Proposed NCUA budget reduction signals careful management, responsiveness

October 27, 2025

The proposed reduction from 2025 to 2026 signals NCUA’s commitment to careful resource management and responsiveness to stakeholder concerns. America’s Credit Unions supports NCUA’s continued transparency and publishing of the detailed draft budget, reiterating that stance in comments filed with the agency Friday.

The proposed 2026 budget is a 20.6% decrease from 2025, according to the 2026–2027 staff draft budget justification.

“We appreciate the NCUA’s commitment to transparency, modernization, and operational efficiency,” wrote America’s Credit Unions Chief Economist Curt Long. “As the agency finalizes its 2026-2027 Budget, we respectfully request additional clarity regarding the scope and purpose of the reorganization, detailed cost analysis of the MERIT platform, and continued focus on investments that deliver measurable long-term efficiencies.”

Suggestions include:

  • NCUA should use the voluntary separation program and federal hiring freeze to assess what resources it truly needs and build a leaner, more adaptable workforce;
  • Examination time and travel should focus on the highest-risk and most complex credit unions, while low-risk, well-run credit unions can be supervised more remotely using data and analytics;
  • The agency should also take a closer look at how its specialized oversight functions are organized and modernize its approach to consumer protection oversight;
  • Each part of the budget should include clear measures that show how effectively the money is being used and its impact;
  • NCUA should accelerate development of its enterprise data platform and expand use of analytics to support off-site supervision and predictive risk modeling;
  • A portion of the NCUA’s budget should be devoted to innovation-related activities, such as pilot programs, interagency partnerships, and technical assistance grants;
  • America’s Credit Unions encourages the NCUA to provide a clear description of the anticipated changes to its organizational structure, including how they are expected to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

The NCUA has set a public budget briefing for Nov. 5, and America’s Credit Unions has requested to present. NCUA is accepting written comments on the proposed budget through Nov. 7.

Read the full letter