much when she was
a runner back in high school and

college, she got a tattoo of this
Winston Churchill quote, which is

when going through hell, keep going.

That's it.

That's a wrap.

Mark Treichel signing
off with Flying Colors.

If you're at GAC and see me, let's chat.

Talk to you soon.