The NCUA Staff Draft 2019-2020 Budget Justification, 49692-49768 [2018-21282]
Download as PDF
49692
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
supplementary-materials.aspx. Printed
copies will be available at the October
17, 2018 budget briefing.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Rendell Jones, Chief Financial Officer,
National Credit Union Administration,
1775 Duke Street, Alexandria, Virginia
22314–3428 or telephone: (703) 518–
6571.
NATIONAL CREDIT UNION
ADMINISTRATION
The NCUA Staff Draft 2019–2020
Budget Justification
National Credit Union
Administration (NCUA).
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
The NCUA draft detailed
business-type budget is being made
available for public review as required
by federal statute. The proposed
resources will support the agency’s
annual operations and continue
implementation of the agency’s
reorganization plan. The briefing
schedule and comment instructions are
included in the supplementary
information section.
DATES: Requests to deliver a statement at
the budget briefing must be received on
or before Tuesday, October 9, 2018.
Written statements and presentations for
those scheduled to appear at the budget
briefing must be received on or before
Monday, October 15, 2018.
Written comments without public
presentation at the budget briefing may
be submitted by Friday, October 26,
2018.
SUMMARY:
You may submit comments
by any of the following methods (Please
send comments by one method only):
• Presentation at public budget
briefing: Submit requests to deliver a
statement at the briefing to
BudgetBriefing@ncua.gov by Tuesday,
October 9, 2018. Include your name,
title, affiliation, mailing address, email
address, and telephone number. Copies
of your presentation must be submitted
to the same email address by Monday,
October 15, 2018.
• Written comments: Submit
comments to BudgetComments@
ncua.gov by Friday, October 26, 2018.
Include your name and the following
subject line ‘‘Comments on the NCUA
Draft 2019–2020 Budget Justification.’’
Public Inspection: Copies of the
NCUA Draft 2019–2020 Budget
Justification and associated materials
are also available on the NCUA website
at https://www.ncua.gov/About/Pages/
budget-strategic-planning/
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
ADDRESSES:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. The NCUA Budget in Brief
II. Introduction and Strategic Context
III. Forecast and Enterprise Challenges
IV. Key Themes of the 2019–2020 Budget
V. Operating Budget
VI. Capital Budget
VII. Share Insurance Fund Administrative
Budget
VIII. Financing the NCUA Budget
IX. Appendix A: Supplemental Budget
Information
X: Appendix B: Capital Projects
Section 212 of the Economic Growth,
Regulatory Relief, and Consumer
Protection Act (Pub. L. 115–174)
amended 12 U.S.C. 1789(b)(1)(A) to
require the NCUA Board (Board) to
‘‘make publicly available and publish in
the Federal Register a draft of the
detailed business-type budget.’’
Although 12 U.S.C. 1789(b)(1)(A)
requires publication of a ‘‘business-type
budget’’ only for the agency operations
arising under the Federal Credit Union
Act’s subchapter on insurance activities,
in the interest of transparency the Board
is providing the agency’s entire staff
draft 2019–2020 Budget Justification
(budget) in this Notice.
The draft budget details the resources
required to support NCUA’s mission as
outlined in its 2018–2022 Strategic Plan.
The draft budget includes personnel and
dollar estimates for three major budget
components: (1) The Operating Budget;
(2) the Capital Budget; and (3) the Share
Insurance Fund Administrative Budget.
The resources proposed in the draft
budget will be used to carry out the
agency’s annual operations and to
continue implementation of the
agency’s reorganization plan.
The NCUA staff will present its draft
budget to the Board at a budget briefing
open to the public and scheduled for
Wednesday, October 17, 2018 at 10 a.m.
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4703
Eastern. The budget briefing will be
held in the NCUA Board meeting room
and run for approximately two hours. A
livestream of the briefing also will be
available through a link on ncua.gov.
If you wish to attend the briefing and
deliver a statement, you must email a
request to BudgetBriefing@ncua.gov by
Tuesday, October 9, 2018. Your request
must include your name, title,
affiliation, mailing address, email
address, and telephone number. The
NCUA will work to accommodate as
many public statements as possible at
the October 17, 2018 budget briefing.
The Board Secretary will inform you if
you have been approved to make a
presentation and how much time you
will be allotted. A written copy of your
presentation must be delivered to the
Board Secretary via email at
BudgetBriefing@ncua.gov by Monday,
October 15, 2018.
Written comments on the draft budget
will also be accepted by email at
BudgetComments@ncua.gov until
Friday, October 26, 2018. Include your
name and the following subject line
with your comments: ‘‘Comments on the
NCUA Draft 2019–2020 Budget
Justification.’’
All comments should provide
specific, actionable recommendations
rather than general remarks. The Board
will review and consider any comments
from the public prior to approving the
budget.
I. The NCUA Budget in Brief
Proposed 2019 and 2020 Budgets
The goals and objectives set forth in
the National Credit Union
Administration’s (NCUA) Strategic Plan
2018–2022 (https://www.ncua.gov/
About/Documents/AgendaItems/AG2
0160721Item2b.pdf) form the basis for
determining agency resource needs and
allocations. The annual budget provides
the resources to execute the strategic
plan, to implement the agency
reorganization, and to undertake the
NCUA’s major programs: Examination
and supervision, insurance, credit union
development, consumer financial
protection, and asset management.
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
The NCUA’s 2019–2020 budget
justification consists of three separate
budgets: The Operating Budget, the
Capital Budget, and the Share Insurance
Fund Administrative Budget.
Combined, these three budgets total
$334.8 million for 2019, which is 1.1
percent more than the 2019 funding
level approved by the NCUA Board (the
Board) in November 2017, and 4.3
percent more than the comparable 2018
Board Approved Budget. Personnel
levels for 2019 and 2020 reflect the
agency’s expected staffing after
completing implementation of its
reorganization plan, and are lower than
the 2018 levels by 10 positions.
The following chart presents the
major categories of spending supported
by the 2019 budget, while specific
adjustments to the 2018 Board
Operating Budget
the 2018 Board Approved Budget. In
nominal dollars, the 2019 Budget
increases by $6.3 million, or 2.1 percent,
over the 2018 Board Approved Budget
of $298.1 million.
The Operating Budget estimate for
2020 is $316.2 million and reflects no
change to authorized positions.
The following chart shows recent
year-on-year trends for the NCUA
Operating Budget, in both nominal
(green line) and real dollar (blue line,
inflation-adjusted) terms:
Approved Budget are discussed in
further detail, below:
EN02OC18.005
The proposed 2019 Operating Budget
is $304.4 million. Personnel levels
decrease by ten full-time equivalents
(FTE) compared to the 2018 Board
Approved Budget.
The 2019 Operating Budget, when
adjusted for inflation, represents a real
dollar decrease of approximately
$624,000, or 0.2 percent, compared to
49693
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4703
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.004
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Staffing. The budget supports 1,178
FTE in 2019, a decrease of ten FTEs
from 2018. For 2019, the reorganization
plan eliminated 15 positions in the
NCUA’s regional offices, and the budget
proposes five new positions in the
Offices of Examination and Insurance,
the Chief Economist, and the General
Counsel. Three positions focused on
Business Innovation will be filled by
reallocating vacancies. As shown in the
chart below, the NCUA staffing has
decreased in recent years despite
significant credit union asset growth.
Pay and Benefits. Pay and benefits
increase by $2.1 million in 2019, or one
percent, for a budget of $222.8 million.
This increase supports the merit and
locality pay adjustments required by the
NCUA’s current collective bargaining
agreement, the new positions described
above, anticipated staff promotions,
position changes, and increased costs
for other mandatory employer
contributions such as health insurance
and retirement contributions. The 2020
pay and benefits budget is estimated at
$233.6 million, which reflects increases
associated with merit and locality pay
inflation, the full cost of new positions
added in 2019, and an increase in
required retirement fund payments to
the Office of Personnel Management
(OPM), which manages government
employees’ retirement programs for
nearly all federal agencies.
The Federal Employees Retirement
System (FERS) covers most NCUA
employees and includes a defined
pension benefit, which is funded by
both employee and employer
contributions. OPM will charge the
NCUA a mandatory employer
contribution of 13.7 percent of total
FERS employee salaries in 2019, which
will increase to 16 percent in 2020, a
change of 230 basis points. This
increase will require the NCUA to pay
OPM approximately $3.5 million more
in retirement contributions in 2020.
Excluding additional employer
contributions from the 2020 budget,
total personnel compensation growth
would be 3.3 percent instead of 4.8
percent, and total Operating Budget
growth would be 2.7 percent instead of
3.9 percent.
Travel. The travel budget increases by
$326,000 in 2019, or one percent, for a
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4703
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.007
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
EN02OC18.006
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
49694
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
budget of $26.8 million. The NCUA has
constrained the growth of travel costs by
continuing to expand offsite
examination work and use technologydriven training. Government-wide per
diem rates published by the General
Services Administration (GSA) are
expected to increase by almost eight
percent in 2019, accounting for a
significant share of the travel budget
growth. The NCUA plans to hold a
national program examination training
event in 2020 that will coincide with
full deployment of the new Examination
and Supervision Solution system.
Rent, Communications, and Utilities.
Rent, communications, and utilities will
decrease by $445,000 in 2019, or five
percent, for a budget of $8.0 million.
This funding pays for essential
telecommunications services, data
capacity contracts, and information
technology network support. The
decrease is primarily due to a reduction
in leased office space as a result of
regional consolidation.
Administrative Expenses.
Administrative expenses increase by
$1.2 million in 2019, or 16 percent, for
a total budget of $8.7 million. Increases
are attributable to recurring cost items
such as shared Federal Financial
Institutions Examination Council fees,
relocation expenses, and software
licenses.
Contracted Services. Contracted
services expenses increase by $3.1
million in 2019, or nine percent, for a
total budget of $38.1 million. This
funding pays for products and services
acquired in the commercial
marketplace, and includes critical
mission support services such as
information technology hardware and
software support, accounting and
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
auditing services, and specialized
subject matter expertise. The increase of
information technology operations and
maintenance, and mandatory
accounting system service provider
costs are the primary drivers of the
increase.
Capital Budget
The proposed 2019 Capital Budget is
$22.0 million.
The 2019 Capital Budget is $0.9
million more than the 2019 funding
level approved by the Board in
November 2017, and $6.6 million more
than the 2018 Board Approved Budget.
The Capital Budget pays for
continued investments in technology
and infrastructure projects, as well as
several new initiatives that will start in
2019, including a replacement of the
agency’s antiquated AIRES examination
software, which is used by both federal
and state examiners in almost all credit
union examinations. The NCUA’s
Information Technology Prioritization
Council recommended $17.1 million for
IT software development projects that
continue to replace the NCUA’s
decades-old and functionally obsolete
information technology systems, and $4
million in other IT investments for
2019. The NCUA facilities require $0.9
million in capital investments.
Share Insurance Fund Administrative
Expenses
The proposed 2019 Share Insurance
Fund Administrative budget is $8.4
million.
The 2019 Share Insurance Fund
Administrative Budget is $0.9 million
more than the 2019 funding level
approved by the Board in November,
2017, and $0.3 million more than the
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4703
49695
2018 Board Approved Budget. The
increase is primarily attributed to
increased use of consultants and
contractor support for credit union
stress testing. Direct charges within this
budget include administration of the
NCUA Guaranteed Note (NGN) program,
state examiner training and laptop
leases, as well as financial audit
support.
Budget Trends
Since 2017, inflation has matched or
outpaced the growth of the NCUA
budget. While the NCUA’s annual
Operating Budget is projected to
increase 2.1 percent from 2018 to 2019,
inflation is forecast to be 2.3 percent.
Therefore, in real dollar terms, the
NCUA Operating Budget is 0.2 percent
lower in 2019 than in 2018 (i.e., 2.1
percent budgetary growth less 2.3
percent inflation). Likewise, the
projected 2.7 percent total budget
growth between 2019 and 2020
represents an inflation-adjusted increase
of only 0.4 percent, based on the
assumption that 2020 economic
inflation remains constant at 2.3 percent
(i.e., 2.7 percent budgetary growth less
2.3 percent inflation).
In addition, as shown in the chart
below, the relative size of the NCUA
budget (red line) continues to decline
when compared to balance sheets at
federally-insured credit unions (gray
line). This trend illustrates the greater
operating efficiencies the NCUA has
attained in the last several years.
Additionally, the NCUA has improved
its operating efficiencies more
aggressively than other financial
industry regulators (red line compared
to blue line).
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
It is also notable that the NCUA’s
operations have become more efficient
relative to the size of the credit union
system because consolidation in the
industry has led to growth in the
number of large credit unions,
specifically those with more than $10
billion in assets. This results in
additional complexity in the balance
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
sheets of such credit unions, and a
corresponding increase in the
supervisory review required to ensure
the safety and soundness of such large
institutions. The NCUA has responded
to this increasing complexity through
several initiatives: Creation of the
specialized Office of National
Examination and Supervision (ONES),
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4703
development of an improved analytic
model for large credit unions’ financial
condition, and improved quality of
examination reports through enhanced
quality review processes.
2019 Budget in Brief: Summary Table
BILLING CODE 7535–01–P
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.008
49696
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
49697
2019 Budget in Brief: Summary Table
The 2019 budget provides the resources required to
execute the priorities outlined in the NCUA's
Strategic Plan (2018-2022).
1,178.0
l
10
-0.8%
The 2019 FIE level decreases by a net change of
ten positions from 1,188 authorized in 2018.
The pay and benefits adjustment covers merit and
locality pay changes required by the Collective
Bargaining Agreement. The increase also funds
mandatory employer contributions for health
insurance and retirement, and new FTEs.
$26.8
i $0.3
+1.2%
The travel budget increases by $326,000. Travel
requirements align with program examination
workload. GSA 2019 per diem increases also
account for the growth in estimated travel.
$8.0
l $0.4
-5.2%
Rent, communications, and utilities budget
maintains essential telecommunications, data
capacity, and network support.
$8.7
i $1.2
+16.0% Administration expenses primarily support
operational requirements, FFIEC fees, relocation
expenses, and employee supplies.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
i $3.1
Frm 00007
+8.9°/0
Fmt 4701
Contracted services reflect costs incurred when
products and services are acquired in the
commercial marketplace and include critical
mission support services such as information
technology hardware and software development
support, accounting and auditing services, and
specialized subject matter expertise.
Sfmt 4725
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.009
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
$38.1
49698
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
II. Introduction and Strategic Context
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
History
For more than 100 years, credit
unions have provided financial services
to their members in the United States.
Credit unions are unique depository
institutions created not for profit, but to
serve their members as credit
cooperatives.
The NCUA is the independent federal
agency created by the U.S. Congress to
regulate, charter, and supervise federal
credit unions. With the backing of the
full faith and credit of the U.S.
Government, the NCUA operates and
manages the National Credit Union
Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF),
insuring the deposits of the account
holders in all federal credit unions and
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
the vast majority of state-chartered
credit unions.
The NCUA, through its predecessors,
was created in 1934 with the passage of
the Federal Credit Union Act. As the
products and services provided to
members of credit unions changed over
the years, the NCUA’s supervision and
regulation evolved as well. In 1970,
Congress created the NCUSIF to protect
deposits by providing the backing of the
full faith and credit of the U.S.
Government to credit union accounts.
No credit union member has ever lost a
penny of deposits insured by the
NCUSIF.
The NCUA is responsible for the
regulation and supervision of 5,480
federally insured credit unions 1 with
1 Source: The NCUA quarterly call report data, Q2
2018.
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4703
approximately 114.1 million members 1
and more than $1.4 trillion 1 in assets
across all states and U.S. territories.
Authority
Pursuant to the Federal Credit Union
Act, authority for management of the
NCUA is vested in the NCUA Board (the
Board). It is the Board’s responsibility to
determine the resources necessary to
carry out the NCUA’s responsibilities
under the Act.2 The Board is authorized
to expend such funds and perform such
other functions or acts as it deems
necessary or appropriate in accordance
with the rules, regulations, or policies it
establishes.3
Upon determination of the budgeted
annual expenses for the agency’s
2 See
3 See
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
12 U.S.C. 1752a(a).
12 U.S.C. 1766(i)(2).
02OCN2
EN02OC18.010
BILLING CODE 7535–01–C
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
operations, the Board determines a fee
schedule to assess federal credit unions.
The Board gives consideration to the
ability of federal credit unions to pay
such a fee, and the necessity of the
expenses the NCUA will incur in
carrying out its responsibilities in
connection with federal credit unions.4
Pursuant to the law, fees collected are
deposited in the agency’s Operating
Fund at the Treasury of the United
States, and those fees are expended by
the Board to defray the cost of carrying
out the agency’s operations, including
the examination and supervision of
federal credit unions.5 In accordance
with its authority to use the NCUSIF to
carry out a portion of its
responsibilities, the Board approves an
annual Overhead Transfer Rate and
transfers resources from the Share
Insurance Fund to the Operating Fund
on a monthly basis to account for
insurance-related expenses.6
Mission, Goals, and Strategy
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
The NCUA’s 2019–2020 Budget
Submission supports the agency’s
second year implementing its 2018–
2022 Strategic Plan (https://
www.ncua.gov/About/Documents/
AgendaItems/AG20160721Item2b.pdf)
to achieve its priorities and improve
program performance.
Throughout 2019 and 2020, the
NCUA will continue fulfilling its
mission to ‘‘provide, through regulation
and supervision, a safe and sound credit
union system which promotes
confidence in the national system of
cooperative credit,’’ and its vision to
ensure that the ‘‘NCUA protects credit
unions and consumers who own them
through effective supervision, regulation
and insurance.’’ This budget commits
the resources necessary to implement
the NCUA’s plans to identify key
challenges facing the credit union
industry and leverage agency strengths
to help credit unions address those
challenges.
The budget supports the NCUA’s
programs, which are focused on
achieving the agency’s three strategic
goals:
D Ensure a safe and sound credit
union system;
D Provide a regulatory framework that
is transparent, efficient, and improves
consumer access; and
4 See
12 U.S.C. 1755(a)–(b).
12 U.S.C. 1755(d).
6 See 12 U.S.C. 1783(a).
5 See
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
D Maximize organizational
performance to enable mission success.
Additional information about
alignment of the budget to the NCUA’s
strategic goals is in Appendix A.
In support of its first strategic goal—
ensure a safe and sound credit union
system—the NCUA will continue to
supervise federally insured credit
unions effectively while insuring a
growing and evolving credit union
system. As highlighted in the Strategic
Plan, the credit union system faces
several key risks, including:
• How credit unions respond to a
changing economic environment,
• technological changes in how
consumers interact with financial
institutions, in addition to more general
technological advances,
• increasing competition and
consolidation within the financial
services industry,
• demographic shifts, such as aging
credit union membership,
• forecasts that the U.S. population
will become more diverse, implying
changes in the services needed by credit
union members, and
• generational shifts in consumer
preferences.
Each risk requires continual
monitoring and, where prudent, riskmitigation strategies to protect the
overall credit union system from
preventable losses or failures. The
NCUA staff of credit union examiners
are the agency’s most important assets
for identifying and addressing risks
before they threaten members’ deposits.
To do their jobs effectively in this
complex and dynamic financial
environment, the NCUA staff require the
advanced skills, training, and tools
supported by the budget.
To fulfill the NCUA’s second strategic
goal—provide a regulatory framework
that is transparent, efficient, and
improves customer access—the agency
strives to issue balanced, clear, and
straightforward regulations while
addressing emerging adverse trends in a
timely manner. The NCUA also seeks to
improve consumer access and ensure
consumer compliance, financial
protection, and consumer education.
The budget allocates resources to agency
programs that keep regulations up to
date and consistent with current law,
assist existing and prospective credit
unions with expansion and new
chartering activities, and promote
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4703
49699
consumer awareness of sound financial
practices.
Accomplishing the third strategic
goal—maximize organizational
performance to enable mission
success—ensures the NCUA employees
achieve the agency’s mission by
supporting them through efficient and
effective business processes, modern
and secure technology, and suitable
tools and workspaces necessary to
perform their duties. The budget makes
investments in better process
management and internal controls,
improved tools and facilities for the
NCUA staff, and technological
enhancements including new systems
that will improve operational
effectiveness and efficiency.
Organization, Major Agency Programs,
and Workforce
The NCUA employs regional offices to
perform all the tasks in the agency’s
major program areas and support
functions, a central office to administer
and oversee its programs, and an Asset
Management and Assistance Center
(AMAC) to liquidate failed credit unions
and recover assets.
Effective January 2019, the NCUA
plans to consolidate its five regional
offices into three—Eastern, Southern,
and Western—as part of its on-going
effort to strengthen agency operations
while increasing efficiency. Reporting to
these regional offices, the NCUA has
credit union examiners responsible for a
portfolio of credit unions covering all 50
states, the District of Columbia, Guam,
Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
One-time costs associated with the
NCUA reorganization are being funded
by reprioritizing unspent balances from
2017 and 2018 budgets. These costs
include: Salaries and benefits for
current employees whose positions will
be eliminated after their separation from
the agency, leased office space in
Albany, New York and Atlanta, Georgia
that will be vacated at the end of 2018,
central office renovation costs necessary
to consolidate the former Region II
office staff into the NCUA-owned
central office building, and other
miscellaneous one-time relocation,
separation, and other contractual
payments.
The NCUA organizational chart below
reflects the new regional structure, and
the map shows the new regions’
geographical alignment:
BILLING CODE 7535–01–P
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
VerDate Sep<11>2014
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.011
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
49700
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
The NCUA’s new regional office
structure will carry out the agency’s
2019 examination workload. Based on
second quarter statistics from call
reports, the number of credit unions,
members, and assets shows a rough
estimate of the how the workload will
be divided among the new regional
offices:
• Eastern Region: 2,055 credit unions
with 30.6 million members and $386
billion in assets.
• Southern Region: 1,668 credit
unions with 31.2 million members and
$340 billion in assets.
• Western Region: 1,751 credit unions
with 37.4 million members and $504
billion in assets.
In addition, the Office of National
Examination and Supervision (ONES)
will continue to examine credit unions
with assets that total over $10 billion
and that are located throughout the
United States. Based on 2018 second
quarter call report statistics, there are
currently six such credit unions with
14.8 million members, accounting for
$200 billion in credit union assets.
In 2019 and 2020, the agency’s
workforce will undertake tasks in all of
the NCUA’s major programs:
• Supervision: The NCUA supervises
federally insured credit unions through
examinations and regulatory
enforcement including providing
guidance through various publications,
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
taking administrative actions and
conserving, liquidating, or merging
severely troubled institutions as
necessary to manage risk.
• Insurance: The NCUA manages the
$16 billion NCUSIF, which provides
insurance for deposits up to $250,000
that are held at federally insured credit
unions. The fund is capitalized by credit
unions and through retained earnings.
• Credit Union Development: The
NCUA charters new federal credit
unions, as well as approves
modifications to existing charters and
fields of membership. Through training,
partnerships and resource assistance,
the NCUA fosters credit union
development, particularly the expansion
of services to eligible members provided
by small, minority, newly chartered,
and low-income designated credit
unions.
• Consumer Financial Protection: The
NCUA protects consumers’ rights
through effective enforcement of federal
consumer financial protection laws,
regulations, and requirements. The
NCUA also develops and promotes
financial education programs for credit
unions to assist members in making
smarter financial decisions.
• Asset Management: The NCUA
conducts credit union liquidations and
performs management and recovery of
assets through the AMAC. The new
Southern Region includes AMAC.
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4703
• Stakeholder Outreach: In order to
clearly understand the needs of the
credit union system, the NCUA seeks
input from all of its stakeholders,
including Congress, State Supervisory
Authorities, credit union members,
credit unions and their associations.
• Cross-Agency Collaboration: The
NCUA is involved in numerous crossagency initiatives by collaborating with
the other financial regulatory agencies
including through participation in
several councils. Significant councils
include the Financial Stability
Oversight Council (FSOC), the Federal
Financial Institutions Examination
Council (FFIEC), and the Financial and
Banking Information Infrastructure
Committee (FBIIC).
Budget Process—Strategy to Budget
The NCUA’s budget process starts
with a review of the agency’s goals and
objectives set forth in the Strategic Plan
(https://www.ncua.gov/About/
Documents/AgendaItems/AG20160721
Item2b.pdf). The Strategic Plan is a
framework that sets the agency’s
direction and guides resource requests,
so that the agency’s resources and
workforce are allocated and aligned to
agency priorities and initiatives.
Each regional and central office
director at the NCUA develops an initial
budget request identifying the resources
for their office to support the NCUA’s
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.012
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
BILLING CODE 7535–01–C
49701
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
49702
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
mission, strategic goals, and strategic
objectives. These budgets are developed
to ensure each office’s requirements are
individually justified and remain
consistent with the agency’s overall
Strategic Plan.
For regional offices, one of the
primary inputs in the development
process is a comprehensive workload
analysis that estimates the amount of
time necessary to conduct examinations
and to supervise federally insured credit
unions in order to carry out the NCUA’s
dual mission as insurer and regulator.
This analysis starts with a field-level
review of every federally insured credit
union to estimate the number of
workload hours needed for the current
year. The workload estimates are then
refined by regional managers and
submitted to the NCUA central office for
the annual budget proposal. The
workload analysis accounts for the
efforts of nearly seventy percent of the
NCUA workforce and is the foundation
for budget requests from regional offices
and the Office of National Examinations
and Supervision (ONES).
In addition to the workload analysis,
from which central office budget staff
derive related personnel and travel cost
estimates, each of the NCUA offices
submit estimates for fixed and recurring
expenses, such as rental payments for
leased property, operations and
maintenance for owned facilities or
equipment, supplies,
telecommunications services, major
capital investments, and other
administrative and contracted services
costs.
Because information technology
investments impact all offices within
the agency, the NCUA has established
an Information Technology
Prioritization Council (ITPC). The ITPC
meets several times each year to
consider, analyze, and prioritize major
information technology investments to
ensure they are aligned with the
NCUA’s Strategic Plan. These focused
reviews result in a mutually agreedupon budget recommendation to
support the NCUA’s top short-term and
long-term information technology needs
and investment priorities.
Once compiled for the entire agency,
all office budget submissions undergo
thorough reviews by the responsible
regional and central office directors, the
Chief Financial Officer, and the NCUA
executive leadership. Through a series
of presentations and briefings by the
relevant office executives, the NCUA
Executive Director formulates an
agency-wide budget recommendation
for approval by the Board.
In recent years, the Board has
emphasized the need for increased
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
transparency of the NCUA’s finances
and its budgeting processes. In
response, the Office of the Chief
Financial Officer has made draft budgets
available for public comment via the
NCUA’s website, and solicited public
comments before presenting final
budget recommendations for the Board’s
approval. Furthermore, the Economic
Growth, Regulatory Relief, and
Consumer Protection Act, Public Law
115–174, enacted May 24, 2018,
requires in Section 212 that the NCUA
‘‘make publicly available and publish in
the Federal Register a draft of the
detailed business-type budget.’’ To
fulfill this requirement, the Board
delegated to the Executive Director the
authority to publish the draft budget
before submitting it for Board review.
This budget justification document
includes comparisons to the Board
approved budget for 2018—2019. As in
the 2018 budget, this document
includes a summary description of the
major spending items in each budget
category to provide transparency and
understanding of the use of budgeted
resources. Estimates are provided by
major budget category, office, and cost
element.
The NCUA also posts supporting
documentation for its budget request on
the NCUA website (https://
www.ncua.gov/About/Pages/budgetstrategic-planning/supplementarymaterials.aspx) to assist the public in
understanding its budget development
process. The budget request for 2019
represents the NCUA’s projections of
operating and capital costs for the year,
and is subject to approval by the Board.
Commitment to Financial Stewardship
The NCUA funds its activities through
operating fees levied on all federal
credit unions and through
reimbursements from the Share
Insurance Fund, funded by both federal
credit unions and federally insured
state-chartered credit unions. The
Overhead Transfer Rate (OTR)
calculation determines the annual
amount that the Share Insurance Fund
reimburses the Operating Fund to pay
for the NCUA’s insurance-related
activities. At the end of each calendar
year, the NCUA’s financial transactions
are subject to audit in accordance with
Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles.7
Since nearly all of the revenue to
finance the NCUA’s programs comes
from non-profit credit unions, the Board
and the agency are committed to
providing sound financial stewardship.
In recent years, the NCUA Chief
7 See
PO 00000
12 U.S.C. 1783(b) and 1789(b).
Frm 00012
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4703
Financial Officer, with support and
direction from the Executive Director
and Board, has worked to improve the
NCUA’s financial management,
financial reporting, and budget
processes. In addition, through prudent
management of the Corporate System
Resolution Program, in July 2018 the
NCUA paid nearly $736 million in
dividends to over 5,700 credit unions—
an amount larger than the cumulative
total of all previous cash distributions
made since the agency’s Share
Insurance Fund was created.
In the 2018 budget, the NCUA revised
its financial presentations to conform to
Federal budgetary concepts and increase
transparency of the agency’s planned
financial activity. The 2019 budget
continues this presentation. The NCUA
is the only Financial Institutions
Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act
(FIRREA) agency that publishes a
detailed, draft budget and solicits public
comments on it at a meeting with its
Board or other agency leadership.
The NCUA works diligently to
strengthen its internal controls for
financial transactions, in accordance
with sound financial management
policies and practices. Based on the
results of the NCUA’s assessments
conducted through the course of 2017,
the agency provided an unmodified
Statement of Assurance (signed 2/15/
2018) that its management had
established and maintained effective
controls to achieve the objectives of the
Federal Managers Financial Integrity
Act (FMFIA) and Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) Circular A–123.
Specifically, the NCUA supports the
internal control objectives of reporting,
operations, and compliance, as well as
its integration with overarching risk
management activities. Within the
Office of the Chief Financial Officer, the
Internal Controls Assessment Team
(ICAT) continues to mature the agencywide internal control program and
continues to strengthen the overall
system of internal control, further
promote the importance of identifying
risk, and ensure that the agency has
identified appropriate responses to
mitigate identified risks, in accordance
with the Government Accountability
Office (GAO) Standards for Internal
Controls in Federal Government (Green
Book) requirements.
III. Forecast and Enterprise Challenges
Economic Outlook
The NCUA’s mission is to provide,
through regulation and supervision, a
safe and sound credit union system,
which promotes confidence in the
national system of cooperative credit.
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
49703
The challenges that the NCUA faces,
and the resources the NCUA requires to
fulfill its mission, depend on a variety
of factors that directly or indirectly
affect the health of the credit union
system. The NCUA must anticipate, to
the extent possible, developments that
will affect the system, develop
strategies, plans and processes to meet
both the current and anticipated needs,
and assemble the resources, including
staff, necessary to ensure a safe and
sound system.
One key determinant of credit union
performance is the underlying economic
environment in which they must
operate. In general, for the past few
years, the economy has supported solid
financial system performance. The
economy performed well in the first half
of 2018. Real GDP grew at a relatively
strong 3.2 percent annual rate, and the
unemployment rate dipped below 4.0
percent—near or below the fullemployment rate. Inflation edged
higher, moving closer to the Federal
Reserve’s 2-percent inflation target, and
Federal Reserve policymakers raised
short-term interest rates. Longer-term
rates also increased but a variety of
factors have kept them from moving in
lock-step with shorter-term rates.
With the support of a solid economic
foundation, credit union lending,
membership growth, and credit quality
remained strong through the second
quarter of 2018. Federally insured credit
unions added 4.8 million members over
the year, boosting credit union
membership to 114.1 million in the
second quarter of 2018. Credit union
shares and deposits rose 5.4 percent
over the year to $1.2 trillion. Total loans
outstanding at federally insured credit
unions increased 9.8 percent to $1.0
trillion, and the system-wide loan
delinquency rate fell to 67 basis points,
down from 75 basis points a year earlier.
The credit union system’s return on
average assets rose to 90 basis points,
and the system’s net worth ratio
increased to just over 11 percent in the
second quarter.
The consensus of forecasters suggests
the economic environment will
continue to be a solid support to credit
union performance over the 2019–2020
budget horizon. Forecasts for the next
two years call for somewhat slower
economic growth. Employment is
projected to continue to rise and the
unemployment rate—already below the
level associated with full employment—
is expected to remain low. Tight labor
market conditions are projected to keep
inflation near the Federal Reserve’s 2.0
percent target. Solid economic
conditions should remain a positive
force for credit union lending,
membership growth, and credit quality
over the budget horizon.
However, analysts caution that the
tight labor market conditions and higher
inflation could be associated with
higher interest rates. Federal Reserve
policymakers indicate that the federal
funds rate could move higher over the
next three years to fulfill their dual
mandate of maintaining maximum
employment and low inflation. Analysts
are projecting that short term interest
rates—which largely determine interest
payments credit unions make—could
rise relative to longer term interest rates,
which largely determine the interest
payments credit unions receive.
In the consensus projected economic
environment, credit unions’ ability to
manage and mitigate interest rate risk
will become increasingly important to
their success. On the liability side,
rising deposit rates, if realized, could
force credit unions to adapt more
quickly than in the past, since many
members have a number of financial
institution alternatives and can move
funds quickly between institutions.
On the asset side, the low interest rate
environment of the past decade has led
some credit unions to lengthen the term
of investments to boost their portfolio’s
earnings or to lock in relatively low
rates on long-term loans like mortgages.
For affected credit unions, higher
deposit rates will push up against low
loan rates, which would compress net
interest margins.
While the overall forecast appears
largely supportive of credit unions,
forecasts of the economic environment
are far from perfect. Some analysts are
suggesting the long expansion could end
during the NCUA 2019–2020 budget
period; a recession would pose
significant challenges to the system in
terms of rising delinquencies, reduced
loan demand, and, potentially, an
increase in shares as consumers move
funds from riskier investments into
safer, insured credit union deposits. The
NCUA, like the credit unions
themselves, needs to plan and prepare
for a range of economic outcomes that
could affect credit union performance
and determine resource needs.
In addition to risks associated with
movements in the general economy, the
NCUA and credit unions will need to
understand their increasing exposure to,
and address risks associated with, the
technological and structural changes
facing the system. Over the longer-term,
increased concentration of loan
portfolios, development of alternative
loan and deposit products, technologydriven changes in the financial
landscape, continued industry
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00013
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4703
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.013
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
49704
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
consolidation, and ongoing
demographic changes will continue to
shape the environment facing credit
unions and will determine the resource
needs of the NCUA.
Cybersecurity: Credit unions’
increasing use of technology is making
the credit union system more vulnerable
to cyber-attacks. The prevalence of
malware, ransomware, distributed
denial of service (DDOS) attacks, and
other forms of cyber intrusion are
creating challenges at credit unions of
all sizes, and will require ongoing
measures for containment. These trends
are likely to continue, and even
accelerate, over the next two years.
Lending trends: Increasing
concentrations in member business
loans and private student loans, in
addition to other new types of lending
by credit unions, emphasize the need
for long-term risk diversification and
effective risk management tools and
practices, along with expertise to
properly manage increasing
concentrations of risk.
Financial Landscape and Technology:
New financial products that mimic
deposit and loan accounts, such as
Apple Pay, Walmart pre-paid cards and
peer-to-peer lending, are emerging.
These new products pose a competitive
challenge to credit unions and banks
alike. Credit unions also face a range of
challenges from financial technology
(fintech) companies in the areas of
lending and the provision of other
services. For example, underwriting and
lending may be automated at a cost
below levels associated with more
traditional financial institutions, but
may not be subject to the same
regulations and safeguards that credit
unions and other traditional financial
institutions face. The emergence and
increasing importance of digital
currencies may pose both risks and
opportunities for credit unions. As these
institutions and products gain
popularity, credit unions may have to be
more active in marketing and rethink
their business models.
Technological changes outside the
financial sector may also lead to
changes in consumer behavior that
indirectly affect credit unions. For
example, the increase in on-demand use
of auto services and the potential for
pay-as-you-go on-demand vehicle
rental, could reduce purchases of
consumer-owned vehicles. That could
lead to a slowdown or reduction in the
demand for vehicle loans, now slightly
more than a third of the credit union
system loan portfolio.
Membership trends: While overall
credit union membership continues to
grow strongly, 50 percent of federally
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
insured credit unions had fewer
members at the end of the second
quarter of 2018 than a year earlier.
Demographic and field of membership
changes are likely to continue to result
in declining membership at many credit
unions. All credit unions need to
consider whether their product mix is
consistent with their members’ needs
and demographic profile. For example,
in some areas, to be effective, credit
unions may need to explore how to
meet the needs of an aging population
or of a growing Hispanic population.
Smaller credit unions’ challenges and
industry consolidation: Small credit
unions face challenges to their longterm viability for a variety of reasons,
including weak earnings, declining
membership, high loan delinquencies,
and elevated non-interest expenses. If
current consolidation trends persist,
there will be fewer credit unions in
operation and those that remain will be
considerably larger and more complex.
As of June 30, 2018, there were 542
federally insured credit unions with
assets of at least $500 million, 28
percent more than just five years earlier.
These 542 credit unions accounted for
71 percent of credit union members and
77 percent of credit union assets. Large
credit unions tend offer more complex
products, services and investments.
Increasingly complex institutions will
pose management challenges for the
institutions themselves, as well as the
NCUA; consolidation means the risks
posed by individual institutions will
become more significant to the Share
Insurance Fund.
Enterprise Risk Management
In light of the strategic direction and
the challenges and issues described
above, the NCUA employs an Enterprise
Risk Management (ERM) program. The
ERM program is a means by which
agency leadership evaluates the various
factors (both internal to the agency and
external in the industry) that can impact
the agency’s performance relative to its
mission, vision, and performance
outcomes. Agency priority risks include
both internal consideration such as the
agency’s internal controls framework, to
external factors such as credit union
concentration risk. All of these risks can
materially impact the agency’s ability to
achieve its mission.
The NCUA’s ERM Council provides
oversight of the agency’s enterprise risk
management activities. Through the
ERM program, the agency is identifying
and managing risks that could affect the
achievement of its mission. The ERM
program was established in 2015 to
include an enterprise risk appetite
statement and risk taxonomy. In 2018,
PO 00000
Frm 00014
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4703
the NCUA identified a number of
enterprise risks that helped inform the
agency’s planning and budget processes,
and assigned roles and responsibilities
for monitoring risks in several specific
activities. Overall, the NCUA’s ERM
program promotes effective internal
controls, which, when combined with
robust measurement and
communication, are central to costeffective decision-making and risk
optimization within the agency.
In its 2018–2022 iteration of its
Strategic Plan, the NCUA adopted its
first agency enterprise risk appetite
statement, which is:
The NCUA is vigilant and has an overall
judicious risk appetite. The NCUA’s primary
goal is to ensure the safety and soundness of
the credit union system and the agency
recognizes it is not desirable or practical to
avoid all risk. Acceptance of some risk is
often necessary to foster innovation and
agility. This risk appetite will guide the
NCUA’s actions to achieve its strategic
objectives in support of providing, through
regulation and supervision, a safe and sound
credit union system, which promotes
confidence in the national system of
cooperative credit.
The agency’s risk appetite will help
align risks with opportunities when
making decisions and allocating
resources to achieve the agency’s
strategic goals and objectives. This
enterprise risk appetite statement is part
of the NCUA’s overall management
approach and is supported by detailed
appetite statements for individual risk
areas.
In practice, this means that the NCUA
recognizes that risk is unavoidable and
sometimes inherent in carrying out the
agency’s mandate. The NCUA is
positioned to accept greater risks in
some areas than in others; however,
when consolidated, the risk appetite
should be within the boundaries
established for the entire agency. Crosscollaboration across programs and
functions is a fundamental piece of
ensuring the agency stays within its risk
appetite boundaries. The NCUA will
identify, assess, prioritize, respond to
and monitor risks to an acceptable level.
This budget proposal for 2019/2020
incorporates the NCUA’s enterprise risk
management program and agency risk
appetite in recommending how best to
allocate its resources.
IV. Key Themes of the 2019–2020
Budget
Overview
The budget supports the priorities and
goals outlined in the agency’s annual
performance plan and the NCUA
Strategic Plan 2018–2022 (https://
www.ncua.gov/About/Documents/
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
AgendaItems/AG20160721Item2b.pdf).
The resources and new initiatives
proposed in the budget support the
NCUA’s mission to maintain a safe and
sound credit union system.
The 2019–2020 budget carries forward
a number of key ongoing initiatives,
which include: The Exam Flexibility
Initiative; the increased use of off-site
examinations work and data analytics;
the modernization of information
technology systems; regulatory reform
initiatives; and efforts to implement
organizational efficiencies. Over the
course of the next five years, these
efforts will result in a more effective and
efficient organization.
In the 2019–2020 budget, the NCUA
continues to reduce its staffing,
reflecting greater operational efficiency
at the agency. The NCUA employees are
the agency’s most valuable resource for
achieving its mission, and the agency is
committed to a workplace and a
workforce with integrity, accountability,
transparency, inclusivity, and
proficiency. As the NCUA continues its
efforts to curb expenses and reduce
overhead costs, we will continue
investing in the workforce through
training and development, helping
employees develop the tools they need
to do their work effectively.
At the same time, managing the size
of the workforce is important from a
budgetary standpoint, because
employment-related costs are the single
largest driver of the NCUA budget. As
discussed in this document, the NCUA
continues to use workload models to
estimate the amount of time necessary
to conduct examinations and supervise
federally insured credit unions. This
analysis results in an estimate of the
staffing level required to carry out the
NCUA’s dual mission as insurer and
regulator. The NCUA continues to
assess and balance its mission workload
needs with the financial costs the
agency imposes on the credit union
system. Although the number of credit
unions continues to decline nationwide,
the NCUA must also consider the
increasing complexity and growing asset
base of the entire credit union system.
The efficiency and effectiveness of the
agency’s workforce is dependent upon
the resiliency of the NCUA’s
information technology infrastructure
and availability of technological
applications. The NCUA is committed
to implementing new technology
responsibly and delivering secure,
reliable and innovative technological
solutions to support its mission. This
necessitates investments funded in the
Capital Budget, to provide the analytical
tools and technology the workforce
needs to achieve the NCUA mission.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
Reorganization/Restructuring
In July 2017, the NCUA’s executive
leadership committed to a bold plan
that would invest in the agency’s future,
make critical organizational alignment
changes, and reduce overall staffing of
the agency. The Board approved a series
of operational actions to improve the
NCUA’s efficiency, effectiveness, and
focus on its core mission
responsibilities.
The NCUA’s reform plan positioned
the agency to meet the ongoing changes
in the industry it regulates and insures.
The U.S. financial sector is subject to
continuing advancements and emerging
risks, which necessitate changes in the
way the NCUA conducts its business.
Advancements in the type and quantity
of data available also demands a fresh
way of thinking about our business
model. At the same time, the continuing
reality of smaller credit unions merging
with larger ones, while existing credit
unions grow significantly in size and
complexity, requires an even more
strategic, nimble and innovative way to
carry out our responsibilities as
established in the Federal Credit Union
Act.
As a result of the NCUA’s on-going
implementation of its reform plan:
• The NCUA created an office
focused exclusively on new charters and
credit union expansion—the Credit
Union Resources and Expansion (CURE)
Office.
• The NCUA is lowering the agency’s
authorized staffing level from 1,247
positions in the 2016 approved budget,
down to 1,178 in the 2019 budget, a
reduction of 69 positions, or nearly 6
percent.
• Leased office space is being reduced
by 80 percent.
• Examination reports are being
improved through implementing
enhanced quality measures.
• Two regional offices will close in
January 2019.
• AMAC’s staffing has been reduced,
and support functions are now carried
out by the central office.
The agency is on-track to meet the
staffing reduction targets and other key
outcomes identified in the reform plan.
These actions are predicated on the
understanding that the industry is
consolidating and becoming more
complex at the same time. The NCUA
continues to examine how to best
reshape its workforce to meet future
needs, and to look for ways to contain
operating costs to create a more efficient
organization.
Modernizing the Examinations Process
In August 2018, the NCUA issued
Letter to Credit Unions: 18–CU–01–
PO 00000
Frm 00015
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4703
49705
‘‘Examination Modernization
Initiatives.’’ This letter outlined five
initiatives the NCUA Board approved to
modernize the agency’s examinations
processes. Some of the intended benefits
of these initiatives are:
• More efficient examinations and
supervision
• Reduced burden on credit unions
• More consistent and accurate
supervisory determinations
• Greater ability to adapt to changes in
the marketplace and credit union
business models
• Enhanced coordination with State
Supervisory Authorities
• Reduced travel costs
• Improved quality of life for examiners
• More secure, reliable, and flexible
technology foundation able to support
future expansion capabilities
These five initiatives are interrelated
and complement each other. As these
initiatives support and build upon each
other, they will ultimately result in a
fully modernized examination and
supervision program with various
incremental improvements occurring
along the way. Throughout this budget,
the NCUA aligns its resources in
support of these improvements. Below
is a more in-depth discussion of each of
the initiatives:
Flexible Examination Program
(FLEX). FLEX is a pilot program in the
Southern Region. FLEX is evaluating
conducting offsite certain existing exam
procedures. The pilot was developed to
assess examiners working remotely on
elements of examinations of well-run
credit unions that have the technology
and platforms to provide electronic data
securely. This program reflects the
NCUA’s most immediate solution to the
agency’s efforts to reduce, but not
eliminate, onsite presence during
exams.
In 2017, the NCUA tested the pilot
with five examiner groups in 28 credit
unions located in a variety of
geographical locations. The pilot was
tested on credit unions as small as $4
million in assets to those as large as $9.4
billion in assets.
Preliminary results from the pilot
show cost savings to the NCUA, realized
in part by reducing travel time and costs
for examiners. In designated FLEX
reviews, over 35 percent of the total
exam hours were performed offsite.
Credit union feedback has also been
positive, with the majority of credit
unions reporting positive experiences
with the modified exam approach.
However, the pilot identified the need
for the NCUA to have a secure file
transfer portal to support much of this
offsite work efficiently. The secure file
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
49706
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
transfer portal was fully deployed in
July 2018. The agency is currently
testing the portal and expects to move
forward developing plans to increase
agency use of offsite procedures.
ONES Data-Driven Supervision. This
initiative began in 2018 as an effort to
move to a continuous supervision
model for the large, natural-person
credit unions supervised by the Office
of National Examinations and
Supervision. The continuous
supervision model will use data-driven
analytics to monitor and identify credit
union risk while supporting the
transition to credit union-driven stress
testing. The data-driven supervision
initiative may lead to analytical
advancements that can be adapted for
supervising some or all other insured
credit unions.
Shared NCUA-State Regulator
Federally-Insured State Credit Unions
(FISCU) Program. In 2017, the NCUA
created the Joint NCUA-State Supervisor
Working Group (working group), which
is tasked with improving coordination
and scheduling for joint exams,
providing scheduling flexibility, and
reducing redundancy where possible.
The group’s goal is to minimize the
burden on FISCUs resulting from having
a separate financial regulator and
insurer.
In addition, the working group is
evaluating the efficacy, appropriateness,
and feasibility of adopting an
alternating-year examination approach
for FISCUs. A pilot program is under
development and will allow the NCUA,
state regulators, and stakeholders to
evaluate the benefits and challenges of
an alternate-year examination program.
The pilot will need to run about three
years in order to evaluate one full
alternating-year exam cycle, and will
provide valuable insight into the
advantages and risks of such an
approach prior to finalizing a decision
about a permanent alternating-year
exam cycle.
For joint examinations of FISCUs, the
working group is also exploring ways to
minimize duplication and overlap
through process improvements and
greater use of technology. In addition,
the working group is evaluating other
areas of potential duplication that can
be reduced or eliminated, such as loan
participations, CUSO and third party
vendor reviews, and other supervisory
matters. The goal of these reviews is to
better leverage the work of each
regulatory party in examining and
supervising FISCUs.
Enterprise Solution Modernization
(ESM). In November 2015, the NCUA
Board authorized the ESM program.
This effort will replace legacy
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
applications such as the examination
system (AIRES) and the Call Report data
collection tool (CU Online). ESM will
also introduce emerging and secure
technology that supports the NCUA’s
examination, data collection, and
reporting efforts. The result will be a
flexible technology architecture that
integrates modernized systems and tools
across the agency. The new systems will
streamline processes and procedures
helping create a more effective, less
burdensome process.
ESM will also provide essential
upgrades to the NCUA’s technology
foundation that supports the FLEX and
Virtual Exam efforts with:
• More efficient ways to securely
communicate with credit unions.
• Updated tools such as workflow
management, data integration,
document management, and customer
relationship management capabilities.
• A flexible framework that will
allow for integration of new solutions so
the NCUA’s supervisory systems can
evolve with changes to regulations, data
and analytical needs, and activities
credit unions engage in.
The first of a series of technology
upgrades from ESM are scheduled to
begin in 2019. Throughout the multiyear implementation phase of this
initiative, the NCUA will continue to
provide updates and engage
stakeholders.
Virtual Examination Program. In
2017, the NCUA Board approved the
project and associated resources to
research methods to conduct offsite as
many aspects of the examination and
supervision processes as possible. The
virtual exam project team is researching
ways to harness new and emerging data,
advancements in analytical techniques,
innovative technology, and
improvements in supervisory
approaches.
By identifying and adopting
alternative methods to remotely analyze
much of the financial and operational
condition of a credit union, with
equivalent or improved effectiveness
relative to current examinations, it may
be possible to significantly reduce the
frequency and scope of onsite
examinations. Onsite examination
activities could potentially be limited to
periodic data quality and governance
reviews, interventions for material
problems, and meetings or other
examination activities that need to be
handled in person.
The virtual exam should lead to
greater use of standardized interaction
protocols, advanced analytical
capabilities, and more-informed subject
matter experts. This should result in
more consistent and accurate
PO 00000
Frm 00016
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4703
supervisory determinations, provide
greater clarity and consistency with
respect to how the agency conducts
supervisory oversight, and reduce
coordination challenges between agency
and institution staff.
To be successful, it is likely
examination staff will need to analyze
more information about the credit union
being examined and communicate more
frequently with management at the
credit union. However, it is not the
agency’s intent to intervene in credit
unions’ day-to-day operations or
strategic planning.
The virtual examination team will
deliver to the NCUA board by the end
of 2020 a report discussing alternative
methods identified to remotely analyze
aspects of the financial and operational
condition of a credit union. For credit
unions that are compatible with this
approach, the agency’s goal is to
transform the examination and
supervision program into a
predominately virtual one within the
next five to ten years. The
transformation is expected to occur
through incremental adoption of the
corresponding new techniques and
approaches.
Reducing Regulatory Burden
The NCUA established a Regulatory
Reform Task Force (Task Force) in
March 2017 to oversee implementation
of the agency’s regulatory reform
agenda. This is consistent with the spirit
of Executive Order 13777 and the
Trump administration’s regulatory
reform agenda. Although the NCUA, as
an independent agency, is not required
to comply with Executive Order 13777,
the agency chose to review all of the
NCUA’s regulations, consistent with the
spirit of initiative and the public benefit
of periodic regulatory review. The Task
Force published and sought comment
on its first report in August 2017.
The NCUA has undertaken a series of
regulatory changes as part of this effort,
and continues to pursue a regulatory
reform agenda, including matters such
as advertising, field of membership,
equity distribution, and securitization.
The task force is in the process of
preparing its second report, which
should be issued in late 2018 or early
2019.
V. Operating Budget
Overview
The NCUA Operating Budget is the
annual resource plan for the NCUA to
conduct activities prescribed by the
Federal Credit Union Act of 1934. These
activities include: (1) Chartering new
Federal credit unions; (2) approving
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
field of membership applications of
Federal credit unions; (3) promulgating
regulations and providing guidance; (4)
performing regulatory compliance and
safety and soundness examinations; (5)
implementing and administering
enforcement actions, such as
prohibition orders, orders to cease and
desist, orders of conservatorship and
orders of liquidation; and (6)
administering the National Credit Union
Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF or the
Share Insurance Fund).
The NCUA funds its activities through
operating fees levied on all Federal
credit unions and through
reimbursements from the Share
Insurance Fund, which is funded by
both Federal credit unions and
federally-insured state-chartered credit
unions.
As outlined in the NCUA Letter to
Credit Unions 18–CU–01, dated August,
2018, there are several examination
modernization initiatives in process to
improve how the agency conducts
examinations and supervision. The
goals of these initiatives are to replace
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
outdated, end-of-life examination
systems, streamline processes, adopt
enhanced examination techniques, and
leverage new technology and data to
maintain high quality supervision of
insured credit unions with less on site
presence. Modernizing agency systems
and processes will reduce the burden on
the credit union community and
increase the effectiveness of the NCUA.
Staffing
The staffing levels proposed for 2019
reflect the resource requirements for
steady state operations at the NCUA as
it implements the agency reform plan
and modernizes the examination
process. The estimated resource level
will fund the appropriate workload
balance that supports extended exam
cycles and enhanced examinations. The
new positions supported by the budget
include a Business Data Lead, two
Business Innovation Officers, a Bank
Secrecy Act Specialist, a Financial
Technology Analyst, two Enforcement
and litigation attorneys, and one
Regulations and Legislation attorney.
PO 00000
Frm 00017
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4703
49707
There will be a realignment of three
regional office vacancies to offset three
of the new positions.
In 2019, the agency is also
establishing the Office of Business
Innovation to lead the Enterprise
Solution Modernization (ESM) program,
as well as other modernization and
business enterprise initiatives outside
the scope of ESM. This includes the
agency’s initiative to modernize the
member loan and share download,
advance the information security
program, and enhance analytics through
data management. Previously, the
employees assigned to Business
Innovation were included in the Office
of the Executive Director. By creating
the new office structure, the budget will
more clearly delineate these expenses
and be more transparent to interested
parties.
The budget for 2019 supports a total
agency staffing level of 1,178 personnel.
This is a net decrease of ten positions
from the Board-approved level for 2018,
or a decrease of 0.8 percent.
BILLING CODE 7535–01–P
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
49708
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Request for New Staff in 2019
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Business Data Lead (1 Position
Reallocated From Regional Vacancies)
The Office of Business Innovation
requires one full-time position to serve
as the Business Data leader who will
drive implementation of an agency-wide
analytic data strategy and governance
framework. This work will include: (1)
Chairing an enterprise analytic data
council; (2) supervising three enterprise
data stewards; (3) working with contract
consultants to assist the council and
data stewards; (4) piloting the enterprise
data strategy and governance
framework; (5) initiating the enterprise
data office study; and (6) recommending
and running a future state for enterprise
data management.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
Business Innovation Officers (2
Positions Reallocated From Regional
Vacancies)
The Office of Business Innovation
requires two Business Innovation
Officers to conduct the daily work to
support development of an agency-wide
analytic data strategy and governance
framework, including: (1) Creating and
executing a data governance framework,
(2) defining business requirements to
ensure initial proper configuration of
the NCUA’s analytic data repository, (3)
researching data information to update
the NCUA’s data dictionary and develop
data lineage requirements, and (4)
working with system owners and other
stakeholders to resolve conflicts and
facilitate acceptance into the data
framework.
PO 00000
Frm 00018
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4703
Bank Secrecy Act Specialist (+1 New
Position)
The Office of Examination and
Insurance requires a full-time position
to support Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)
policies and workload requirements.
The BSA has consumed considerable
attention within the NCUA and
throughout the government’s regulatory
responsibilities for the financial services
industry. Interagency planning and
policy development groups have already
created significant new workload for the
NCUA. This additional workload is
expected to continue as the interagency
groups develops new supervisory
policies, coordinate BSA-related
rulemaking, implement industry and
supervisory guidance, and conduct
industry outreach.
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.014
BILLING CODE 7535–01–C
Financial Technology Analyst (+1 New
Position)
The Office of the Chief Economist
requires one new employee to research
new financial technology innovations
and organize and lead a working group
to review these emerging technologies.
This position will also expand the
NCUA’s policy expertise in
cryptocurrencies.
supervisory offices’ formal enforcement
actions are being considered and
planned. These additional employees
will help improve the NCUA’s overall
enforcement process by focusing
support and investigatory efforts more
strategically and earlier in the
enforcement process.
Enforcement and Litigation Attorneys
(+2 New Positions)
The Office of General Counsel
requires two additional attorneys in the
Enforcement and Litigation Division to
support the agency and enable attorneys
to work more collaboratively as
The Office of General Counsel
requires an additional attorney for the
Division of Regulations and Legislation.
This attorney will focus on the review
of legislation, provide technical drafting
assistance for legislation when
necessary, write responses to
BILLING CODE 7535–01–C
Salaries and Benefits
The budget includes $222.8 million
for employee salaries and benefits in
2019. This change is a $2.1 million, or
1.0 percent, increase from the 2018
Board Approved Budget.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
Regulations and Legislation Attorney
(+1 New Position)
Salaries and benefits make up 73
percent of the total budget. The primary
driver of increased costs in the Salaries
and Benefits category is merit and
locality pay increases for the NCUA’s
1,173 personnel paid from the Operating
Budget, in accordance with the agency’s
current Collective Bargaining
PO 00000
Frm 00019
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4703
49709
Congressional and interagency
inquiries, and assist in drafting both oral
and written testimony for Congressional
hearings. The new attorney will also
coordinate legislative efforts with other
public and Congressional Affairs staff at
the NCUA.
Budget Category Descriptions and Major
Changes
There are five major expenditure
categories in the NCUA’s budget. This
section explains how these expenditures
support the NCUA’s operations, and
presents a transparent and
comprehensive accounting of the
Operating Budget.
BILLING CODE 7535–01–P
Agreement (CBA) and its merit-based
pay system. In 2019, the NCUA’s
compensation levels will continue to
‘‘maintain comparability with other
federal bank regulatory agencies,’’ as
required by the Federal Credit Union
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.015
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
49710
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Act.8 The Salaries and Benefits category
of the budget includes all employee pay
raises for 2019, such as merit and
locality increases, and those for
promotions, reassignments, and other
changes, as described below.
Consistent with other federal pay
systems, the NCUA’s compensation
includes base pay and locality pay
components. The NCUA staff will be
eligible to receive an average meritbased increase of 3.0 percent, and an
additional locality adjustment ranging
from zero to 3.0 percent, depending on
location. The average increase in
locality pay is estimated to be 1.4
percent. Starting in 2019, the NCUA
discontinued the annual, general pay
scale increase of 1.25 percent in
accordance with recent CBA
negotiations. By merging the general pay
scale increase into the annual meritbased pay increase, the NCUA expects
to better reward employee performance
while reducing future year payroll
growth.
The first-year cost of the new
positions added in 2019 is estimated to
be $1.0 million, or approximately half
the annual salaries and benefits
associated with the positions since these
new employees will be hired throughout
the year. The full-year salaries and
benefits costs of these employees will
approximately double in 2020. Specific
increases to individual offices’ pay and
benefits budgets will vary based on
current pay levels, position changes,
and promotions.
Personnel compensation at the NCUA
varies among every office and region
depending on work experience, skills,
years of service, supervisory or nonsupervisory responsibilities, and
geographic locations. In general, more
than 85 percent of the NCUA workforce
has earned a bachelor’s degree or higher,
compared to approximately 35 percent
of the private-sector workforce. This
high level of educational achievement
ensures the NCUA workforce is able to
fulfill its mission effectively and
efficiently, and attracting a wellqualified workforce requires the agency
to pay employees competitive salaries.
Individual employees’ compensation
varies, depending on the cost of living
in the location where the employee is
stationed. The federal government sets
locality pay standards, which are
managed by the President’s Pay
Agent—a council established to make
recommendations on federal pay. The
8 The Federal Credit Union Act states that, ‘‘In
setting and adjusting the total amount of
compensation and benefits for employees of the
Board, the Board shall seek to maintain
comparability with other [f]ederal bank regulatory
agencies.’’ See 12 U.S.C. 1766(j)(2).
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
council uses data from the Occupational
Employment Statistics program,
collected by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, to compare salaries in over 30
metropolitan areas, and establishes
recommendations for equitable
adjustments to employee salaries to
account for cost-of-living differences
between localities.
The Office of Personnel Management
(OPM) economic assumptions for
actuarial valuation of the Federal
Employees Retirement System (FERS)
remains unchanged in 2019, so all
federal agencies are expected to
contribute 13.7 percent of FERS
employees’ salary to the OPM
retirement system. This mandatary
contribution is expected to increase to
16.0 percent, or +230 basis points, in
2020, consistent with published
actuarial updates. This change will
result in an estimated $3.5 million in
additional, mandatory retirementrelated payments by the NCUA to OPM.
The average health insurance costs for
the Federal Employees Health Benefits
program for 2019 are consistent with
historical actual expenses. The
employee pay and benefits category also
includes costs associated with other
mandatory employer contributions such
as Social Security, Medicare,
transportation subsidies,
unemployment, and workers’
compensation. Notably, charges from
the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) for
the NCUA’s workers’ compensation
claims increased by nearly $250,000
between 2018 and 2019. DOL manages
the workers’ compensation system for
all federal agencies.
The 2019 budget reflects a $4.0
million reduction, or the equivalent of
a two percent vacancy rate (21
positions) during the year. This aligns
with the NCUA’s most recent attrition
rates and the recruitment and retention
challenges the agency expects to face in
the current, high-employment labor
market. The effect of this adjustment
lowers the NCUA budget and results in
reduced fees collected from credit
unions.
The 2020 budget request for salaries
and benefits is estimated at $233.6
million, a $10.8 million increase from
the 2019 level, which accounts for merit
and locality increases consistent with
the CBA (approximately $6.3 million),
the full-year cost impact of new
positions (approximately $1 million),
and the mandatory FERS retirement
contributions to OPM (approximately
$3.5 million).
Travel
The 2019 budget includes $26.8
million for Travel. This change is a
PO 00000
Frm 00020
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4703
$326,000, or 1.2 percent, increase to the
2018 Board Approved Budget. Travel
comprises approximately nine percent
of the overall 2019 budget. The
cumulative reduction of the credit
union examiner positions compared to
past years, extended examination
cycles, and increased use of offsite
examinations all help contain the
NCUA’s travel costs. However, the
General Services Administration has
announced an increase of nearly eight
percent for per diem rates in 2019,
which drives the growth of estimated
travel expenses in 2019.
The Travel cost category includes
expenses for employees’ airfare, lodging,
meals, auto rentals, reimbursements for
privately owned vehicle usage, and
other travel-related expenses. These are
necessary expenses for examiners’
onsite work in credit unions. Close to
two-thirds of the NCUA’s workforce is
comprised of field staff who spend a
significant part of their year traveling to
conduct the examination and
supervision program.
The NCUA staff also travel for
training, and there will be minor
increases to training-related travel
expenses to support field exams. For
example, technical experts such as
payment system, capital market, and
lending specialists will assist field
examiners with program examinations
and training, while consumer access
analysts will provide support on field
consumer compliance issues and
follow-up field assessments of business
marketing plans for field-of-membership
expansions.
The 2020 budget request for travel is
estimated at $27.8 million, a $1 million
increase to the 2019 level, which
accounts for a national program
examination training event. This onetime training conference is anticipated
to coincide with full deployment of the
new Examination and Supervision
Solution system.
The NCUA plans to evaluate future
cost avoidance for travel through
continued expansion of offsite
examination work. In addition, agency
personnel will continue to utilize more
virtual training options, where
appropriate, to help minimize travel
expenses.
Rent, Communications, and Utilities
The 2019 budget includes $8.0
million for Rent, Communications, and
Utilities. This is a $445,000 reduction,
or five percent less than the 2018 Board
Approved Budget. The Rent,
Communications, and Utilities category
is the smallest component of the
NCUA’s budget and funds the agency’s
telecommunications and information
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
technology network expenses, and
facility rental costs. The agency
telecommunications expense for 2019 is
$3.2 million. Office building leases,
meeting rentals, office utilities, and
postage expenses are also included in
this budget category. Facility costs total
$2.6 million for 2019, which is $600,000
less than the prior year budget due to
the closure of regional offices in Atlanta,
Georgia and Albany, New York. Facility
costs also include the NCUA’s annual
payment of $1.3 million to the Share
Insurance Fund for its central office
note, which is scheduled to be fully
repaid in 2023.
The 2020 budget request for the Rent,
Communications, and Utilities category
is $8.0 million, and is unchanged from
2019. Additional savings from lease
terminations are expected in 2021, once
Eastern Region personnel are co-located
in the NCUA-owned central office
building.
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Administrative Expenses
The 2019 budget includes $8.7
million for Administrative Expenses.
This is an increase of $1.2 million, or 16
percent, compared to the 2018 Board
Approved Budget. Recurring costs in the
Administrative Expenses category
include the annual reimbursement to
the Federal Financial Institutions
Examination Council (FFIEC), employee
relocation expenses, recruitment and
advertising, shipping, printing,
subscriptions, examiner training and
meeting supplies, office furniture, and
employee supplies and materials.
Service contracts, maintenance fees,
and end-user licensing for computer
software and database management
applications will cost $3.8 million in
2019. This includes annual software
licenses and maintenance support fees
for the call center managed by the Office
of Consumer Financial Protection. This
line item represents a $435,000 increase
over the prior year budget to support
purchases of critical financial and
information services subscription
services to manage risk.
As part of the FFIEC, the NCUA
shares in costs for joint actions and
services that affect the financial services
industry. These costs are largely outside
of the NCUA’s control and are estimated
at $1.4 million in 2019, which is
$100,000 more than 2018.
Employee relocation expenses are
adjusted in 2019 to reflect the historical
average annual expenditures of
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
$750,000. This is a $500,000 increase
over the 2018 Board Approved Budget,
which was lower than historical
averages because of one-time agency
reorganization funding set aside for
relocations in 2018.
Due to reformed business processes
and improved financial controls, costs
for printing. Meeting support costs are
estimated to be $150,000 less than in
2018.
Contracted Services
The 2019 budget includes $38.1
million for Contracted Services. This is
a $3.1 million, or nine percent, increase
compared to the 2018 Board Approved
Budget.
The Contracted Services budget
category includes costs incurred when
products and services are acquired in
the commercial marketplace. Acquiring
specific expertise or services from
contract providers is often the most
cost-effective approach to fulfill the
NCUA’s mission. Such services include
critical mission support such as
information technology hardware and
software development, accounting and
auditing services, and specialized
subject matter expertise that enable staff
to focus on core mission execution.
The majority of funding in the
Contracted Services category is related
to the NCUA’s priority to implement a
robust supervision framework by
identifying and resolving traditional risk
concerns such as interest rate risk,
credit risk, and industry concentration
risk, as well as by addressing new and
evolving operational risks such as
cybersecurity threats. Growth in the
contracted services budget category
results primarily from new operations
and maintenance costs associated with
ongoing capital investments, such as
replacements for the Automated
Integrated Regulatory Examination
System (AIRES) and CU Online. Other
costs include core agency business
operation systems such as for payroll
processing, and various recurring costs,
as described in the seven major
categories, below:
D Information Technology Operations
and Maintenance (47 percent of
contracted services)
—IT network support services and help
desk support
—Contractor program and web support
and network and equipment
maintenance services
PO 00000
Frm 00021
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4703
49711
—Administration of software products
such as Microsoft Office, Share Point
and audio visual services
D Administrative Support and Other
Services (14 percent of contracted
services)
—Examination and Supervision
program support
—Technical support for examination
and cybersecurity training programs
—Equipment maintenance services
—Legal services and other expert
consulting support
—Other administrative mission support
services for the NCUA central office
D Accounting, Procurement, Payroll
and Human Resources Systems (11
percent of contracted services)
—Accounting and procurement systems
and support
—Human resources, payroll, and
employee services
—Equal employment opportunity and
diversity programs
D Building Operations, Maintenance,
and Security (9 percent of contracted
services)
—Central office facility operations and
maintenance
—Building security and continuity
programs
—Personnel security and administrative
programs
D Information Technology Security (7
percent of contracted services)
—Enhanced secure data storage and
operations
—Information security programs
—Security system assessment services
D Training (7 percent of contracted
services)
—Examiner staff technical and
specialized training and development
—Senior executive and mission support
staff professional development
D Audit and Financial Management
Support (5 percent of contracted
services)
—Annual audit support services
—Material loss reviews
—Investigation support services
—Financial management support
services
The following pie chart illustrates the
breakout of the seven categories for the
total contracted services budget of $38.1
million.
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Major programs within the contracted
services category include:
D Training requirements for the
examiner workforce. The NCUA’s most
important resource is its highly
educated, experienced, and skilled
workforce. It is important that staff have
the proper knowledge, skills, and
abilities to perform assigned duties and
meet emerging needs. Each year, Credit
Union Examiners attend several levels
of training, including in core areas such
as capital markets, consumer
compliance, and specialized lending.
The training deliverables for 2019
include classes offered by the Federal
Financial Institutions Examination
Council, new examiner classes, and
subject matter expert training sessions
for the NCUA examiners and state
regulators.
Contracted service providers will
develop and design several subject
matter expert training classes for
examiners and conduct a triennial
review of several modules of the
NCUA’s core course curriculum.
Additionally, regional and central office
staff will conduct change management
and teambuilding training exercises to
help integrate new operations as a result
of the Agency reorganization.
D The NCUA’s information security
program supports ongoing efforts to
strengthen cybersecurity and ensure
compliance with the Federal
Information System Management Act.
D Agency financial management
services, human resources technology
support, and payroll services. The
NCUA contracts for these back-office
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
support services with the U.S.
Department of Transportation’s
Enterprise Service Center (DOT/ESC)
and the General Services
Administration. A new service provider
offers the NCUA’s human resource
system, HR Links, also adopted by many
federal agencies, the shared solution
automates routine human resource tasks
and improves time and attendance
functionality.
D Audit. The NCUA Office of
Inspector General contracts with an
accounting firm to conduct the annual
audit of the agency’s four permanent
funds. The results of these audits are
posted annually on the NCUA website
and also included as part of the agency’s
Annual Report.
A significant share of the budget for
the Contracted Services category
finances on-going infrastructure support
for the agency. For example, the NCUA
relies on recurring contracted services to
maintain a number of the agency’s
systems including critical legacy
systems such as AIRES and Credit
Union Online. Several of the NCUA’s
core information technology systems
and processes require additional
contract support in 2019, which result
in increased budgets in the Contracted
Services category, as described below.
Within the budget for the Office of
Chief Information Officer, an additional
$3.2 million is required for various
contractor support requirements in
2019, including:
• Contract Realignment $1.5M. Costs
include transition to new Operations &
PO 00000
Frm 00022
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4703
Maintenance contract, increase in
support skill set to cover service gap.
• New Capabilities & Modernization
$1.0M. Costs include examination
solution circuit’s maintenance &
program rent cost, new security tools
implementation, and true-up for service
management system licenses.
• Cost Inflation $0.5M. Costs include
expected inflation for
telecommunications, equipment repair
and maintenance and contract services.
• AMAC Support $0.2M. Costs
include establishing on-site information
technology support for AMAC.
Within the budget for the Office of
Chief Financial Officer, the annual fee
paid to the Department of
Transportation (DOT) for the NCUA’s
financial management system will
increase by nearly $800,000 over the
2018 level. This is because DOT revised
its cost allocation model for all of its
financial system customers. In 2018, the
NCUA also replaced its legacy human
resources and time and attendance
systems with a more modern platform
called HR Links, which better supports
the agency’s workforce and personnel
requirements. The 2019 cost for HR
Links decreased from the 2018 level by
$325,000 due to one-time start-up costs
that were included in the 2018 Board
Approved Budget.
VI. Capital Budget
Overview
The NCUA uses a rigorous process to
identify the investment needs for
information technology, facility
improvements and repairs, and other
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.016
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
49712
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
multi-year capital investments. The
NCUA staff review the agency’s
inventory of owned facilities,
equipment, information technology
systems, and information technology
hardware to determine what requires
repair, major renovation, or
replacement. The staff then make
recommendations for prioritized
investments to the Executive Director
and the NCUA Board.
Routine repairs and lifecycle-driven
property renovations are necessary to
properly maintain the investments in
the NCUA’s central office building in
Alexandria, Virginia and the agency’s
owned office building in Austin, Texas.
The NCUA facility manager assesses the
agency’s properties to determine the
need for essential repairs, replacement
of building systems that have reached
the end of their engineered lives, or
renovations required to support changes
in the agency’s organizational structure
or to address revisions to building
standards and codes.
Information technology (IT) systems
and hardware are another significant
capital expenditure for modern
organizations. The 2019 budget includes
significant investment in current and
replacement IT systems. The NCUA
Examination and Supervision Solution
(ESS) project, for example, will replace
the legacy Automated Integrated
Regulatory Examination System (AIRES)
system, and is the largest single capital
investment in the 2019 budget. Other IT
investments include ongoing
enhancements and upgrades to decadesold legacy systems, incident and
vulnerability management systems to
enhance the agency’s cybersecurity
posture, and various hardware
investments to refresh agency networks
and ensure staff have the tools necessary
to maintain and increase their
productivity.
The NCUA’s 2019 capital budget is
$22.0 million. The capital budget
includes long-term investment projects.
The Information Technology
Prioritization Council recommended
$17.1 million for IT software
development projects and $4 million in
other IT investments for 2019. The
NCUA facilities require $0.9 million in
capital investments. Detailed
descriptions of all 2019 capital projects,
including a discussion of how each
project helps the agency achieve its
strategic goals and objectives, are
provided in Appendix C.
Summary of Capital Projects
Examination and Supervision
Solution and Infrastructure Hosting
(ESS&IH) ($8.4 million). The purpose of
the ESS&IH project is to implement a
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
new, flexible, technical foundation to
enable current and future NCUA
business process modernization
initiatives, and replace the NCUA’s
legacy exam system, AIRES, with a new
Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS)
solution.
Data Collection Solution (DCS)/
Enterprise Content Management (ECM)
Analysis of Alternatives Study ($0.2
million). The purpose of this project is
to award and complete an Analysis of
Alternatives (AoA) to study the
operational effectiveness, suitability,
risks and life-cycle costs of alternative
ECM solutions to support the NCUA’s
requirements for data collection,
workflow, document management,
customer relationship management and
records management. An AoA needs to
be completed to gather the requirements
across these areas and to validate that
the ECM solutions are the most effective
and efficient way to meet the NCUA’s
data collection, document management,
and records management needs.
Business Intelligence (BI) Tools and
Capability Enhancement ($1.9 million).
The purpose of this project is the
collection, centralization, organization
and storage of data collected by the
Office of National Examination and
Supervision (ONES) so that analysis is
more accurate and efficient. This
accessibility will integrate with BI tools
to improve ONES’s overall reporting
and data analysis capabilities.
Enterprise Central Data Repository
($1.0 million). The Enterprise Central
Data Repository (ECDR) project will
implement a central data repository that
will serve as the data integration point
for Examination and Supervision
Solution (ESS), ONES’s analytic tools,
the NCUA’s legacy applications and the
Data Collection Solution (DCS). The
ECDR will become an enterprise
solution for the NCUA allowing the
agency to transition in a phased
approach from the existing legacy
databases to a cloud-based data
repository serving the agency’s needs.
Asset Management and Assistance
Center (AMAC) Servicing System ($0.6
million). The purpose of this project is
to enhance AMAC’s legacy content
management and servicing systems.
Phase I of the project resulted in an
enhanced, secure content management
solution. During Phase II of the project,
the NCUA will identify, acquire, and
implement replacement solutions for
AMAC’s aging core data processor. The
key project deliverables are the
acquisition and deployment of a
replacement core processing system.
Enterprise Data Analytics,
Governance and Reporting Services
($0.6 million). The purpose of this
PO 00000
Frm 00023
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4703
49713
project is the centralization,
organization and storage of the NCUA
data so analysis is more accurate, simple
and easily distributed across the agency.
This increased accessibility is combined
with analytic tools to improve the
NCUA’s overall reporting and data
analysis capabilities.
Asset and Liabilities Management
Application ($3.2 million). The purpose
of the Asset and Liabilities Management
(ALM) application is for the NCUA to
build internal analytical capabilities to
run supervisory stress testing in house
and to conduct regular quantitative risk
assessments by procuring and
configuring off-the-shelf analytical tools,
models and software used commonly in
stress testing and other risk management
activities.
This effort delivers a complete
solution that will focus on modernizing
the NCUA’s supervision tools and
approaches, identifying material risks
facing the covered credit unions, and
tailoring resources to the material risks
and risk focused exams. This effort will
allow the NCUA to reduce the existing
third party contractor’s role to only
consultation.
Enterprise Learning Management
System Replacement ($0.6 million). The
purpose of the Enterprise Learning
Management System (LMS)
Replacement project is to conduct
market research, initiate an acquisition,
create a project management plan, and
execute the production and
implementation of a cost-effective,
cloud-based solution and training
services that provides the NCUA with
the full-range of eLearning functionality
associated with a modern LMS. This
will allow for enhanced examiner
utilization and accessibility driven by
quality content, ease of use and system
reliability, role-based interface, ability
to view personalized pages by role,
centralized content, adherence to
federally-mandated reporting
requirements and records management
adherence.
Governance, Risk Management, and
Compliance (GRC) tool for Managing
Compliance Information ($0.3 million).
The purpose of the GRC Tool for
Managing Compliance Information
project is to acquire and implement a
software platform that provides a
structured repository for all system
security and privacy documentation;
security risk assessments; risk scoring;
Plan of Actions and Milestones (POAM)
management; and authorization
workflow.
Financial Management Analysis of
Alternatives ($0.35 million). The
purpose of this project is to award and
complete an Analysis of Alternatives
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
49714
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
(AoA) for federal financial management
system service providers. The NCUA’s
current financial management system
service provider—the Department of
Transportation’s Enterprise Service
Center (ESC)—will increase the fee it
charges the NCUA in 2019 by
approximately $800,000, or 40 percent
more than the 2018 charge. As a result,
the NCUA plans to review alternative
service providers to determine whether
it is possible to achieve similar or better
financial management results in a costeffective manner.
Enterprise Laptop Lease ($0.8
million). The purpose of the Enterprise
Laptop Refresh project is to provide the
NCUA with a more efficient, mobile
friendly, and secure tool to help
employees better perform their jobs at a
reasonable cost.
Information Technology
Infrastructure, Platform and Security
Refresh ($2.4 million). The purpose of
the Information Technology (IT)
Infrastructure, Platform and Security
Refresh project is to refresh and/or
replace routers, switches virtual servers,
wireless, virtual private network, end of
life and end of service components in
order to ensure that the NCUA data is
secure and operations are stable.
Security Management Tool Upgrades
($0.7 million). The purpose of the
Security Management Tool Upgrades
(Security Event and Incident
Management (SEIM)) project is to
optimize event collection, monitoring,
detection and response capabilities for
information security and IT operations,
which will enable data-driven proactive
management of the agency’s
cybersecurity programs.
The purpose of the Security
Management Tool Upgrade (Patch &
Vulnerability Management) project is to
comply with the Department of
Homeland Security’s requirements for
its Continuous Diagnostics and
Mitigation (CDM) program, which sets
standards for effective IT cybersecurity
service management for Federal
agencies.
Refresh End of Life VOIP Phone
System ($0.2 million). The purpose of
the Refresh End of Life Voice over
internet Protocol (VoIP) Phone System
project is to replace the agency’s phone
system infrastructure and endpoints,
which is at end of its service life. The
new system will ensure voice
communications capabilities via a cloud
solution that provides business
continuity and stable operations.
The NCUA Central Office Heating,
Ventilation, and Air Conditioning
(HVAC) System Replacement ($0.75
million). The NCUA central office
HVAC system replacement project will
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
recapitalize the HVAC system in the
agency’s central office building,
including all cooling towers, air
handlers, boilers and HVAC
components. The current HVAC system
is original to the facility, 24 years old
and obsolete. The current system is at
the end of its usable life and it is not
working efficiently.
The NCUA Austin, Texas Office
Building Modernization ($0.15 million).
In 2019, the NCUA plans to repair or
replace several priority projects at the
Austin, Texas office building. These
capital improvements are required for
the facility to continue routine and safe
operations, and align with the life cycle
replacement required for critical
infrastructure.
VII. Share Insurance Fund
Administrative Budget
Overview
The Share Insurance Fund
Administrative budget funds direct
costs associated with authorized Share
Insurance Fund activities. As in 2018,
the 2019 budget has been developed to
reflect the closure of the Temporary
Corporate Credit Union Stabilization
Fund into the Share Insurance Fund.
The direct charges to the Share
Insurance Fund are combined with the
NGN program and administrative costs,
and represent total estimated costs to
the Share Insurance Fund.9
The cost of the NCUA Guaranteed
Notes (NGN) program and the Corporate
System Resolution Program, including
costs associated with the administration
of those programs, will be funded from
the Share Insurance Fund
Administrative Budget. These costs
have no impact on the NCUA’s current
and future Operating Fund budgets. The
budget for the Share Insurance Fund
also includes funding for expenditures
previously authorized as direct
expenses of the Share Insurance Fund
for items such as state examiner
computer leases and training. Other
direct expenses include contract
support for stress testing for certain
large credit unions and financial audit
support.
The 2019 total Share Insurance Fund
Administrative budget is estimated to be
$8.4 million, $0.3 million, or 3.5
percent, more than 2018. The budget
9 Note these direct costs are exclusive of any costs
that are shared with the Operating Fund through
the Overhead Transfer Rate, and with payments
available upon requisition by the Board, without
fiscal year limitation, for insurance under section
1787 of this title, and for providing assistance and
making expenditures under section 1788 of this title
in connection with the liquidation or threatened
liquidation of insured credit unions as it may
determine to be proper.
PO 00000
Frm 00024
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4703
increase is primarily driven by
increased support required for datadriven analytics on stress testing that
large credit unions perform, partially
offset by savings in other cost categories.
The Share Insurance Fund
Administrative budget also funds five
positions that were formerly part of the
Stabilization Fund budget. These costs
will enable the NCUA to continue
supporting the NGN program, which
includes managing legacy assets within
the NGN trusts. Legacy assets consist of
over 1,000 investment securities that are
secured by residential mortgages and
other assets.
The 2020 requested budget supports
similar workload and resources;
however, one additional stress test
would be added and is estimated to cost
$750 thousand. The total administrative
budget estimate is estimated to be $9.1
million.
Budget Category Descriptions and Major
Changes
Salaries and Benefits
The employee pay and benefits
expense category for the Share
Insurance Fund Administrative budget
is estimated to be $1.24 million, which
represents a decrease of $22,000
compared to 2018. This decrease is due
to aligning the budget to actual payroll
costs for staff on board. Personnel
compensation is 15 percent of the total
budget. The financial analysts on the
NGN team have specialized technical
expertise to manage the remaining $7
billion of legacy assets. Personnel costs
are estimated in a manner similar to the
operating budget.
Travel
The estimated travel cost of $52,000 is
less than one percent of the overall 2019
budget and decreases by 31 percent
from last year’s budget estimate. These
costs cover all of the travel expenses for
the five staff that manage and support
the NGN program. Two of the five staff
are remote employees and are expected
to travel periodically to the NCUA’s
central office.
Administrative Training
Training expenses, which represent
less than one percent of the budget, are
estimated to be $27,000, a decrease of
$3,000 from the 2018 budget based on
updated projections of employee
professional development plans and
specialized training requirements.
Support for the NGN Program (Contract
Support)
Contract costs to support the NGN
program, which represent 35 percent of
the budget, are estimated to be $2.9
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
• Valuation Services in the amount of
$1.1 million to fund valuation support
for the NGN legacy assets. As supported
by the NGN Oversight Committee,
resources are also needed to conduct
special analyses, including valuations
for determining reasonable market
prices for securities to be sold by
auction.
• Software and Data Subscription
Services in the amount of $0.8 million
will support technical tools used to
provide waterfall models, calculations,
and metrics for the structured
investment products underlying the
NGN portfolio. The service provides
coverage of all relevant asset classes,
waterfall models that are seasoned and
tested throughout the industry, and a
broad array of calculations and metrics.
Financial data analytics play a critical
role in the surveillance, modeling, and
pricing of the legacy assets that
securitize the NGN Trusts, as well as
supporting the management reviews
that the NCUA performs on the cash
flow projections. Now that some of the
NCUA Guaranteed Notes have begun
maturing, the NCUA has added data
subscription services to provide
PO 00000
Frm 00025
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
additional valuation and has added
support for the legacy asset disposition
process.
• Other annual subscriptions provide
important services related to
surveillance of the portfolio of corporate
bonds and mortgage-related bonds.
Independent credit research services
include fundamental capital structure
research, credit analyses for surveillance
of corporate bond portfolio and
monoline insurer exposure, and direct
access to various industry experts for
discussion on specific credits.
Other Direct Expenses
Other direct expenses of the Share
Insurance Fund represent close to 50
percent of the budget, and are estimated
to be $4.1 million. The estimated costs
for state examiner computer leases and
training in the amount of $1.2 million
is slightly lower than prior years. This
will allow the NCUA to analyze the
stress testing that large credit unions
perform. By 2020, additional credit
unions are anticipated to be subject to
stress testing. Financial audit support is
also expected to remain the same as
prior years.
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.017
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
million, an increase of $0.3 million from
the 2018 level. Funding is needed to
fulfill Corporate System Resolution
Program requirements and includes
outside professional services such as
external valuation experts, financial
specialists, and accountants.
These experts are needed to assist the
NCUA with the following types of
services:
• Consulting Services in the amount
of $1.0 million will support two NCUA
offices: Examination and Insurance and
the Chief Financial Officer. Services
will include quarterly management
reviews of asset valuations, as well as
analyses of emerging issues. Support for
the annual financial audit process and
improvements in internal controls will
also be provided by contractors. Tasks
include: Supporting complex
accounting and financial requirements
for settlements, sale of legacy assets,
parity payments, changing valuation
model assumptions, and other asset
disposition activities. Additionally,
professional services will be used to
assist with accounting, tax, financial
reporting, and systems support for the
corporate Asset Management Estates.
49715
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
The NCUA website has a dedicated
section that provides financial reports
for the Share Insurance Fund,10 and a
separate page that explains the NCUA
Guaranteed Notes Program and provides
comprehensive reporting and analysis
on the legacy assets.11
VIII. Financing the NCUA Programs
Overview
As part of the annual budgetary
process, the NCUA remains mindful
that its operating funding comes directly
from federal and state chartered credit
unions. The agency strives to ensure
that any allocation of these funds
follows a thorough review of the
necessity of the expenditures and
whether programs are operating in an
efficient, effective, transparent, and
fully accountable manner.
To achieve its statutory mission, the
NCUA incurs various expenses,
including those involved in examining
and supervising federally insured credit
unions. The NCUA Board adopts an
Operating Budget, including the Capital
Budget, in the fall of each year to fund
the vast majority of the costs of
operating the agency.12 The Federal
Credit Union Act authorizes two
primary sources to fund the Operating
Budget:
(1) Requisitions from the Share
Insurance Fund ‘‘for such
administrative and other expenses
incurred in carrying out the purposes of
[Title II of the Act] as [the Board] may
determine to be proper’’; 13 and
(2) ‘‘fees and assessments (including
income earned on insurance deposits)
levied on insured credit unions under
[the Act].’’ 14 Among the fees levied
under the Act are annual Operating
Fees, which are required for federal
credit unions under 12 U.S.C. 1755
‘‘and may be expended by the Board to
defray the expenses incurred in carrying
out the provisions of [the Act,]
including the examination and
supervision of [federal credit unions].’’
Taken together, these dual authorities
effectively require the Board to
determine which expenses are
appropriately paid from each source
while giving the Board broad discretion
in allocating expenses.
In 1972, the Government
Accountability Office recommended the
NCUA adopt a method for properly
allocating Operating Budget costs—that
is, the portion of the NCUA’s budget
funded by requisitions from the Share
Insurance Fund and the portion covered
by Operating Fees paid by federal credit
unions.15 The NCUA has since used an
allocation methodology, known as the
Overhead Transfer Rate (OTR), to
determine how much of the Operating
Budget to fund with a requisition from
the Share Insurance Fund.
To allocate agency expenses between
these two primary funding sources, the
NCUA uses the OTR methodology. The
OTR is the formula the NCUA uses to
allocate insurance-related expenses to
the Share Insurance Fund under Title II.
Almost all other operating expenses are
collected through annual Operating Fees
paid by federal credit unions.16
Two statutory provisions directly
limit the Board’s discretion with respect
to Share Insurance Fund requisitions for
the NCUA’s Operating Budget and,
hence, the OTR. First, expenses funded
from the Share Insurance Fund must
carry out the purposes of Title II of the
Act, which relate to share insurance.17
Second, the NCUA may not fund its
entire Operating Budget through charges
to the Share Insurance Fund.18 The
NCUA has not imposed additional
policy or regulatory limitations on its
discretion for determining the OTR.
10 See: https://www.ncua.gov/services/Pages/
share-insurance/reports.aspx.
11 See: https://www.ncua.gov/regulationsupervision/Pages/guaranteed-notes.aspx.
12 Some costs are directly charged to the Share
Insurance Fund when appropriate to do so. For
example, costs for training and equipment provided
to State Supervisory Authorities are directly
charged to the Share Insurance Fund.
13 12 U.S.C. 1783(a).
14 12 U.S.C. 1766(j)(3). Other sources of income
for the Operating Budget have included interest
income, funds from publication sales, parking fee
income, and rental income.
15 https://www.gao.gov/assets/210/203181.pdf.
16 Annual Operating Fees must ‘‘be determined
according to a schedule, or schedules, or other
method determined by the NCUA Board to be
appropriate, which gives due consideration to the
expenses of the [NCUA] in carrying out its
responsibilities under the [Act] and to the ability of
[FCUs] to pay the fee.’’ 1755(b).
17 12 U.S.C. 1783(a).
18 The Act in 12 U.S.C. 1755(a) states, ‘‘[i]n
accordance with rules prescribed by the Board, each
[federal credit union] shall pay to the [NCUA] an
annual operating fee which may be composed of
one or more charges identified as to the function or
functions for which assessed.’’ See also 12 U.S.C.
1766(j)(3).
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00026
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4703
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.018
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
49716
49717
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Overhead Transfer Rate (OTR)
Methodology
The NCUA undertook a multi-year
process to simplify and make more
transparent its OTR methodology.19 The
OTR is designed to cover the NCUA’s
costs of examining and supervising the
risk to the Share Insurance Fund posed
by all federally insured credit unions, as
well as the costs of administering the
fund. The OTR represents the
percentage of the agency’s operating
budget paid for by a transfer from the
Share Insurance Fund. Federally
insured credit unions are not billed for,
and do not have to remit, the OTR
amount; instead, it is transferred
directly to the Operating Fund from the
Share Insurance Fund. This transfer,
therefore, represents a cost to all
federally insured credit unions.
The NCUA Board approved the
current methodology for calculating the
OTR at its November 2017 open
meeting. The current methodology is
principles-based, simpler, more
equitable and transparent, and will
result in lower administrative costs.
The OTR formula is based on the
following underlying principles to
allocate agency operating costs:
1. Time spent examining and
supervising federal credit unions is
allocated as 50 percent insurance
related.20
2. All time and costs the NCUA
spends supervising or evaluating the
risks posed by federally insured statechartered credit unions or other entities
the NCUA does not charter or regulate
(for example, third-party vendors and
CUSOs) is allocated as 100 percent
insurance related.21
3. Time and costs related to the
NCUA’s role as charterer and enforcer of
consumer protection and other noninsurance based laws governing the
operation of credit unions (like field of
membership requirements) are allocated
as 0 percent insurance related.22
Est. share of the operating budget covered by:
Total ............................................................................................................................................
In terms of accounting for funds
transferred from the Share Insurance
FR 55644 (Nov. 22, 2017).
50 percent allocation mathematically
emulates an examination and supervision program
design where the NCUA would alternate
examinations, and/or conduct joint examinations,
between its insurance function and its prudential
regulator function if they were separate units within
the NCUA. It reflects an equal sharing of
supervisory responsibilities between the NCUA’s
dual roles as charterer/prudential regulator and
insurer given both roles have a vested interest in the
safety and soundness of federal credit unions. It is
consistent with the alternating examinations FDIC
and state regulators conduct for insured statechartered banks as mandated by Congress. Further,
it reflects that the NCUA is responsible for
managing risk to the Share Insurance Fund and
therefore should not rely solely on examinations
and supervision conducted by the prudential
regulator.
21 The NCUA does not charter state-chartered
credit unions nor serve as their prudential
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
20 The
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
These four principles are applied to
the activities and costs of the agency,
which results in the portion of the
agency’s Operating Budget that is
transferred from the Share Insurance
Fund. Based on the Board-approved
methodology, the OTR for 2019 is
estimated to be 60.4 percent; thus, 60.4
percent of the total operating budget is
estimated to be paid out of the Share
Insurance Fund. The remaining 39.6
percent of the Operating Budget is
estimated be paid for through the FCU
Operating Fee. The explicit and implicit
distribution of total Operating Budget
costs for FCUs and federally insured,
state-chartered credit unions (FISCUs) is
as follows:
FCUs
FCU Operating Fee ............................................................................................................................
OTR × Percent of Insured Shares .....................................................................................................
19 82
4. Time and costs related to the
NCUA’s role in administering federal
share insurance and the Share Insurance
Fund are allocated as 100 percent
insurance related.23
39.6%
31.0% (60.4% × 51.3%)
0.0%
29.4% (60.4% × 48.7%)
70.6%
29.4%
Fund to the Operating Fund, the OTR is
applied to actual expenses incurred
each month. Therefore, the rate
calculated by the OTR formula is
multiplied by each month’s actual
operating expenses and charged to the
Share Insurance Fund. Because of this
monthly reconciliation to actual
operating expenditures, when the
NCUA’s expenditures are less than
budgeted, the amount charged to the
Share Insurance Fund is also less—and
those lower expenditures benefit both
regulator. The NCUA’s role with respect to federally
insured state-chartered credit unions is as insurer.
Therefore, all examination and supervision work
and other agency costs attributable to insured statechartered credit unions is allocated as 100 percent
insurance related.
PO 00000
Frm 00027
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4703
FISCUs
federally chartered and state charted
credit unions.
The following chart illustrates the
share of the Operating Budget paid by
Federally Insured Credit Unions (FCUs,
70.6%) and Federally Insured, StateChartered Credit Unions (FISCUs,
29.4%).
22 As the federal agency with the responsibility to
charter federal credit unions and enforce noninsurance related laws governing how credit unions
operate in the marketplace, the NCUA resources
allocated to these functions are properly assigned
to its role as charterer/prudential regulator.
23 The NCUA conducts liquidations of credit
unions, insured share payouts, and other resolution
activities in its role as insurer. Also, activities
related to share insurance, such as answering
consumer inquiries about insurance coverage, are a
function of the NCUA’s role as insurer.
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
49718
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
The Board delegated authority to the
Chief Financial Officer to administer the
methodology approved by the Board for
calculating the Operating Fees, and to
set the fee schedule as calculated per
the approved methodology outlined in
this section. There is no change to the
underlying approved Operating Fee
methodology for 2019; the change in the
assessments for 2019 are due to changes
in the OTR rate and to indexing the fee
schedule for projected asset growth.
For 2019, based on the OTR
methodology discussed above, the
resulting share of the budget that is
funded from the Operating Fee is
$140.859 million. This equates to 0.0185
percent of the estimated federal credit
union assets for December 2018. The
overall increase for the operating fee is
2.2 percent over 2018.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
The Operating Fee will be assessed to
federal credit unions based on estimated
year-end assets. Credit unions with
assets less than $1 million will not be
assessed an Operating Fee. To set the
assessment scale for 2019, federal credit
union asset growth will be projected
through December 31, 2018. Based on
the June 30, 2018, Call Report data,
annual growth is projected to be 6.2
percent at year end. The asset level
dividing points will be increased by this
same projected growth rate. Assets are
indexed annually to preserve the same
relative relationship of the scale to
applicable asset base.
To establish the rate applicable to
each asset level, the factors outlined in
the table below result in an average
Operating Fee rate increase of 2.2
percent for natural person federal credit
unions. The corporate federal credit
PO 00000
Frm 00028
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4703
union rate scale remains unchanged
from prior years.
To illustrate the rate impact for
federal credit unions with assets under
$1.5 billion, the fee increases from $264
per one million dollars of assets, to $270
per one million dollars of assets. This is
an increase of $6 per million dollars of
assets, or 2.2 percent.
Federal credit union assets between
$1.5 billion and $4.5 billion would be
assessed at a rate of $78.69 per million,
and assets above $4.5 billion would be
assessed at $26.28 per million. As noted
above, these tiers were indexed to the
6.2 percent projected asset growth, and
the rates are increased by 2.2 percent.
The following tables illustrate the
methodology and calculations used to
develop the Operating Fee.
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.019
Operating Fee
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
49719
PROPOSED 2019 OPERATING FEE SCALE
2018 Natuul Person Federal Credit Union Scale
$0.00
$0.00
0.00026412
0.00007698
0.000025 7l
X
X
over
X total assets over
0.00026998
0.00007869
0.00002628
X
assets over
X
assets over
X total assets over
0.00019870
0.00001230
X total assets over
X total assets over $100.000.000
2019
56
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
and over
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00029
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.020
6.2%
49720
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
2019 OPERATING FEE REQUIREMENTS AND OPERATING FEE METHODOLOGY
Operating Fee Schedule explanation:
Natural Person Federal Credit Union Operating Fee Calculation Factors and Explanation
1
2
Calculation
Formula
Proposed Annual Operating Fund Budget amount determines the baseline fee
$
requirement.
Remove King Street Station Note from Calculation, because the Share Insurance Fund
cannot fund this expense since the building loan is from the Share Insurance Fund.
3
Operating Fund Budget to apply OTR
4
Share Insurance Fund, pursuant to the Board-approved methodology. This amount is
2019
($000s)
304.398
Subtract arnmmt of
KS S note payment
$
Sum lines 1 -2
$
303.058
OTR% x line 3
$
(183.047)
$
(1.500)
$
(0.772)
(1.340)
Overhead Transfer Rate determines the amount ofthe budget to be reimbursed by the
subtracted from the proposed budget amount.
5
6
7
Interest Income projected for the year is estimated based on the latest financial statements,
and is subtracted from the budget.
Miscellaneous (rents, publication fees, FOIA fees) is estimated based on the latest financial
statements, and is subtracted from the budget.
Net Adjustment to Budget
Sum lines 3 - 6
$
117.739
$
22.000
$
1.340
$
141.079
reduce cash
collections
8 Reduction of any Operating Fund adjustment
Removed non-cash items of depreciation and accrued annual leave previously adjusted since these non-cash line
items are now excluded as vart of the bud2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00030
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4703
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.021
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
The Corporate Credit Union scale remains unchanged from year to year as the number of
49721
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Operating Budget by Strategic Goal
Goall: Ensure a safe and sound credit union system
$206.1
942.2
Goal 2:Provide a regulatory framework that is
ansparent, efficient and improves consumer access
$29.0
116.8
Goal 3: Maximize organizational performance to
enable mission success
$69.3
119.0
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00031
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.022
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Expenses for the Offices of the Board, Executive Director, Inspector General, Public and Congressional Affairs,
nd Chief Financial Officer are allocated across all strategic goals.
*NCUA's 2019/20 positions are funded by three different sources: the Central liquidity Facility funds 3 fullequivalents, and the Share Insurance Fund funds 5 full-time equivalents. NCUA's Operating Fund funds
he remaining 1,173 full-time equivalents.
49722
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Office Budget Summary
Office
Requested
2018- 2019 Change
Budget
Eastern Region
*
Region*
Region*
i
of National Examinations and Supervision
2020 Requested
Budget
Authorized Positions
2019-2020 Change
2018
59,006,000
n/a
61,525,000
2,519,000
4.3%
45,356,000
n/a
47,243,000
1,887,000
4.2%
49,363,000
n/a
51,405,000
2,042,000
4.1%
303
2019
2020
288
288
320
231
231
151
237
237
11,576,000
12,700,000
1,124,000
9.7%
13,224,000
524,000
4.1%
45
45
45
166,865,000
166,425,000
{440,000)
-0.3%
173,397,000
6,972,000
4.2%
819
801
801
2,695,000
2,742,000
47,000
1.7%
2,868,000
126,000
4.6%
11
11
11
2,047,000
1,931,000
(116,000)
-5.7%
2,013,000
82,000
4.2%
6
6
6
110,000
8.6%
1,390,000
1,193,000 66.9%
3,117,000
142,000
4.8%
12
12
-2.0%
4,404,000
133,000
3.1%
12
12
12
10
10
10
8
8
i
of the Executive Director
1,280,000
1,390,000
i
of Business Innovations
1,782,000
2,975,000
i
of Continuity and Security Management
4,357,000
4,271,000
i
of Minority and Women Inclusion
3,486,000
3,478,000
(8,000)
-0.2%
3,596,000
118,000
3.4%
i
of the Chief Economist
1,997,000
2,282,000
285,000
14.3%
2,387,000
105,000
4.6%
i
of Consumer Financial Protection
4,970,000
5,252,000
282,000
5.7%
5,494,000
242,000
4.6%
24
24
24
i
of the ChiefFinancial Officer
19,593,000
20,485,000
892,000
4.6%
21,008,000
523,000
2.6%
53
53
53
1,340,000
1,340,000
0.0%
1,340,000
(603,000)
(1,420,000)
(817,000) 135.5%
37,829,000
4,579,000
44
44
44
(86,000)
13.8%
0.0%
28.2%
i
of the Chief Information Officer
33,250,000
Union Resources and Expansion
10,366,000
8,459,000
i
of Examination & Insurance**
12,664,000
13,611,000
947,000
7.5%
10,725,000
11,973,000
1,248,000
11.6%
12,565,000
3,720,000
3,776,000
56,000
1.5%
15,752,000
15,757,000
5,000
0.0%
(1,907,000) -18.4%
0.0%
38,348,000
519,000
1.4%
8,840,000
381,000
4.5%
36
36
36
14,197,000
586,000
4.3%
53
54
54
592,000
4.9%
44
47
47
3,903,000
127,000
3.4%
10
10
10
17,193,000
1,436,000
9.1%
43
43
43
1,811,000
1,842,000
31,000
1.7%
1,924,000
82,000
4.5%
Mission Support
131,232,000
137,973,000
6,741,000
5.1%
142,767,000
4,794,000
3.5%
369
377
377
Total*
298,097,000
$ 304,398,000
$6,301,000
2.1%
316,164,000
$ 11,766,000
3.9%
1,188
1,178
1,178
i
of Public and Congressional Affairs
*Regional budget comparisons from 2018 to 2019 are not comparable with agency reorganization. 2018 Board Approved Budget included $30.8 million for Region 1, $32.1 million
for Region 2,$31.3 million for Region 3,$32.1 million for Region 4, and $33.7 million for Region 5.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00032
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.023
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
"Budget includes 8 FTE related to other NCUA funds; 3 FTE are paid for by the Central Liquidity Facility and 5 FTE are paid for by the Share Insurance Fund.
49723
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Board Budgets
OFFICE OF THE CHAIRMAN: 2019-2020 BUDGET SUMMARY
2018 Board
2019 Requested
2018-2019
Approved Budget
Budget
Change
FTE
Employee Compensation
Salaries
Benefits
Travel
Rent /Comm/Util
Administrative
..
Contracted Services
$
Total
-
Change 2020 Requested
Percent
3.0
705,859
525,303
.180,557
70,000
150
10,000
42,000
713,780
529,408
184,372
60,000
250
10,000
27,000
7,920
4,105
3,815
{10,000)
100
(15,000)
1.1%
0.8%
2.1%
-14.3%
66.7%
0.0%
-35.7%
811,030
$ {16,980)
-2.1%
828,009
$
-
Change
Change
Percent
Budget
-
3.0
2019-2020
-
3.0
750,243
554,440
195,804
60,000
250
10,000
27,000
$
847,493
36,464
25,032
11,431
-
-
$
36,464
5.1%
4.7%
6.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0";6
4.5%
BOARD MEMBER A: 2019-2020 BUDGET SUMMARY
2018 Board
2019 Requested
2018-2019
Approved Budget
Budget
Change
FTE
Employee Compensation
Salaries
Benefits
Travel
Rent /Comm/Util
Administrative
Contracted Services
I
Total
$
3.0
3.0
661,980
489,288
172,691
45,000
500
6,000
14,000
670,559
494,397
176,162
40,000
500
9,000
28,000
748,059
727,480
$
Change 2020 Requested
Percent
-
-
8,579
5,109
3,471
{5,000)
3,000
14,000
1.3%
1.0%
2.0%
-11.1%
0:0%
50.0%
100.0%
$ 20,579
2.8%
-
2019-2020
Change
Change
Percent
Budget
-
3.0
704,611
517,774
186,838
40,000
500
9,000
28,000
$
782,111
34,052
23,377
10,6.76
34,052
4.6%
-
-
$
5.1%
4.7%
6.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
BOARD MEMBER B: 2019-2020 BUDGET SUMMARY
2018 Board
2019 Requested
2018-2019
Approved Budget
Budget
Change
FTE
Employee Compensation
Salaries
Benefits
Travel
Rent /Comm/Util
Administrative
Contracted Services
.
I
Total
$
3.0
3.0
629,999
460,000
170,000
40,000
500
6,000
40,000
670,559
494,397
176,162
40,000
500
9,000
28,000
748,059
716,499
$
Change 2020 Requested
Percent
-
-
40,560
34,397
6,162
3,000
{12,000)
6.4%
7.5%
3.6%
0.0%
0.0%
50.0%
-30.0%
$ 31,560
4.4%
-
-
2019-2020
Change
Change
Percent
Budget
-
3.0
704,611
517,774
186,838
40,000
500
9,000
28,000
$
782,111
34,052
23,377
10,676
-
-
$
34,052
5.1%
4.7%
6.1%
0.0%
0.0";6
0.0%
0.0%
4.6%
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00033
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.024
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Note: minor rounding differences may occur in totals.
49724
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Office Budgets
EASTERN* REGION: 2019-2020 BUDGET SUMMARY
2018 Board
2019 Requested
2018-2019
Change
Requested
2019-2020
Change
Approved Budget"
Budget
Change
Percent
Budget
Change
Percent
FTE
-
288.0
N/A
N/A
288.0
Employee Compensation
51,030,573
N/A
N/A
53,549,835
2,519,261
Salaries
Benefits
Travel
36,576,732
14,453,841
6,800,000
726,163
252,080
197,450
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
1,729,460
789,801
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
38,306,192
15,243,643
6,800,000
726,163
252,080
197,450
Rent /Comm/Utll
Administrative
Contracted Services
Total
$
N/A
N/A
59,006,266
N/A
$
61,525,528
4.9%
4.7%
-
5.5%1
o.o%1
-
O.O"A,I
-
o.o%1
o.o%1
-
$
2,519,261
4.3%i
SOUTHERN* REGION: 2019-2020 BUDGET SUMMARY
2018 Board
2019 Requested
2018-2019
Change
Requested
2019-2020
Change
Approved Budget"
Budget
Change
Percent
Budget
Change
Percent
FTE
-
-
231.0
N/A
N/A
231.0
Employee Compensation
38,519,296
N/A
N/A
40,406,555
1,887,259
4.9%
Salaries
Benefits
Travel
27,420,801
11,098,495
6,100,000
178,738
193,075
364,500
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
28,716,394
11,690,160
6,100,000
178',738
193,075
364,500
1,295,594
591,665
4.7%
5.3%1
o.o%1
o.o%1
o.o%1
o.o%1
Rent /Comm/Util
Administrative
Contracted Services
Total
$
45,355,609
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
$
47,242,868
-
-
$
1,887,259
4.2%i
WESTERN* REGION: 2019-2020 BUDGET SUMMARY
2018 Board
2019 Requested
2018-2019
Change
Requested
2019-2020
Change
Approved Budget"
Budget
Change
Percent
Budget
Change
Percent
FTE
Employee Compensation
Salaries
Benefits
Travel
Rent /Comm/Util
Administrative
Contracted Services
Total
$
-
-
237.0
N/A
N/A
237.0
41,693,060
N/A
N/A
43,735,573
2,042,513
4.9%
29,680,900
12,012,160
6,550,000
625,000
290,000
205,000
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
1,402,174
640,338
4.7%
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
31,083,075
12,652,498
6,550,000
625,000
290,000
205,000
49,363,060
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
$
51,405,573
-
-
$
2,042,513
5.3%1
0.0%]
o.o%1
o.o%1
o.o%1
4.1%i
*See above for a discussion ofworkload at Regional Offices. Note that Southern Region
includes AMAC operations.
1\
See above for explanation ofRegional Office budgets in
Note: minor rounding differences may occur in totals.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00034
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.025
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
2018
49725
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: 2019-2020 BUDGET SUMMARY
2018 Board
2019 Requested
2018-2019
Change
Requested
2019-2020
Change
Approved Budget
Budget
Change
Percent
Budget
Change
Percent
FTE
6.0
Employee Compensation
Salaries
Benefits
Travel
.·.
Rent /Comm/Util
Administrative
ED Core
FFIEC
Contracted Services
Total
$
3,326,709
-
6.0
1,746,709
1,317,470
429;239
35,000
20,500
1,305,000
25,000
1,280,000
219,500
(125,249)
(123,408)
(1,841)
10,000
(250)
110,000
1,621,460
1,194,062
427,398
45,000
20,250
1,415,000
25,000
1,390,000
219,500
$
3,321,210
(5,499)
-0.2%
110,000
$
-7.2%
-9.4%
0.0%
28.6%
-1.2%
8.4%
0.0%
8.6%
0.0%
-
6.0
1,703,702
1,250,521
453,181
45,000
20,250
1,415,000
25,000
1,390,000
219,500
$
3,403,452
82,242
56,459
25,783
-
-
$
82,242
5.1%
4.7%1
o.o%1
o.o%1
o.oo1ol
o.o%1
o.o%1
o.o%1
o.o%1
2.5%1
OFFICE OF BUSINESS INNOVATION: 2019-2020 BUDGET SUMMARY
2018 Board
2019 Requested
2018-2019
Change
Requested
2019-2020
Change
Approved Budget
Budget
Change
Percent
Budget
Change
Percent
FTE
Employee Compensation
Salaries
Benefits
Travel
12.0
3.0
33%
12.0
2,767, 775
2,071,694
696,081
180,500
2,400
2,000
22,000
1,085,775
839,694
246,081
95,500
2,400
2,000
7,000
64.6%
68.2%
54.7%
112.4%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2,910,465
2,169,650
740,815
180,500
2,400
2,000
22,000
2,974,675
$ 1,192,675
66.9%
-
Rent/Comm/Util
Administrative
Contracted Services
15,000
$
Total
9.0
1,682,000
1,232,000
450,000
85,000
1,782,000
$
$
3,117,365
142,690
97,956
44,734
-
-
$
142,690
5.2%
4.7%1
6.4%1
o.o%1
o.o%1
o.o%1
o.o%1
4.8%1
OFFICE OF CONTINUITY AND SECURITY MANAGEMENT: 2019-2020 BUDGET SUMMARY
2018 Board
2019 Requested
2018-2019
Change
Requested
2019-2020
Change
Approved Budget
Budget
Change
Percent
Budget
Change
Percent
FTE
Employee Compensation
Salaries
Benefits
Travel
Rent /Comm/Util
Administrative
contracted Services
Total
12.0
12.0
2,492,727
1,840,595
652,132
39,800
2,602,123
1,920,838
681,285
34,000
35,000
30,000
1,570,353
30,000
1,794,642
$
4,357,169
$
4,271,476
109,396
80,243
29,153
(5,800)
(224,289)
(85,693)
-2.0%
35,000
-
$
4.4%
4.4%
4.5%
-14.6%
O.Oo/c
0.0%
-12.5%
-
12.0
2,734,423
2,011,661
722,762
34,000
35,000
30,000
1,570,353
$
4,403,776
132,300
90,823
41,477
-
-
$
132,300
5.1%
4.7%1
6.1%1
o.o%1
o:o%1
o.o%1
0.0%1
3.1%1
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00035
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.026
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Note: minor rounding differences may occur in totals
49726
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
OFFICE OF MINORITY AND WOMEN INCLUSION: 2019-2020 BUDGET SUMMARY
2018 Board
2019 Requested
2018-2019
Change
Requested
2019-2020
Change
Approved Budget
Budget
Change
Percent
Budget
Change
Percent
FTE
Employee Compensation
Salaries
Benefits
Travel
Rent /Comm/Util
Administrative
Contracted Services
Total
$
-
10.0
10.0
2,159,801
2,300,654
140,853
1,604,302
1,707,197
555,499
593,457
74,399
75,000
-
-
10.0
-
6.5%
2,418,238.9
117,585
5.1%
102~894
6.4%
1,787,918
80,721
4.7%1
37,959
6.8%
630,321
36,864
6.2%1
601
0.8%
75,000
-
o.o%1
-
o.o%1
5,500
7,600
2,100
38.2%
7,600
115,650
141,658
26,008
22.5%
141,658
-
o.o%1
1,130,663
953,500
(177,163)
~15.7%
.953,500
-
o.o%1
(7,601)
-0.2%
3,486,013
$
3,478,412
$
$
3,595,997
$
117,585
3.4%i
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF ECONOMIST: 2019-2020 BUDGET SUMMARY
2018 Board
2019 Requested
2018-2019
Change
Requested
2019-2020
Change
Approved Budget
Budget
Change
Percent
Budget
Change
Percent
FTE
Employee Compensation
Salaries
Benefits
Travel
Rent /C:omm/Util
Administrative
Contracted Services
Total
$
-
-
7.0
8.0
1.0
14%
8.0
1,748,956
2,035,603
286,647
16.4%
2,140,391
1,310,090
1,521,399
211,309
16.1%
1,593,335
71,936
4.7%1
438,866
514,204
75,338
17.2%
547,056
32,852
6.4%1
28,000
27,000
(1,000)
-3.6%
27,000
-
o.o%1
500
500
-
0.0%
500
-
O.D%1
215,839
215,839
0.0%
215,839
3,375
3,000
-1Ll%
3,000
1,996,670
$
2,281,942
-
(375)
$
285,272
14.3%
$
2,386,730
104,788
$
5.1%
-
o.o%1
-
0.0",61
104,788
4.6%i
OFFICE OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION: 2019-2020 BUDGET SUMMARY
2018 Board
2019 Requested
2018-2019
Change
Requested
2019-2020
Change
Approved Budget
Budget
Change
Percent
Budget
Change
Percent
-
-
FTE
Employee Compensation
Salaries
Benefits
4,602,243
4,809,476
207,233
4.5%
5,051,502
242,026
5.0%
3,361,813
3,513,939
152,126
4.5%
3,680,089
166,150
4.7%1
1,240,431
1,295,537
55,107
4.4%
1,371,413
75,876
5.9%1
269,073
340,946
71,873
26.7%
340,946
-
o.o%1
24,245
38,250
14,005
57.8%
-
o.o%1
-
o.o%1
-
o:o%1
Rent /Comm/Uti I
24.0
-
24.0
Travel
Administrative
26,403
31,293
4,890
18.5%
38,250
31,293
Contracted Services
Total
48,572
32,004
(16,568)
-34.1%
32,004
$
-
24.0
4,970,537
$
5,251,969
$
281,433
5.7%
$
5,493,996
$
242,026
4.6%i
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00036
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.027
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Note: minor rounding differences may occur in totals
49727
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER: 2018-2019 BUDGET SUMMARY
2018-2019
2018 Board
2019 Requested
Change
2020
FTE
Employee Compensation
Salaries
Benefits
Travel
Rent /Comm/Uttl
OCFO
King Station Note
Administrative
Contracted Services
Crosscutting
Total
$
53.0
10,160,644
7,457,474
2,703,171
65,000
2;045,500
705,500
1,340,000
1,112,850
7,549,000
(603;000)
20,329,994
-
53.0
10,394,574
7,606,963
2,787,611
74,000
2,048,000
$
708,000
1,340,000
1,050,000
8,25MOO
(1,420,000)
20,404,574
233,930
149,489
84,440
9,000
2,500
2,500
2.3%
2.0%
3.1%
13.8%
0.1%
-
$
(62,850)
709,000
.{817,000)
74,580
-5.6%
9.4%
135.5%
0.4%
2019-2020
-
53.0
10,917,587
7,966,243
2,951,343
74,000
2,048,000
708,000
1,340,000
1,050,000
8,258,000
523,013
359,280
163,732.
20,527,587
5.0%
4.7%1
-
5.9%1
o.o%1
-
0:0%1
I
I
-
-
-
o.o%1
o.oo1ol
-
(1,820~000)
$
Change
$
123,013
I
0.6%j
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER: 2018-2019 BUDGET SUMMARY CHECK
2018 Board
2019 Requested
2018-2019
Change
Requested
2019-2020
Change
Approved Budget
Budget
Change
Percent
Budget
Change
Percent
FTE
Employee Compensation
Salaries
Benefits
$
-
-
44.0
-
44.0
10,204,039
841,045
6,934,509
7,572,503
637,995
9.2%
7,929,136
356,633
4.7%1
2,428,486
2,631,536
203,050
8.4%
2,794,401
W2,865
6.2%1
9.0%
10,723,537
519,498
5.1%
161,950
165,000
3,050
1.9%
165,000
-
o.o%1
3,907,000
4,015,008
108,008
2.8%
4,015,008
-
o.o%1
2,563,870
2,978,445
414,575
16.2%
2,978,445
-
o.o%1
17,253,940
20,466,221
3,212,281
18.6%
20,466,221
-
o.o%1
4,578,959
13.8%
Travel
Rent /Comm/Util
Administrative
Contracted Services
Total
-
44.0
9,362,994
33,249,754
$
37,828,713
$
$
38,348,211
$
519,498
1.4%1
OFFICE OF NATIONAL EXAMINATIONS AND SUPERVISION: 2019-2020 BUDGET SUMMARY
2018 Board
2019 Requested
2018-2019
Change
Requested
2019-2020
Change
Approved Budget
Budget
Change
Percent
Budget
Change
Percent
-
-
FTE
45.0
45.0
9,094,944
10,402,148
1,307,204
14.4%
Employee Compensation
Salaries
Benefits
6,567,606
7,607,351
1,039,746
2,527,339
2,794,797
267,458
Travel
1,808,189
1,600,000
(208,189)
Rent /Comm/Util
Administrative
Contracted Services
Total
$
-
45.0
-
10,926,113
523,964
5.0%
15.8%
7,967,050
359,699
4.7%1
lo.6%
2,959,062
164,266
-11.5%
1,600,000
-
o.o%1
o.o%1
5.9%1
16,805
21,012
4,207
25.0%
21,012
-
61,057
52,201
(8,856)
-14.5%
52,201
-
o.o%1
594,965
624,455
29,490
5.0%
624,455
-
O.O"!ol
1,123,856
9.7%
11,575,960
$
12,699,816
$
$
13,223,781
$
523,964
4.1%i
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00037
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.028
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Note: minor rounding differences may occur in totals
49728
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
OFFICE OF CREDIT UNION RESOURCE AND EXPANSION: 2019-2020 BUDGET SUMMARY
2018 Board
2019 Requested
2018-2019
Change
2020 Requested
2019-2020
Change
Approved Budget
Budget
Change
Percent
Budget
Change
Percent
FTE
Employee Compensation
Salaries
Benefits
Travel
Rent /Cornrn/Util.
Administrative
contracted Services
Total
-
-
36.0
36.0
9,522,877
7,010,978
2,511,898
538,000
17,750
23,250
264,400
7,536,322
5,533,197
2,003,125
620,000
14,750
30,750
257,000
(1,986,554)
(1,477,781)
(508,773)
82,000
{3,000)
7,500
(7,4(}0)
-20.9%
-21.1%
-20.3%
15.2%
-16.9%
32.3%
-2.8%
7,917,083
5,794,587
2,122,495
620,000
14,750
30,750
257,000
10,366,277
8,458,822
(1,907,454)
-18.4%
8,839,583
-
36.0
380,760
261,390
119,370
-
-
$
380,760
5.1%
4.7%1
6.o%1
o.o%1
o.o%1
o.o%1
o.o%1
4.5%j
OFFICE OF EXAMINATION AND INSURANCE: 2019-2020 BUDGET SUMMARY
2018 Board
2019 Requested
2018-2019
Change
2020 Requested
2019-2020
Change
Approved Budget
Budget
Change
Percent
Budget
Change
Percent
FTE
Employee Compensation
Salaries
Benefits
Travel
Rent/Comm/Util
Administrative
Contracted Services
Total
$
53.0
54.0
1.0
1.9%
54.0
10,931,964
8,124,044
2,807,919
1,001,643
14,200
267,216
448,500
11,464,514
8,509,711
2,954,803
995,000
17,320
621,500
513,000
532,550
385,667
146,883
(6,643)
3;120
354,284
64,500
4.9%
4.7%
5.2%
-0.7%
22.0%
132.6%
14.4%
12,050,629
8,912,077
3,138,553
995,000
17,320
621,500
513,000
12,663,523
$
13,611,334
$
947,811
7.5%
$
14,197,449
586,115
402,365
183,750
-
-
$
586,115
5.1%
4.7%
6.2%1
o.o%1
o.o%1
o.o%1
o.o%1
4.3%1
OFFICE OF GENERAL COUNSEL: 2019-2020 BUDGET SUMMARY
2018 Board
2019 Requested
2018-2019
Change
2020 Requested
2019-2020
Change
Approved Budget
Budget
Change
Percent
Budget
Change
Percent
FTE
Employee Compensation
Salaries
Benefits
Travel
Rent/Comm/Util
Administrative
Contracted Services
Total
44.0
47.0
3.0
6.8%
47.0
10,226,711
7,644,274
2,582,437
156,000
11,496,869
8,584,634
2,912,235
150,000
1,270,158
940,361
329,797
(6,000)
12.4%
12.3%
12.8%
-3.8%
12,088,145
8,990,542
3,097,q03
150,000
-
-
1,500
325,000
(4,500)
(ll,OOO)
-75.0%
-3.3%
11,973,369
$ 1,248,658
11.6%
-
6,000
336,000
$
10,724,711
$
591,276
405,908
185,368
-
-
-
1,500
325,000
$
12,564,645
-
-
$
591,276
5.1%
4.7%
6.4%1
o.o%1
o.o%1
o.o%1
0:0%1
4.9%i
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00038
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.029
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Note: minor rounding differences may occur in totals
49729
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
OFFICE OF HUMAN RESOURCES: 2019-2020 BUDGET SUMMARYY
2018 Board
2019 Requested
2018-2019
Change
Requested
2019-2020
Change
Approved Budget
Budget
Change
Percent
Budget
Change
Percent
FTE
43.0
43.0
Employee Compensation
9,079,982
9,621,702
Salaries
Benefits
Travel
6,171,019
6,359,464
2,908,963
3,262,238
2,826,615
2,834,765
294,180
290,900
532,601
454,677
3;018,943
2,554,787
Rent /Comm/Util
Administrative
Contracted Services
Total
$
15,752,321
$
15,756,831
541,721
$
-
-
43.0
10,057,995
188,445
3.1%
6,658,977
299,513
4.7%
353,275
12.1%
3,399,018
136,780
8,150
0.3%
3,834,765
1,000,000
0%1
35.3%1
(3,280)
-1.1%
290,900
-
o.o%1
(77,924)
-14.6%
454,677
-
o.o%1
(464,156)
-15.4%
4,511
0.0%
2,554!787
17,193,124
$
436,293
-
6.0%
$
1,436,293
4.5%
o.o%1
9.1%i
OFFICE OF PUBLIC AND CONGRESSIONAL AFFAIRS: 2019-2020 BUDGET SUMMARY
2018 Board
2019 Requested
2018-2019
Change
Requested
2019-2020
Change
Approved Budget
Budget
Change
Percent
Budget
Change
Percent
FTE
7.0
7.0
Employee Compensation
1,545,155
1,613,383
Salaries
Benefits
Travel
1,146,826
398,329
12,300
Rent /Comm/Util
Administrative
Contracted Services
Total
1$
-
-
7.0
-
4.4%
1,695,830
82,447
5.1%
1,197,036
50,210
4.4%
1,253,635
56,600
4.7%
416,348
18,018
4.5%
442;195
25,848
6.2%1
12,000
(300)
-2.4%
12,000
-
o.o%1
500
o.o%1
0.0%
-7.6%
-
39,036
500
(3,200)
500
42,236
39,036
-
o.o%1
210,97.5
176,975
{34,000)
-16.1%
176,975
-
o.o%1
I
68,228
1,810,666
$
1,841,894
$
31,228
1.7%
$
1,924,341
$
82,447
4.5%1
X. Appendix B: Capital Projects
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00039
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4703
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.030
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Note: minor rounding differences may occur in totals
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Information technology software development investments
Examination and Supervision Solution
$
$ 8,414,000 $ 8,414,000 $
Data Collection Sol uti on
$
$
Business Intelligence Tools and Capability Enhancement
$ 1,920,000 $ 1,920,000 $ 1,920,000 $
Enterprise Central Data Repository
$
AMAC Servicing System Solution
$ 2,100,000 $
Enterprise Data Analytics, Governance and Reporting Services
$
600,000
$
Asset and Liabilities Management Application
$
433,000
$ 3,167,000 $ 3,167,000 $ 3,600,000
Human Resource Business Solution
$
350,000 $
Enterprise Learning Management System Replacement
$
250,000
GRC Tool: Managing Compliance Information
$
Financial Management System Analysis of Alternatives
$
200,000 $ 2,400,000
$
990,000 $ 1,096,000
600,000
$
600,000
$
600,000
600,000
$
600,000
$
450,000
$
$
$
$
550,000
$
$
$
325,000
$
$
$
$
350,000
$
Disaster Recovery Capabilities Enhancement
$
$
$
$
Anticipated additional software development investments
$
$
$
$ 7,500,000
$
350,000
112,000
$ 9,000,000 $ 5,495,000 $ 3,989,000 $ 1,800,000
Other Information technology investments
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
$ 5,653,000 $ 15,051,000 $ 17,116,000 $ 15,758,000
Enterprise Laptop Lease
$ 1,850,000 $ 1,000,000 $
800,000 $
IT Infrastructure, Platform and Security refresh
$ 3,700,000 $ 1,700,000 $ 2,350,000 $
Agency Modernization Infrastructure Support
$ 1,250,000 $
$
$
Agency Web Design and Platform modernization
$ 1,200,000 $
$
$
Home Mortgage Disclosure Act System Development (cost sharing)
$
750,000
$
$
$
Credit and Deposit Analytic Solution
$
250,000
$
$
$
Security management tool upgrades (Patch and Vulnerability)
$
$
Security management tool upgrades (Security Event/Incident Management)
$
Refresh End of Life VoiP Phone System
800,000
$
342,000
$
$
$
327,000
$
$
$
$
170,000
$
Enterpise Video Conference Collaboration Services and Upgrades
$
$ 2,125,000 $
$
Anticipated additional other information technology investments
$
$
$ 1,000,000
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00040
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
670,000
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
$
02OCN2
EN02OC18.031
49730
49731
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Project name
EXAMINATION AND SUPERVISION SOLUTION AND INFRASTRUCTURE HOSTING
(ESS&IH) (2019.007)
Project
sponsor
Business Innovation Director and Chief Information Officer
Customers/
beneficiaries
Internal: E&I, All Field Program Offices, OCIO, and OCFP
External: Credit Unions, State Supervisory Authorities (SSAs)
Budget
$ in thousands
Acquisition
Operations and
Maintenance
Link to the
NCUA strategic
goals
2018
$0
2019
$8,414
2020
TBD
TBD
2021
TBD
$4,500
2022
$3,600
Goal 1: Ensure a Safe and Sound Credit Union S~stem. ESS will enable credit union
examiners to fulfill the NCUA strategic objective 1.2, "provide high-quality and
efficient supervision," by providing a more effective and secure examination tool.
Goal 3: Maximize organizational,gerformance to enable mission success. ESS will
enable credit union examiners to perform their work more efficiently, helping the
NCUA achieve strategic objective 3.2, "deliver an efficient organizational design
supported by improved business processes and innovation."
Project
Performance
Performance
measure
%of Exam and
Supervision Contact
Types by Program
Transitioned to ESS
Development Sprint
completion: Estimate
versus Actual
Testing Pass Rate:%
of User Stories that
Pass User Acceptance
Testing on First
attempt
Production System
Availability
2018
2019
2020
2021
28%
52%
100%
Release
1*
Within
+/- 20%
Release
2**
Within
+/- 20%
Release
3***
Within+/20%
90%
90%
90%
99.9%
99.9%
99.9%
2022
99.9%
* Release 1 includes ESM Iterations 1-3: ONES Credit Union (CU) Exam Program (Contact Type 10,11, 22,23, 26,27,28)
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00041
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.032
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
including 2 SSAs.
49732
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
* Release 1 includes ESM Iterations 1-3: ONES Credit Union (CU) Exam Program (Contact Type 10,11, 22,23, 26,27,28) including 2 SSAs.
** Release 2 includes ESM Iteration 4: All natural Person CU risk focused exam (10,11), Small CU (10), Corporate CU Exam (12,13), and Customer
Complaints (32).
***Release 3 includes (ESM Iteration 5): Fair lending exam (3); Onsite Fair lending exam; NFICU OnsitejOffsite (15), Vendor Review (24), CUSO Review
(29); On/Offsite Super Fraud (90,91 ); Consumer Compliance f96, 97); Liquidatio~ (new); Bank Purchase (new); Conservatorship (50,5i)
The ESS&IH projects will put access to the key examination and supervision capabilities into a
streamlined toolset allowing Examiners and Supervisors to be more efficient, consistent and effective.
The overarching ESS&IH project scope is to implement a new, flexible, technical foundation to enable
current and future the NCUA business process modernization initiatives, and replace the NCUA's legacy
exam system, AIRES, with a new Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) solution. This project represents the
first five iterations of the ESM Program. This project includes the implementation of a central user
interface (CUI), which will serve as a common point of access for future ESM applications and support
secure transfer of data between the NCUA and third parties. Key project deliverables include a new
COTS examination solution to replace the legacy system, AIRES, deployment of a CUI and establishment
of the technical foundation.
Investment objectives include:
" Process Efficiency and Scalability- To enable the NCUA staff to effectively oversee all credit
unions, from the smallest to the largest, with various types of examinations from a single
platform;
" Process Flexibility and Adaptability- To adjust to new regulatory processes, demands, and
priorities rapidly to an increasingly sophisticated credit union industry;
" Improved Analytics- To enhance the ability to identify and evaluate risk in credit unions
effectively through deep, detailed, "vertical" and "horizontal" analysis of credit unions using
various analytical techniques and tools;
" Robust and Flexible Data Collection- To securely collect and share financial and non-financial
data with flexible workflows to automate manual processes and efficiently route work
assignments; and,
" Risk-based Examination Approach- To focus examiner resources on credit unions and asset
portfolios that pose the most risk to the credit union industry.
" Modern IT Infrastructure - To enable current and future business process modernization
including a single point of entry to related IT services.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00042
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.033
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Time Management System (TMS), Management Automated Resource System (MARS), and National
Supervision Policy Manual (NSPM) tools are not in scope of this project Replacement of these legacy
systems will be included in future procurement efforts under the ESM Program.
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
March/2019
June/2019
September /2019
December /2019
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Project Risks
and Mitigation
Strategies
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Stand-up, new ESS&IH "cloud" based infrastructure/technical
platform and attain authority to operate (Enterprise Solutions
Modernization (ESM) (Iteration 1)
Complete User Acceptance Testing of the first Release of the
Central User Interface [CUI) and new examination tool
Deploy first release of the CUI and new examination tool to Small
User Group (i.e., ONES) and complete training (ESM Iteration 23)
Complete discovery and requirements gathering for
modernization of examination process for majority of users
(ESM Iteration 4)
Risk
If changes continue to be made to
legacy tools/applications, then the
ESS configuration timelines may be
impacted due to changing
requirements.
If the central data repository is not
funded and stood up timely, the
implementation timeline for ESS
may be delayed.
If during discovery our vendor's
initial assumptions (e.g., Secure
File Transfer) were incorrect and
additional software or services are
required, then costs could increase
and additional funding would be
required.
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00043
Fmt 4701
Mitigation
Maintain regular monthly communications
with E&I and the CRM team on the status,
planned activities, and estimated timeline.
ECDR integration will minimize impacts to
ESS&IH.
Parallel development and focus on the ONES
data.
Obligate minimum amounts required for
effective program execution in order to
preserve management reserve (e.g., MTIPS,
PMO, and Lease).
Sfmt 4725
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.034
Quarterly
project
schedule and
deliverables
49733
49734
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Project name
DATA COLLECTION SOLUTION (DCS) / ENTERPRISE CONTENT MANAGEMENT
(ECM) ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES (AOA) STUDY (2019.008)
Project sponsor
OCIO and the Office of Business Innovation (OBI)
Customers/
beneficiaries
Internal: OCIO and OBI
External: Nj A
Budget
$ in thousands
Acquisition
Operations and
Maintenance
Link to the NCUA
strategic goals
2018
$0
2019
$200
2020
$2,400
2021
2022
TBD
TBD
Goal 1: Ensure a Safe and Sound Credit Union S~stem. The Data Collection
Solution (DCS) will enable credit union examiners to fulfill the NCUA strategic
objective 1.2, "provide high-quality and efficient supervision," 1.2 by implementing
an enterprise content management (ECM) platform that ingests data simply and
with improved performance.
Goal 3: Maximize organizational,gerformance to enable mission success. The Data
Collection Solution (DCS) will assist credit union examiners to perform their work
more efficiently, helping the NCUA achieve strategic objective 3.2, "deliver an
efficient organizational design supported by improved business processes and
innovation" by implementing an enterprise content management (ECM) platform
that will support the NCUA's requirements for data collection, workflow, document
management, customer relationship management and records management
thereby improving the NCUA's records management compliance.
(note: ...f indicates
achievement of
performance
measure in year)
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Detailed project
description
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Performance measure
Complete AoA Study
Provide 3-4 ECM
Alternative Solutions
Complete ECM Solicitation
Package
Award ECM Solution
Contract
Implement ECM Solution
2018
2019
y
y
2020
2021
2022
TBD
TBD
TBD
In addition to its data collection needs, which the NCUA plans to address through
the Data Collection Solution (DCS) project, the agency requires document
management, records management, customer relationship management and
workflow solutions. Initial research indicates that Enterprise Content
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00044
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.035
Project
Performance
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Detailed project
description
49735
In addition to its data collection needs, which the NCUA plans to address through
the Data Collection Solution (DCS) project, the agency requires document
management, records management, customer relationship management and
workflow solutions. Initial research indicates that Enterprise Content
Management (ECM) platforms may provide the capability to address these broad
range of needs. A study is required to validate whether ECM solutions can meet
the NCUA's data collection as well as records/document/customer management
needs and to produce 3-4 viable alternative solutions.
The purpose of this pre-planning project phase is to award and complete an
Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) to study the operational effectiveness, suitability,
risks and life-cycle costs of alternative ECM solutions to support the NCUA's
requirements for data collection, workflow, document management, customer
relationship management and records management. An AoA needs to be
completed to gather the requirements across these areas and to validate that the
ECM solutions are the most effective and efficient way to meet the NCUA's data
collection, document management, records management needs. Additionally, the
project will provide a roadmap for acquiring and implementing an ECM platform
and will be followed by a subsequent project to solicit and implement the solution.
The scope of this project in 2019 is an AoA ofECM platforms and identification of
3-4 viable alternative solutions to address the following requirements:
• Data Collection Solution (DCS)
• Call Report
• CU Profile
• cuso
VerDate Sep<11>2014
Quarterly
project schedule
and deliverables
March/2019
Complete AoA Study
june/2019
September /2 019 Identify and scope 3-4 viable ECM alternative solutions
Project Risks
and Mitigation
Strategies
Risk
If the scope of the DCS AoA study is not
properly defined, then the study may not
yield suitable alternatives for the NCUA's
data collection, records management,
document management and workflow
requirements.
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00045
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
Mitigation
Project sponsor will ensure early
collaboration with OCIO and OBI
leadership to define the scope of the
AoA study. Additionally, the project
sponsor will be prepared to spin off a
second AoA study to address unrelated
requirements.
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.036
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
• GENISIS/FOMIA
• Grants & Loans
• Regional (e.g. Correspondence)
• Customer Assistance Center
• Workflow
• Logging
• GENISIS
• CRM
• Records Management
Enterprise Document Management
The results of the AoA will aid the agency's decision making on major IT
investments and the suitability of ECM as a viable solution.
49736
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Project name
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE (BI) TOOLS AND CAPABILITY ENHANCEMENT
(2019.009)
Project sponsor
Office of National Examination and Supervision [ONES)
Customers/
beneficiaries
Internal: ONES
External: Large and Corporate Credit Unions
Budget
$in thousands
Acquisition
Operations and
Maintenance
2018
$1,920
2019
$1,920
---
---
2020
TBD
$1,375
2021
2022
---
---
$1,375
$1,375
Goal1: Ensure a Safe and Sound Credit Union S~stem. The BI Tool and Capability
Enhancement project will enable credit union examiners to fulfill the NCUA
strategic objective 1.2, "provide high-quality and efficient supervision," by
consolidating the historic and on-going information collected by ONES in a central,
standardized data warehouse. ONES will acquire and analyze risk data sets
independent of the risk reporting provided by the credit unions themselves,
enhancing both the quality and depth of ONES assessment of the safety and
soundness of covered credit unions.
Link to the
NCUA strategic
goals
Goal 3: Maximize oq;:anizational,gerformance to enable mission success. The BI
Tool and Capability Enhancement project will enable credit union examiners
perform their work more efficiently, helping the NCUA achieve strategic objective
3.2, "deliver an efficient organizational design supported by improved business
processes and innovation" by providing a centralized source of information team to
implement Data Driven Supervision which will improve overall understanding of,
and quantification of, material risks, provide the ability to conduct regular and adhoc sensitivity testing, reverse stress testing, and focused risk testing.
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
(note: ...f indicates
achievement of
performance
measure in year)
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Performance measure
Continue to ingest
quarterly data from the
CUs
Cleanse quarterly data for
ingestion into the
warehouse
Modify template(s) for
data ingestion in
accordance with approved
business rules
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00046
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
...j
...j
...j
...j
...j
...j
...j
Fmt 4701
y
Sfmt 4725
y
y
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
y
y
...j
02OCN2
EN02OC18.037
Project
Performance
49737
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Create new templates for
additional data collection
Develop business user
dashboards and reports
Percentage of data successfully
ingested
Amount of data received
rquarterly)
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
Baseline
established
Baseline
established
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
The purpose of this project is the collection, centralization, organization and storage of ONES data so
that analysis is more accurate and efficient. This accessibility will integrate with BI tools to improve
ONES's overall reporting and data analysis capabilities.
The primary goal for this project is an organized and governed data warehouse that hosts clean and
accurate data from legacy, enhanced and new systems in a manner that allows for timely, distributed
reporting (BI tools) and can adapt to fluctuating market conditions.
The continued buildout of the data warehouse will allow the ONES financial analysts to perform data
driven assessments and challenge of capital analysis and supervisory stress tests developed by its
covered credit unions, and provide a more informed assessment of credit union capital needs relative
to overall risk profile. The data warehouse buildout also enhances management reporting and
supports the ability of ONES National Lending Specialists (NLS) to prepare for and conduct risk-based
examination of credit risk exposures and management practices in ONES covered credit unions. These
new functions will improve management's supervision of ONES activities as well as all ONES staffs'
ability to prepare in advance for exams and quickly identify and quantify areas of risk
September/2019
December/2019
Buildout of the BI data warehouse architecture
Enhancements and buildout of the BI data warehouse environment
Refinement and new reporting functionality;
Refinement and new dashboards
Delivery of data warehouse and for ONES staff
Risk
If the credit unions do not provide data in the
correct format each quarter, then portfolio
information for the credit unions will be inaccurate
or incomplete.
Mitigation
Provide clear updated instructions for each
template that include acceptable lists of values for
each field where possible.
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
If credit union data is inaccurate or
incomplete, then processing of quarterly
credit union data will be delayed due to
time to analyze and correct input data
issues.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00047
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
Continue to develop additional
statistical routines that will quickly
identify data file quality issues; this will
improve the data issue identification
and speed up the process of addressing
data quality issues.
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.038
March/2019
June/2019
49738
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Project name
ENTERPRISE CENTRAL DATA REPOSITORY (ECDR) (2019.012)
Project sponsor
aero
Customers/
beneficiaries
Internal: All Offices at the NCUA
External: Credit Unions, Credit Union members and the public will indirectly benefit
from this project.
Budget
$ in thousands
Acquisition
Operations and
Maintenance
2018
$0
2019
$990
2020
$1,096
$1,129
2021
2022
$2,709
$2,933
Goal1: Ensure a Safe and Sound Credit Union S~stem. The Enterprise Central Data
Repository (ECDR) project will enable credit union examiners to fulfill strategic
objective 1.2, "provide high-quality and efficient supervision," by providing a data
platform that will enable the NCUA to more accurately and cost-effectively assess
risks to the credit union system that will enable the NCUA to better identify and
evaluate credit union risk more efficiently to conduct its mission through data
analytics.
Link to NCUA
strategic goals
Goal 3: Maximize organizational,gerformance to enable mission success. The
Enterprise Central Data Repository (ECDR) project will enable credit union
examiners to perform their work more effectively and efficiently, helping the NCUA
achieve strategic objective 3.2, "deliver an efficient organizational design supported
by improved business processes and innovation" by providing the central data
repository on which the agency's enterprise data analytics and Enterprise Solutions
Modernization (ESM) initiative will rely that will improve the integrity, security and
business value of the NCUA's data.
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
(note: ...f
indicates
achievement of
performance
measure in year)
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Performance measure
Expand infrastructure to
support legacy data
required for ESS
Continue to ingest ONES
quarterly loan data
Eliminate duplicate data
tables
Accurately categorize data
(enterprise, analytics, etc.)
Number of data source
consolidated into ECDR
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00048
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
...j
...j
...j
...j
...j
y
y
TBD
TBD
TBD
Fmt 4701
y
y
...j
Baseline
established
Sfmt 4725
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.039
Project
Performance
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
49739
Detailed project The Enterprise Central Data Repository (ECDR) project will implement a central
data repository that will serve as the data integration point for ESS, ONES's analytic
description
tools, the NCUA's legacy applications and the Data Collection Solution (DCS). The
ECDR will become an enterprise solution for the NCUA allowing the organization to
transition in a phased approach the from the existing legacy databases to a cloudbased data repository serving the agency's needs.
December/2018
March/2019
June/2019
September/2019
December/2019
Project Risks
and Mitigation
Strategies
Signed ATO for ECDR, not including ISA/MOU's
Phase 0/1: ECDR Infrastructure+ Support for ESS Iterations 2
& 3 (ONES Examination Data and Institutional Financial Data)
integrated in Test environment.
Phase 0/1: ECDR Infrastructure+ Support for ESS Iterations 2
& 3 (ONES Examination Data and Institutional Financial Data)
in Production
Phase 1: Support for ESS Iteration 4 (Examination Data &
Institutional Financial Data for Remaining Credit Unions)
Risk
If resources assigned to this project are
needed to support high priority tasks,
then there may be impacts to this project.
If requirement changes are needed, then
there may be impact to the schedule.
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
If there are schedule delays with the
cloud environment, then additional
storage may be required on premise.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00049
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
Mitigation
Continuous communication with OCIO
Management on task prioritization
and/or resource conflicts.
Hold regular status meetings with
project team to keep requirements
delivery on schedule. Escalate any
requirements changes or expansion of
requirements immediately to
determine the impact of such changes.
Continue to communicate with the ESS
team. Prepare for possible delays in
moving to cloud be creating CR to
increase storage by the time solution is
scheduled to migrate to Test.
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.040
Quarterly
project
schedule and
deliverables
49740
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Project name
AMAC SERVICING SYSTEM SOLUTION (2019.015)
Project sponsor
Asset Management and Assistance Center [AMAC)
Customers/
beneficiaries
Internal: Asset Management and Assistance Center (AMAC)
External: All Credit Unions
Budget
$ in thousands
Acquisition
Operations and
Maintenance
2018
$2,100
2019
$600
2020
$600
2021
TBD
TBD
2022
TBD
Link to the NCUA Goal 1: Ensure a Safe and Sound Credit Union S~stem. A new AMAC Servicing
System Solution will help the NCUA achieve strategic objective 1.1, "maintain a
strategic goals
strong Share Insurance Fund," by enhancing AMAC's legacy content management
and servicing systems. This will improve management of credit union liquidations
while increasing asset recovery, thereby minimizing costs to the Share Insurance
Fund and credit union members.
Goal 3: Maximize organizational,gerformance to enable mission success. A new
AMAC Servicing System Solution will assist AMAC staff to perform their work more
effectively and efficiently, helping the NCUA achieve strategic objective 3.2, "deliver
an efficient organizational design supported by improved business processes and
innovation." The new system will enhance AMAC's legacy content management
and servicing systems, which will enable AMAC to perform its loan and member
servicing duties more effectively, while continuing to fulfill its regulatory reporting
responsibilities.
(note: .J indicates
achievement of
performance
measure in year)
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Detailed project
description
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Performance measure
Initiate and plan the
acquisition of a new core
processor
Acquire a modern, scalable
and cloud-based core
processor replacement
Integrate, configure and
provide AMAC personnel
with access to a new core
processor solution
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
.;
.;
.;
The purpose of this project is to enhance AMAC's legacy content management and
servicing systems. Phase I of the project resulted in an enhanced, secure content
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00050
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.041
Project
Performance
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
49741
The purpose of this project is to enhance AMAC's legacy content management and servicing systems.
Phase I of the project resulted in an enhanced, secure content management solution. During Phase II of
the project, the NCUA will identify, acquire, and implement replacement solutions for AMAC's aging
core data processor. The key project deliverables are the acquisition and deployment of a replacement
core processing system.
June/2019
September/2019
December/2019
Award contracts for the core processor replacement solution and
implementation services.
Complete solution configuration and data migration.
Complete testing.
Deploy new solution.
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Risk
The agency's existing core processor will go endof-life (EoL) in 2019
If a FedRAMP-compliant (or SOC 2, Type II audit
compliant) solution is not acquired, then an
Authority to Operate (ATO) may be difficult or
impossible to obtain
If data migration issues are encountered, the
project's budget and/or schedule would likely be
negatively impacted
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00051
Fmt 4701
Mitigation
Identify, acquire and implement a replacement
solution in 2019
Conduct thorough market research to identify
vendors that offer either FedRAMP or SOC 2,
Type II compliant solutions
Assess data migration tools and data/database
compatibility during market research and use
this as qualifying factor
Sfmt 4725
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.042
March/2019
49742
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Project name
ENTERPRISE DATA ANALYTICS, GOVERNANCE AND REPORTING SERVICES
(2019.010)
Project sponsor
Office of Business Innovation Division (OBI)
Customers/
beneficiaries
Internal: All Offices at the NCUA
External: N/A
Budget
$ in thousands
Acquisition
Operations and
Maintenance
2018
$600
2019
$600
2020
$450
2021
2022
$150
$150
Goal1: Ensure a Safe and Sound Credit Union S~stem. The Enterprise Data
Analytics, Governance and Reporting Services project will enable credit union
examiners to fulfill the NCUA strategic objective 1.2, "provide high-quality and
efficient supervision," by facilitating the centralization, organization and storage of
the NCUA data so analysis is more accurate, simple and easily distributed across
the agency to improve the NCUA's overall reporting and data analysis capabilities.
Link to the
NCUA strategic
goals
Goal 3: Maximize organizational,gerformance to enable mission success. The
Enterprise Data Analytics, Governance and Reporting Services project will enable
credit union examiners to perform their work more effectively and efficiently,
helping the NCUA achieve strategic objective 3.2, "deliver an efficient
organizational design supported by improved business processes and innovation,"
by establishing an enterprise repository for reporting purposes that will allow for
consistent, centralized reporting and eliminating the duplicative reporting
responsibilities for numerous staff.
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
(note: .J indicates
achievement of
performance
measure in year)
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Performance measure
Create draft templates for
governance body to
identify enterprise data
Provide training sessions
for Data Stewards
Develop draft charter for
review by Enterprise Data
Council
Establish and Operate the
Enterprise Data Council
Create Enterprise Data
Instruction
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00052
2018
Fmt 4701
.;
2019
2020
2021
2022
y
.;
.;
y
Sfmt 4725
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.043
Project
Performance
49743
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
~
Validate Data Governance
Framework
Conduct Critical Data Element
Inventory for Exam and
Institutional Data Domains
Conduct Meta data Gap
Assessment for Exam and
Institutional Data Domains
Provide Data Governance
training sessions for the
Enterprise Data Council members
Implement data governance for
additional data domains
Number of data elements
consolidated across enterprise
domains
~
~
~
Baseline
established
~
~
~
TBD
TBD
TBD
VerDate Sep<11>2014
March/2019
•
•
•
•
June/2019
•
•
•
September/2019
•
•
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
Provide training sessions for Data Stewards
Develop draft charter for review by Enterprise Data Council
Validate Data Governance Framework with Data Stewards
Conduct Critical Data Element Inventory for Exam and Institutional Data
Domains
Create Enterprise Data Instruction
Establish and Operate the Enterprise Data Council
Provide Data Governance training sessions for the Enterprise Data Council
members
Formalize Data Governance Framework with the Enterprise Data Council
Conduct Metadata Gap Assessment for Exam and Institutional Data
Domains
PO 00000
Frm 00053
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.044
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
The purpose of this project is project is to establish a data governance program comprised of a policy, a
central data governing body, and data steward teams. The primary goal for this project is organized
and governed data including clean and accurate data from legacy, enhanced, and new systems. This
data will allow for timely, distributed reporting (BI tools) and can adapt to fluctuating market
conditions. This project will facilitate the centralization, organization and storage of the NCUA data so
analysis is more accurate, simple and easily distributed across the agency. This increased accessibility
will combine with analytic tools to improve the NCUA's overall reporting and data analysis capabilities.
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
September /2019
•
•
December/2019
•
•
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Project Risks
and Mitigation
Strategies
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Formalize Data Governance Framework with the Enterprise
Data Council
Conduct Metadata Gap Assessment for Exam and
Institutional Data Domains
Begin Critical Data Element Inventory for Member Financial
Data Domains
Begin Meta data Gap Assessment for Member Financial Data
Domains
Risk
If the business does not actively provide
input to the Analytic Strategy for Data,
then the scope of Analytic services, roles,
and responsibilities may not be clearly
defined and understood by all
stakeholders.
If the scope of the Enterprise Analytic
Data Council is not appropriately defined
in the Instruction, then the authority and
effectiveness of the Council may be
compromised. Additionally, support
may wain from offices whose data
domains and priorities are not part of
the programs near term scope.
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00054
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
Mitigation
1. Work to integrate with other ESM
work streams in order to leverage
business resources.
2. Work with OBI to provide input
1. Work with OBI, OCIO and other
stakeholders to right-size the Council's
scope, ensuring that the scope is not too
narrow to limit its effectiveness, and
not too broad to paralyze its decisionmaking ability.
2. Work with OBI and OCIO to build a
roadmap to take on additional scope as
the framework matures and resources
allow
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.045
49744
49745
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Project name
ASSET & LIABILITIES MANAGEMENT (ALM) APPLICATION (2019.011)
Project sponsor
Office of National Examination and Supervision [ONES)
Customers/
beneficiaries
Internal: Office of National Examination and Supervision
External: Large and Corporate Credit Unions
Budget
$ in thousands
Acquisition
Operations and
Maintenance
2018
$433
2019
$3,167
2020
$3,600
2021
TBD
$3,600
2022
$3,600
Goal 1: Ensure a Safe and Sound Credit Union S~stem. The Asset & Liabilities
Management (ALM) Application will enable credit union examiners to fulfill their
responsibility to achieve strategic objective 1.2, "provide high-quality and efficient
supervision," by building an internal analytical capabilities to run supervisory
stress testing in house and to conduct regular quantitative risk assessments.
Link to the
NCUA strategic
goals
Goal 3: Maximize oq;:anizational,gerformance to enable mission success. The Asset
& Liabilities Management (ALM) Application will enable credit union examiners to
perform their work more effectively and efficiently, helping the NCUA achieve
strategic objective 3.2, "deliver an efficient organizational design supported by
improved business processes and innovation," by modernizing the NCUA's
supervision tools and approaches, identifying material risks facing the covered
credit unions, and tailoring resources to the material risks and risk focused exams.
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
(note:~
indicates
achievement of
performance
measure in year)
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Performance measure
Procure ALM tool for Stress
Testing
Complete software
development lifecycle
deployment into
production
Perform data extraction
and integration
Identify remaining
software tools
Procure remaining tools
Perform stress testing and
validate
Continue to perform
internal stress testing
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00055
2018
Fmt 4701
2019
2020
2021
2022
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
Sfmt 4725
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.046
Project
Performance
49746
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Number of Credit Unions
that ALM tools are used to
conduct supervisory stress
testing
Baseline
established
TBD
TBD
TBD
Detailed project This project will allow the NCUA to build internal analytical capabilities to run
description
supervisory stress testing in house and to conduct regular quantitative risk
assessments by procuring and configuring off-the-shelf analytical tools, models, and
software used commonly in financial industry stress testing and other risk
management activities.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
Quarterly
project
schedule and
deliverables
March/2019
june/2019
September /2 019
December /2019
Project Risks
and Mitigation
Strategies
Risk
If the ALM Tool does not configure
easily, then the NCUA will be
contractually bound to a solution that
does not meet the needs.
If the ALM Tool provides results that are
inaccurate, then the NCUA will need
identify other tools for consideration.
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Pilot of ALM Application Complete
Refine configuration of ALM Application
Complete supervisory stress testing using ALM Application
Determine if reliance on third party vendor can be eliminated
Frm 00056
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
Mitigation
Structure contract with pilot period and
additional options to enable the NCUA
to exit contract with minimal financial
exposure.
Allow adequate time to validate results
against existing third party vendor's
findings. Continue utilizing existing
third party vendor contract to perform
supervisory stress testing.
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.047
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
This effort delivers a complete solution that will focus on modernizing the NCUA's
supervision tools and approaches, identifying material risks facing the covered
credit unions, and tailoring resources to the material risks and risk focused exams.
This effort will allow the NCUA to reduce the existing third party contractor's role
to only consultation.
49747
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Project name
ENTERPRISE LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (LMS) REPLACEMENT
(2019.016)
Project sponsor
Office of Human Resources (OHR)
Customers/
beneficiaries
Internal: All Offices at the NCUA
External: Nj A
Budget
$ in thousands
Acquisition
Operations and
Maintenance
$550
2020
2021
2022
$112
$112
$112
Goal 3: Maximize organizational,gerformance to enable mission success. The
Enterprise Learning Management System (LMS) Replacement project will assist all
the NCUA employees perform their work more effectively and efficiently, helping
the NCUA achieve strategic objective 3.1, "attract, engage and retain highly-skilled,
diverse workforce and cultivate an inclusive environment." The new LMS will be
the NCUA's primary system for hosting and delivering eLearning courses and will
allow for increased access to training and eLearning.
Project
Performance
Performance measure
Initiate and plan the
acquisition of a new LMS
Acquire a modern, costefficient cloud-based LMS
that meets agency
requirements
Prepare and provide access
to a new LMS and a full
array of! earning services to
-2,500 end users
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
2018
.;
2019
2020
2021
2022
.;
.;
The purpose of the Enterprise Learning Management System (LMS) Replacement
project is to conduct market research, initiate an acquisition, create a project
management plan, and execute production implementation a cost-effective, cloudbased solution and training services that provides the NCUA with the full-range of
eLearning functionality associated with a modern LMS. This will allow for
enhanced examiner utilization and accessibility driven by quality content, ease of
use and system reliability, role-based interface: ability to view personalized pages
by role, centralized content, adherence to federally-mandated reporting
requirements and records management adherence.
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00057
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.048
Detailed project
description
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
2019
$250
Link to the NCUA
strategic goals
(note: .J indicates
achievement of
performance
measure in year)
VerDate Sep<11>2014
2018
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Quarterly
project schedule
and deliverables
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Project Risks
and Mitigation
Strategies
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
March/2019
June/2019
September /2 019
December/2019
Complete capturing requirements, market research, and
request for proposals
Award contract
Complete testing and implementation
Deploy
Risk
If HTML 5 is not enabled in the agency's
web browser to support Adobe Flash
content in the current LMS, then the
existing training system will not work.
Support for Adobe Flash is scheduled to
be discontinued in 2020.
If technical issues arise during the data
migration process, it could result in the
loss of training records, content or other
data.
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00058
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
Mitigation
Procure learning content constructed
using modern web standards and that
is compatible with the latest version of
the agency web browser.
Assess data compatibility during
market research and use compatibility
as a qualifYing factor.
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.049
49748
49749
VerDate Sep<11>2014
Project name
GOVERNANCE, RISK MANAGEMENT, AND COMPLIANCE (GRC) TOOL FOR
MANAGING COMPLIANCE INFORMATION (2019.005)
Project
sponsor
Office of the Chieflnformation Officer (OCIO), Office of the Chief Financial Officer
(OCFO), Office of the General Council (OGC)
Customers/
beneficiaries
Internal: All Offices at the NCUA
External: All Credit Unions
Budget
$ in thousands
Acquisition
Operations and
Maintenance
2018
2019
$0
$325
2020
2021
2022
$60
$60
$60
Link to the
NCUA strategic
goals
Goal3: Maximize organizational,gerformance to enable mission success. The GRC
Tool project will help the NCUA achieve strategic objective 3.3, "ensure sound
corporate governance" by acquiring and implementing a GRC tool that provides a
structured repository for all system security and privacy documentation; security
risk assessments; risk scoring; Plan of Actions and Milestones (POAM) management;
and authorization workflow information.
Project
Performance
Performance measure
2018
Reduce manual
compilation of security
info and event reports
by:
implementing an
aggregated
repository,
utilizing a
standard near
real-time
reporting
capability, and
leveraging
integration with
incident
management and
reporting
dashboards.
Baseline
under
development
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00059
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
2019
2020
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
2021
2022
EN02OC18.050
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
49750
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Improve performance
through enhanced
capabilities resulting in
visibility into security
posture for all levels of
NCUA and automated
reporting to both
internal and external
stakeholders.
Detailed
project
description
Baseline
under
development
The purpose of this project is to acquire and implement a single, structured
repository for compliance-related records for the NCUA's information technology,
financial management, and legal processes ..
Once implemented, the GRC tool will enhance the NCUA risk management and its
internal control environment while improving business continuity.
Implement GRC Tool for managing compliance information
March/2019
june/2019
September/2019
December /2019
Project Risks
and Mitigation
Strategies
Risk
If the acquisition timeframe is extended,
then the implementation schedule will be
delayed.
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
If resources are assigned to other
assignments, then the implementation
schedule will be delayed.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00060
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
Mitigation
Provide all required procurement
artifacts well in advance of deadlines
and manage all activities closely with
clear escalation paths for higher level
issue resolution.
Create integrated master schedule
with clear process for resource
prioritization and scheduling
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.051
Quarterly
project
schedule and
deliverables
49751
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Project name
FINANI CAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVES (AOA)
(2019.018)
Project sponsor
Office of the Chief Financial Officer
Customers/
beneficiaries
Internal: OCFO
External: All Credit Unions and All Vendors Doing Business with the NCUA
Budget
$ in thousands
Acquisition
Operations and
Maintenance
2020
2021
2022
TBD
TBD
TBD
Goal 3: Maximize organizational,gerformance to enable mission success. The
Financial Management Analysis of Alternatives will help the NCUA achieve
strategic objective 3.2, "deliver an efficient organizational design supported by
improved business processes and innovation" by ensuring the agency is using the
most cost-effective Financial Management System (FMS) solution.
Project
Performance
Performance measure
Complete AoA Study
Provide FMS Alternative
Solutions
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
2018
2019
~
~
2020
2021
2022
The NCUA is seeking a fully integrated, vendor supported, and upgradeable
software system. This system is necessary for the NCUA to properly manage its
finances, and will require fund-accounting based solutions that support
governmental accounting and are fully compliant with appropriate governmental
accounting standards. The NCUA requires a system that includes modules and
functionalities common with Federal Agencies, such as: General Ledger and US
Standard General Ledger (USSGL) Charts of Accounts, Accounts Payable, Accounts
Receivable, Vendor File Maintenance & Management, Purchase Orders and
Requisitions, Contracts and Solicitations, Project and Grants Accounting, Invoicing
and Billing Management, Inventory Management and Accountable Property, Travel
Management, Cost Accounting, Budget Preparation and Management, Budget
Accounting, Execution, and Funds Control, Fund Accounting, Capital and Fixed
Assets, Financial Reporting, Human Resources/Payroll Interface, Business
Intelligence and Ad hoc Reporting, Federal Financial Reporting Requirements
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00061
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.052
Detailed project
description
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
2019
$350
Link to the NCUA
strategic goals
(note:~ indicates
achievement of
performance
measure in year)
VerDate Sep<11>2014
2018
$0
VerDate Sep<11>2014
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Detailed project
description
The NCUA is seeking a fully integrated, vendor supported, and upgradeable
software system. This system is necessary for the NCUA to properly manage its
finances, and will require fund-accounting based solutions that support
governmental accounting and are fully compliant with appropriate governmental
accounting standards. The NCUA requires a system that includes modules and
functionalities common with Federal Agencies, such as: General Ledger and US
Standard General Ledger (USSGL) Charts of Accounts, Accounts Payable, Accounts
Receivable, Vendor File Maintenance & Management, Purchase Orders and
Requisitions, Contracts and Solicitations, Project and Grants Accounting, Invoicing
and Billing Management, Inventory Management and Accountable Property, Travel
Management, Cost Accounting, Budget Preparation and Management, Budget
Accounting, Execution, and Funds Control, Fund Accounting, Capital and Fixed
Assets, Financial Reporting, Human Resources/Payroll Interface, Business
Intelligence and Ad hoc Reporting, Federal Financial Reporting Requirements
(OMB A-136), Travel Expense Report and Reimbursement, GSA SmartPay® 3
Charge Card Interface, and System Generated Financial Statements.
Quarterly
project schedule
and deliverables
March/2019
June/2019
September /2 019
December/2019
Project Risks
and Mitigation
Strategies
Risk
If the scope of the FMS AoA study is not
properly defined, then the study may not
yield suitable alternatives for the NCUA's
financial management requirements.
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Complete AoA Study
Identify and scope viable FMS alternative solutions
Frm 00062
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
Mitigation
OCFO will ensure early collaboration
with aero leadership to define the
scope of the AoA study.
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.053
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
49752
49753
VerDate Sep<11>2014
Project name
DISASTER RECOVERY (2019.006)
Project
sponsor
Office of the Chieflnformation Officer
Customers/
beneficiaries
Internal: All Offices at the NCUA
External: All Credit Unions
Budget
$ in thousands
Acquisition
Operations and Maintenance
2018
$1,200
2019
$0
$0
2020
2021
2022
$360
$360
$360
Link to NCUA
strategic
goals
Goal 3: Maximize oq;:anizational,gerformance to enable mission success. The Disaster
Recovery project will help NCUA achieve strategic objective 3.2, "deliver an efficient
organizational design supported by improved business processes and innovation" by
enabling infrastructure and platform to alignment with the Data Center for continuity
of operations and backup and recovery capabilities for Mission Essential Functions
(MEFs) and Essential Supporting Activities (ESAs ).
Project
Performance
Performance measure
Reduce administrative
burden by:
eliminating ad hoc
support for End of Life
(EOL) equipment,
updating more robust
platforms with
enhanced
troubleshooting and
management consoles,
and
reducing maintenance
requirements.
Enhance capabilities
resulting in:
lower support costs,
greater integration
from modernize
interfaces and
software, and
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00063
2018
Baseline
under
development
2019
2020
2021
2022
Baseline
under
development
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.054
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Enhance capabilities
resulting in:
lower support costs,
greater integration
from modernize
interfaces and
software, and
predictable upgrade
and vulnerability
management paths
Baseline
under
development
Detailed
project
description
The purpose of the Disaster Recovery project is to enable infrastructure and platform
to alignment with the NCUA data center for continuity of operations and backup and
recovery capabilities for MEFs and ESAs in order to ensure that the NCUA operations
are stable.
Quarterly
project
schedule and
deliverables
March/2019
june/2019
September /2019
December/2019
Project Risks
and
Mitigation
Strategies
Risk
If the acquisition timeframe is extended, then
the implementation schedule will be delayed.
Enable disaster recovery capabilities.
Close out.
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
If resources are assigned to other assignments,
then the implementation schedule will be
delayed.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00064
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
Mitigation
Provide all required procurement
artifacts well in advance of
deadlines and manage all activities
closely with clear escalation paths
for higher level issue resolution.
Create integrated master schedule
with clear process for resource
prioritization and scheduling
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.055
49754
49755
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Project name
ENTERPRISE LAPTOP LEASE (2019.017)
Project sponsor
Office of the Chieflnformation Officer [OCIO)
Customers/
beneficiaries
Internal: All Offices at the NCUA
External: State Supervisory Authority [SSA)
Budget
$ in thousands
Acquisition
Operations and
Maintenance
2018
$2,501 *
2019
$800
2020
$800
2021
$2,035*
2022
$800
• Compatibility and infrastructure issues delayed the project in 2018, and required $651,000 in repurposed funding, which
was approved by the NCUA board through a budget reprogramming.
" The laptop refresh budget assumes the devices will be acquired by way of a 3-year lease. Consequently, the refresh cycle is
anticipated to be2in a2ain in 2021.
Link to the NCUA Goal 3: Maximize organizational,gerformance to enable mission success. The
strategic goals
Enterprise Laptop Lease project will assist all employees to perform their work
more effectively and efficiently, helping the NCUA achieve strategic objective 3.2,
"deliver an efficient organizational design supported by improved business
processes and innovation." New hardware for the NCUA's employees provides staff
with new functionality and the NCUA improved security features that enhance user
productivity, increased mobile functionality, and lower IT administrative costs due
to a decreased need for support services.
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
(note: .J indicates
achievement of
performance
measure in year)
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Performance measure
Upgrade IT infrastructure
to support the Windows 10
platform
Ensure operability of
critical, legacy business
applications on the
Windows 10 platform
Deploy new Windows 10based laptops to all eligible
NCUA employees,
contractors, and SSAs
Enhance centralized
management of agency
laptops and applications
during the O&M phase
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00065
Fmt 4701
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
.;
.;
.;
.;
Sfmt 4725
.;
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.056
Project
Performance
49756
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Detailed project
description
The purpose of the Enterprise Laptop Lease project is to provide the NCUA with a
more efficient, mobile friendly, and secure tool to help better perform their jobs at
a reasonable cost.
The project scope includes: (1) the selection of new, standard laptop
configurations; (2) image and compatibility testing; (3) device acquisition; and (4)
the managed deployment of the new devices to end users. Out year costs are
associated with the required lease payments. All stakeholders who use the NCUAprovided and supported laptops to perform their work will receive the new
laptops.
By including hardware and OS support into the lease agreement contract, and
following a three-year replacement lifecycle, the NCUA will be able to keep pace
with changes in workstation and OS technology in a cost effective manner.
September /2 018
December /2018
March/2019
June/2019
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Project Risks
and Mitigation
Strategies
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
-1,500 laptops deployed to all eligible NCUA employees,
contractors, and SSAs
Project closed and transitioned to Operations & Maintenance
ro&M)
O&M of this capital lease
O&M of this capital lease
Risk
Unforeseen shipping delays (weather,
traffic, etc.) could result in field and
remote staff not receiving laptops and
peripherals on their scheduled arrival
date
Failure of the automated virtual private
network (VPN) connection process could
result in field and remote staff not being
able to access the NCUA's network
without additional support
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00066
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
Mitigation
Agency staff and contractor partners
collaborated to create a logistics and
shipping plan that focused on ensuring
timely product delivery, traceability
and redirect capability for recipients
Agency staff worked closely with the
VPN vendor to ensure the automated
network connectivity solution was
viable, robust and secure. Internal
technical staff as well as business staff
tested the solution under real-world
working conditions to ensure it would
meet agency requirements
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.057
Quarterly
project schedule
and deliverables
49757
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Project name
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) INFRASTRUCTURE, PLATFORM AND
SECURITY REFRESH (2019.001)
Project
sponsor
Office of the Chief Information Officer
Customers/
beneficiaries
Internal: All Offices at the NCUA
External: All Credit Unions
Budget
$ in thousands
Acquisition
Operations and
Maintenance
2018
$0
2019
$2,350
2020
2021
2022
$620
$620
$620
Link to the
Goal 3: Maximize organizational,gerformance to enable mission success. Information
NCUA strategic Technology (IT) Infrastructure, Platform and Security Refresh project will enable
goals
credit union examiners to perform their work more effectively and efficiently,
helping the NCUA achieve strategic objective 3.2, "deliver an efficient organizational
design supported by improved business processes and innovation" by refreshing
and/or replacing COLO and Regional routers, switches virtual servers, wireless,
virtual private network, end of life and end of service components which ensure
business continuity.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Performance measure
Reduce administrative
burden by:
eliminating ad hoc
support for End of
Life (EOL)
equipment,
updating more
robust platforms
with enhanced
troubleshooting
and management
consoles, and
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00067
2018
Baseline
under
development
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
2019
2020
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
2021
2022
EN02OC18.058
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Project
Performance
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Improve performance
through:
enhanced
capabilities
resulting in lower
support costs,
greater integration
from modernize
interfaces and
software, and
predictable
upgrade and
vulnerability
management paths
Baseline
under
development
Detailed
project
description
The purpose of the Information Technology (IT) Infrastructure, Platform and
Security Refresh project is to ensure that the NCUA data is secure and operations are
stable by refreshing and/or replacing COLO and Regional routers, switches virtual
servers, wireless, virtual private network, and other network end-of-life and end-ofservice components.
Quarterly
project
schedule and
deliverables
March/2019
Project Risks
and Mitigation
Strategies
June/2019
September /2 019
December /2019
Complete refresh and/or replace of COLO and Regional IT
appliances.
Close out.
Risk
If the acquisition timeframe is extended,
then the implementation schedule will be
delayed.
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
If resources are assigned to other
assignments, then the implementation
schedule will be delayed.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00068
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
Mitigation
Provide all required procurement
artifacts well in advance of deadlines
and manage all activities closely with
clear escalation paths for higher level
issue resolution.
Create integrated master schedule
with clear process for resource
prioritization and scheduling.
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.059
49758
49759
VerDate Sep<11>2014
Project name
SECURITY MANAGEMENT TOOL UPGRADE (PATCH & VULNERABILITY
MANAGEMENT) (2019.004)
Project
sponsor
Office of the Chieflnformation Officer
Customers/
beneficiaries
Internal: All Offices at the NCUA
External: All Credit Unions
Budget
$ in thousands
Acquisition
Operations and
Maintenance
2018
$0
2019
$342
2020
2021
2022
$60
$60
$60
Link to the
NCUA strategic
goals
Goal 3: Maximize organizational,gerformance to enable mission success. The
Security Management Tool Upgrade (Patch & Vulnerability Management) project will
help the NCUA achieve strategic objective 3.2, "deliver an efficient organizational
design supported by improved business processes and innovation" by upgrading the
NCUA information technology systems to ensure business continuity and comply
with the DHS Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) Federal requirements
for effective IT service management.
Project
Performance
Performance measure
Enhance security
posture through
centralized system patch
and vulnerability
management resulting
in:
• efficiencies by creating
a single technology and
repository for patch
vulnerability
management for all
systems and software,
• reduce learning curve
around multiple
solutions,
• standardizing reports
and audit responses,
and
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00069
2018
Baseline
under
development
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
2019
2020
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
2021
2022
EN02OC18.060
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
49760
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Enhance security
posture through
centralized system patch
and vulnerability
management resulting
in:
• efficiencies by creating
a single technology and
repository for patch
vulnerability
management for all
systems and software,
• reduce learning curve
around multiple
solutions,
• standardizing reports
and audit responses,
and
• Automating reporting
to both internal and
external stakeholders.
Detailed
project
description
Baseline
under
development
The purpose of the Security Management Tool Upgrade (Patch & Vulnerability
Management) project is to comply with the DHS Continuous Diagnostics and
Mitigation (CDM) Federal requirements for effective IT service management.
This will enhance the NCUA security posture and establish the convergence of
operational risk and resilience management via operational and technical
controls/solutions that ensure business continuity. In addition to ensuring the
existing business continuity, these activities ensure the appropriate preparation for
future modernization and organizational changes.
Quarterly
project
schedule and
deliverables
March/2019
June/2019
September/2019
Implement Security Management Tool Upgrade (Patch &
Vulnerability Management)
December/2019
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Risk
If the acquisition timeframe is extended,
then the implementation schedule will be
delayed.
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00070
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
Mitigation
Provide all required procurement
artifacts well in advance of deadlines
and manage all activities closely with
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.061
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Project Risks
and Mitigation
Strategies
49761
VerDate Sep<11>2014
Project name
SECURITY MANAGEMENT TOOL UPGRADES (SECURITY INFORMATION AND
EVENT MANAGEMENT (SIEM)) (2019.003)
Project
sponsor
Office of the Chief Information Officer
Customers/
beneficiaries
Internal: All Offices at the NCUA
External: All Credit Unions
Budget
$ in thousands
Acquisition
Operations and
Maintenance
2018
$0
2019
$327
2020
2021
2022
$60
$60
$60
Link to the
NCUA strategic
goals
Goal3: Maximize organizational,gerformance to enable mission success. The
Security Management Tool Upgrades (Security Information and Event Management
(SIEM)) project will help the NCUA achieve strategic objective 3.2, "deliver an
efficient organizational design supported by improved business processes and
innovation" by optimizing event collection, monitoring, detection and response
capabilities for InfoSec and IT Operations which ensure business continuity.
Project
Performance
Performance measure
Improve performance
by:
reducing manual
compilation of
security info and
event reports by
implementing an
aggregated
repository
utilizing a
standard near
real-time
reporting
capability, and
leveraging
integration with
incident
management and
reporting
dashboards.
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00071
2018
Baseline
under
development
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
2019
2020
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
2021
2022
EN02OC18.062
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Improve effectiveness
through:
enhanced
capabilities
resulting in
visibility into
security posture
for all levels of the
NCUA,
Automated
reporting to both
internal and
external
stakeholders, and
Monitoring
capabilities for all
IT functions
eliminating
redundant
acquisitions.
Baseline
under
development
Detailed
project
description
The purpose of the Security Management Tool Upgrades (Security Event and
Incident Management (SEIM)) project is to optimize collection, monitoring, detection
and response capabilities for security incidents on the NCUA networks, which will
improve business processes by enabling data-driven and proactive management.
Quarterly
project
schedule and
deliverables
March/2019
June/2019
Project Risks
and Mitigation
Strategies
Risk
If the acquisition timeframe is extended,
then the implementation schedule will be
delayed.
Acquisition Award
Implement Security Management Tool Upgrades (Security Event
and Incident Management [SEIM).
September/2019
December /2019
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
If resources are assigned to other
assignments, then the implementation
schedule will be delayed.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00072
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
Mitigation
Provide all required procurement
artifacts well in advance of deadlines
and manage all activities closely with
clear escalation paths for higher level
issue resolution.
Create integrated master schedule
with clear process for resource
prioritization and scheduling
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.063
49762
49763
VerDate Sep<11>2014
Project name
REFRESH END OF LIFE VOICE OVER INTERNET PROTOCOL (VOIP) PHONE
SYSTEM (2019.002)
Project
sponsor
Office of the Chief Information Officer
Customers/
beneficiaries
Internal: All Offices at the NCUA
External: General public contacting the NCUA by telephone
Budget
$ in thousands
Acquisition
Operations and Maintenance
2018
$800
2019
$170
2020
2021
2022
$240
$240
$240
Link to the
NCUA
strategic
goals
Goal 3: Maximize organizational,gerformance to enable mission success. Refresh End
of Life Voice over Internet Protocol (VoiP) Phone System project will enable credit
union examiners to perform their work more effectively and efficiently, helping the
NCUA achieve strategic objective 3.2, "deliver an efficient organizational design
supported by improved business processes and innovation" by fully replacing the end
of life infrastructure, platform and endpoints to ensure voice communications
capabilities which ensure business continuity.
Project
Performance
Performance measure
Reduce administrative
burden by:
eliminating ad hoc
support for End of
Life (EOL) equipment,
updating more robust
platforms with
enhanced
troubleshooting and
management
consoles, and
reducing maintenance
requirements.
Improve performance
through:
enhanced capabilities
resulting in lower
support costs,
greater integration
from modernize
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00073
2018
Baseline
under
development
2019
2020
2021
2022
Baseline
under
development
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.064
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
49764
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Improve performance
through:
enhanced capabilities
resulting in lower
support costs,
greater integration
from modernize
interfaces and
software, and
predictable upgrade
and vulnerability
management paths.
Detailed
project
description
Baseline
under
development
The purpose of the Refresh End of Life Voice over Internet Protocol (VoiP) Phone
System project is to fully replace the NCUA's end-of-life telephone system
(infrastructure, platform, and endpoints) to ensure voice communications capabilities
in order to ensure that business continuity and operations are stable.
Once installed, the new phone system will help ensure business continuity, since the
current system is no longer supported by the manufacturer, presenting a high risk of
permanent, unanticipated failure.
Quarterly
project
schedule and
deliverables
March/2019
June/2019
September/2019
December /2019
Project Risks
and
Mitigation
Strategies
Risk
If the acquisition timeframe is extended, then
the implementation schedule will be delayed.
Acquisition Award
Begin replacement ofVoiP appliances.
Complete VoiP replacement of all appliances.
Close out.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00074
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.065
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
If resources are assigned to other assignments,
then the implementation schedule will be
delayed.
Mitigation
Provide all required procurement
artifacts well in advance of
deadlines and manage all activities
closely with clear escalation paths
for higher level issue resolution.
Create integrated master schedule
with clear process for resource
prioritization and scheduling
49765
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Project name
CENTRAL OFFICE HVAC SYSTEM REPLACEMENT PROJECT (2019.019)
Project sponsor
Office of the Chief Financial Officer
Customers/
beneficiaries
Internal: All Central Office Building Occupants
External: All Central Office Building Visitors
Budget
$ in thousands
Acquisition
2018
650
2019
750
2020
750
2021
2022
---
---
Link to the NCUA Goal 3: Maximize organizational ,Qerformance to enable mission success. The NCUA
strategic goals
central office Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system
replacement project will improve the operations of the agency's largest building
while lowering energy consumption by installing more energy-efficient systems,
helping achieve strategic objective 3.2, "deliver an efficient organizational design
supported by improved business processes and innovation."
The current HVAC system is 24 years old, and by replacing it the NCUA will ensure
its infrastructure meets all current codes for life safety, accessibility, and security.
The new system will result increased energy and operational efficiency and lower
maintenance costs.
Performance measure
2018
Energy Consumption*
1.9SK
(kWh/ degree days)
40+
System Outages
unscheduled repair visits)
Customer Complaints
<80
(temp-related service calls)
*Estimate based on 18,000 annual degree
performance.
r
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Detailed project
description
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
1.8K
1.6K
=
Project
Performance
49766
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
Detailed project
description
This project will replace all HVAC systems in the NCUA central office building to
include all cooling towers, air handlers, boilers and HVAC components. The
current HVAC system is original to the facility, 24 years old and obsolete. HVAC
systems are the biggest users of electricity in a facility, and the anticipated life span
of these systems' major components is approximately 20-25 years. The current
system is at the end of its usable life and it is not working efficiently. Additionally
the maintenance and operating costs have increased considerably and system
components are failing more frequently, which are clear signs of decreased
re lia b iii ty.
In the last 23 years, technology and codes governing HVAC systems have
dramatically changed. A modern, reliable HVAC system will not only increase
energy and operational efficiency, but will allow better comfort and more efficient
temperature control. A new HVAC system will: 1) be better for the environment,
2) reduce the NCUA downtime from emergency replacements, 3) maintain a more
comfortable environment for building occupants, 4) keep the RoofTop Units (RTU)
technologically current with more efficient units, and 5) follow the federal
mandate for more environmentally friendly refrigerants.
This is a capital improvement that is required in order for the facility to continue
normal HVAC operation and it is consistent with the life cycle replacement
required for critical infrastructure. Due to the age of the equipment, there are
opportunities for significant gains to energy efficiency and reliability simply
because of the technological advancements that have taken place since the original
installation. Aging equipment is a large contributor to less sustainable facilities
and higher operating cost. Modernized equipment will bring considerable savings
and ensure another 15-20 years of high reliability HVAC operation.
March/2019
Design Complete full design, permits and construction schedule.
November /2019
System components - updates all thermostats and obsolete
Variable Airflow Boxes
First Chiller Plant- Replacement of first cooling tower for the
facility
Second Chiller Plant- Replacement of the Second Cooling tower
for the facility
March/2020
March/2021
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Project Risks
and Mitigation
Strategies
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Risk
Schedule. Central office renovation
work will affect all floors and will be
ongoing through 2019.
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00076
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 4725
Mitigation
Project managers have developed an
integrated master schedule for Central
Office Renovation and HVAC System
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.067
Quarterly
project schedule
and deliverables
49767
VerDate Sep<11>2014
Project name
THE NCUA FACILITY REPAIRS, AUSTIN TEXAS OFFICE BUILDING (2019.020)
Project sponsor
Office of the Chief Financial Officer
Customers/
beneficiaries
AMAC/Central Region staff
Budget
$ in thousands
Acquisition
Link to the NCUA
strategic goals
Goal 3: Maximize organizational,gerformance to enable mission success. Repairs to
NCUA's Austin, Texas office building will improve operations at the facility and
help enable the agency to meet its strategic objective 3.3 "ensure sound corporate
governance." Many of the systems and building elements in the Austin office
building have not been adequately maintained, and this investment will ensure
that facility infrastructure meets current building codes for life safety, accessibility,
and security. Once the investments have been completed, replaced equipment and
better management of maintenance schedules will result in increased energy and
operational efficiency.
Project
Performance
Performance measure
Cost Of Ownership
(building O&Mjemployee)
Detailed project
description
The NCUA assessed the condition of its office building in Austin, Texas in 2018 and
identified over $750,000 in high priority improvements, such as replacing the fire
alarm system, repairing and replacing doors and sensors, and installing fire-proof
roofing. The 2019 investment of $150,000 will support fixing/replacing all
priority items. These capital improvements are required in order for the facility to
continue routine and safe operations, and align with the life cycle replacement
required for critical infrastructure. Future year budgets will fund additional major
repair or replacement projects in a priority order.
Quarterly
project schedule
and deliverables
2nd
Quarter/2019
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
2018
$100
2018
$3,500
Critical Items:
Frm 00077
Fmt 4701
2019
$150
2019
$3,200
2020
$300
2020
$2,900
2021
$230
2021
$2,900
2022
$200
2022
$2,900
Roof Repairs
Fire Proofing Garage
Ventilation Louver Repair
Electrical Repairs (Code Deficiency)
Fire Alarm System Repairs
Sfmt 4725
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.068
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
49768
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 / Notices
By the National Credit Union
Administration Board on September 26,
2018.
Gerard S. Poliquin,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2018–21282 Filed 10–1–18; 8:45 am]
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:22 Oct 01, 2018
Jkt 247001
PO 00000
Frm 00078
Fmt 4701
Sfmt 9990
E:\FR\FM\02OCN2.SGM
02OCN2
EN02OC18.069
amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES2
BILLING CODE 7535–01–P
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 191 (Tuesday, October 2, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49692-49768]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-21282]
[[Page 49691]]
Vol. 83
Tuesday,
No. 191
October 2, 2018
Part III
National Credit Union Administration
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The NCUA Staff Draft 2019-2020 Budget Justification; Notice
Federal Register / Vol. 83 , No. 191 / Tuesday, October 2, 2018 /
Notices
[[Page 49692]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NATIONAL CREDIT UNION ADMINISTRATION
The NCUA Staff Draft 2019-2020 Budget Justification
AGENCY: National Credit Union Administration (NCUA).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The NCUA draft detailed business-type budget is being made
available for public review as required by federal statute. The
proposed resources will support the agency's annual operations and
continue implementation of the agency's reorganization plan. The
briefing schedule and comment instructions are included in the
supplementary information section.
DATES: Requests to deliver a statement at the budget briefing must be
received on or before Tuesday, October 9, 2018. Written statements and
presentations for those scheduled to appear at the budget briefing must
be received on or before Monday, October 15, 2018.
Written comments without public presentation at the budget briefing
may be submitted by Friday, October 26, 2018.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods
(Please send comments by one method only):
Presentation at public budget briefing: Submit requests to
deliver a statement at the briefing to ncua.gov">[email protected]ncua.gov by
Tuesday, October 9, 2018. Include your name, title, affiliation,
mailing address, email address, and telephone number. Copies of your
presentation must be submitted to the same email address by Monday,
October 15, 2018.
Written comments: Submit comments to
ncua.gov">[email protected]ncua.gov by Friday, October 26, 2018. Include your name
and the following subject line ``Comments on the NCUA Draft 2019-2020
Budget Justification.''
Public Inspection: Copies of the NCUA Draft 2019-2020 Budget
Justification and associated materials are also available on the NCUA
website at https://www.ncua.gov/About/Pages/budget-strategic-planning/supplementary-materials.aspx. Printed copies will be available at the
October 17, 2018 budget briefing.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rendell Jones, Chief Financial
Officer, National Credit Union Administration, 1775 Duke Street,
Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3428 or telephone: (703) 518-6571.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. The NCUA Budget in Brief
II. Introduction and Strategic Context
III. Forecast and Enterprise Challenges
IV. Key Themes of the 2019-2020 Budget
V. Operating Budget
VI. Capital Budget
VII. Share Insurance Fund Administrative Budget
VIII. Financing the NCUA Budget
IX. Appendix A: Supplemental Budget Information
X: Appendix B: Capital Projects
Section 212 of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer
Protection Act (Pub. L. 115-174) amended 12 U.S.C. 1789(b)(1)(A) to
require the NCUA Board (Board) to ``make publicly available and publish
in the Federal Register a draft of the detailed business-type budget.''
Although 12 U.S.C. 1789(b)(1)(A) requires publication of a ``business-
type budget'' only for the agency operations arising under the Federal
Credit Union Act's subchapter on insurance activities, in the interest
of transparency the Board is providing the agency's entire staff draft
2019-2020 Budget Justification (budget) in this Notice.
The draft budget details the resources required to support NCUA's
mission as outlined in its 2018-2022 Strategic Plan. The draft budget
includes personnel and dollar estimates for three major budget
components: (1) The Operating Budget; (2) the Capital Budget; and (3)
the Share Insurance Fund Administrative Budget. The resources proposed
in the draft budget will be used to carry out the agency's annual
operations and to continue implementation of the agency's
reorganization plan.
The NCUA staff will present its draft budget to the Board at a
budget briefing open to the public and scheduled for Wednesday, October
17, 2018 at 10 a.m. Eastern. The budget briefing will be held in the
NCUA Board meeting room and run for approximately two hours. A
livestream of the briefing also will be available through a link on
ncua.gov.
If you wish to attend the briefing and deliver a statement, you
must email a request to ncua.gov">[email protected]ncua.gov by Tuesday, October 9,
2018. Your request must include your name, title, affiliation, mailing
address, email address, and telephone number. The NCUA will work to
accommodate as many public statements as possible at the October 17,
2018 budget briefing. The Board Secretary will inform you if you have
been approved to make a presentation and how much time you will be
allotted. A written copy of your presentation must be delivered to the
Board Secretary via email at ncua.gov">[email protected]ncua.gov by Monday, October
15, 2018.
Written comments on the draft budget will also be accepted by email
at ncua.gov">[email protected]ncua.gov until Friday, October 26, 2018. Include your
name and the following subject line with your comments: ``Comments on
the NCUA Draft 2019-2020 Budget Justification.''
All comments should provide specific, actionable recommendations
rather than general remarks. The Board will review and consider any
comments from the public prior to approving the budget.
I. The NCUA Budget in Brief
Proposed 2019 and 2020 Budgets
The goals and objectives set forth in the National Credit Union
Administration's (NCUA) Strategic Plan 2018-2022 (https://www.ncua.gov/About/Documents/AgendaItems/AG20160721Item2b.pdf) form the basis for
determining agency resource needs and allocations. The annual budget
provides the resources to execute the strategic plan, to implement the
agency reorganization, and to undertake the NCUA's major programs:
Examination and supervision, insurance, credit union development,
consumer financial protection, and asset management.
[[Page 49693]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.004
The NCUA's 2019-2020 budget justification consists of three
separate budgets: The Operating Budget, the Capital Budget, and the
Share Insurance Fund Administrative Budget. Combined, these three
budgets total $334.8 million for 2019, which is 1.1 percent more than
the 2019 funding level approved by the NCUA Board (the Board) in
November 2017, and 4.3 percent more than the comparable 2018 Board
Approved Budget. Personnel levels for 2019 and 2020 reflect the
agency's expected staffing after completing implementation of its
reorganization plan, and are lower than the 2018 levels by 10
positions.
Operating Budget
The proposed 2019 Operating Budget is $304.4 million. Personnel
levels decrease by ten full-time equivalents (FTE) compared to the 2018
Board Approved Budget.
The 2019 Operating Budget, when adjusted for inflation, represents
a real dollar decrease of approximately $624,000, or 0.2 percent,
compared to the 2018 Board Approved Budget. In nominal dollars, the
2019 Budget increases by $6.3 million, or 2.1 percent, over the 2018
Board Approved Budget of $298.1 million.
The Operating Budget estimate for 2020 is $316.2 million and
reflects no change to authorized positions.
The following chart shows recent year-on-year trends for the NCUA
Operating Budget, in both nominal (green line) and real dollar (blue
line, inflation-adjusted) terms:
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.005
The following chart presents the major categories of spending
supported by the 2019 budget, while specific adjustments to the 2018
Board Approved Budget are discussed in further detail, below:
[[Page 49694]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.006
Staffing. The budget supports 1,178 FTE in 2019, a decrease of ten
FTEs from 2018. For 2019, the reorganization plan eliminated 15
positions in the NCUA's regional offices, and the budget proposes five
new positions in the Offices of Examination and Insurance, the Chief
Economist, and the General Counsel. Three positions focused on Business
Innovation will be filled by reallocating vacancies. As shown in the
chart below, the NCUA staffing has decreased in recent years despite
significant credit union asset growth.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.007
Pay and Benefits. Pay and benefits increase by $2.1 million in
2019, or one percent, for a budget of $222.8 million. This increase
supports the merit and locality pay adjustments required by the NCUA's
current collective bargaining agreement, the new positions described
above, anticipated staff promotions, position changes, and increased
costs for other mandatory employer contributions such as health
insurance and retirement contributions. The 2020 pay and benefits
budget is estimated at $233.6 million, which reflects increases
associated with merit and locality pay inflation, the full cost of new
positions added in 2019, and an increase in required retirement fund
payments to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which manages
government employees' retirement programs for nearly all federal
agencies.
The Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) covers most NCUA
employees and includes a defined pension benefit, which is funded by
both employee and employer contributions. OPM will charge the NCUA a
mandatory employer contribution of 13.7 percent of total FERS employee
salaries in 2019, which will increase to 16 percent in 2020, a change
of 230 basis points. This increase will require the NCUA to pay OPM
approximately $3.5 million more in retirement contributions in 2020.
Excluding additional employer contributions from the 2020 budget, total
personnel compensation growth would be 3.3 percent instead of 4.8
percent, and total Operating Budget growth would be 2.7 percent instead
of 3.9 percent.
Travel. The travel budget increases by $326,000 in 2019, or one
percent, for a
[[Page 49695]]
budget of $26.8 million. The NCUA has constrained the growth of travel
costs by continuing to expand offsite examination work and use
technology-driven training. Government-wide per diem rates published by
the General Services Administration (GSA) are expected to increase by
almost eight percent in 2019, accounting for a significant share of the
travel budget growth. The NCUA plans to hold a national program
examination training event in 2020 that will coincide with full
deployment of the new Examination and Supervision Solution system.
Rent, Communications, and Utilities. Rent, communications, and
utilities will decrease by $445,000 in 2019, or five percent, for a
budget of $8.0 million. This funding pays for essential
telecommunications services, data capacity contracts, and information
technology network support. The decrease is primarily due to a
reduction in leased office space as a result of regional consolidation.
Administrative Expenses. Administrative expenses increase by $1.2
million in 2019, or 16 percent, for a total budget of $8.7 million.
Increases are attributable to recurring cost items such as shared
Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council fees, relocation
expenses, and software licenses.
Contracted Services. Contracted services expenses increase by $3.1
million in 2019, or nine percent, for a total budget of $38.1 million.
This funding pays for products and services acquired in the commercial
marketplace, and includes critical mission support services such as
information technology hardware and software support, accounting and
auditing services, and specialized subject matter expertise. The
increase of information technology operations and maintenance, and
mandatory accounting system service provider costs are the primary
drivers of the increase.
Capital Budget
The proposed 2019 Capital Budget is $22.0 million.
The 2019 Capital Budget is $0.9 million more than the 2019 funding
level approved by the Board in November 2017, and $6.6 million more
than the 2018 Board Approved Budget.
The Capital Budget pays for continued investments in technology and
infrastructure projects, as well as several new initiatives that will
start in 2019, including a replacement of the agency's antiquated AIRES
examination software, which is used by both federal and state examiners
in almost all credit union examinations. The NCUA's Information
Technology Prioritization Council recommended $17.1 million for IT
software development projects that continue to replace the NCUA's
decades-old and functionally obsolete information technology systems,
and $4 million in other IT investments for 2019. The NCUA facilities
require $0.9 million in capital investments.
Share Insurance Fund Administrative Expenses
The proposed 2019 Share Insurance Fund Administrative budget is
$8.4 million.
The 2019 Share Insurance Fund Administrative Budget is $0.9 million
more than the 2019 funding level approved by the Board in November,
2017, and $0.3 million more than the 2018 Board Approved Budget. The
increase is primarily attributed to increased use of consultants and
contractor support for credit union stress testing. Direct charges
within this budget include administration of the NCUA Guaranteed Note
(NGN) program, state examiner training and laptop leases, as well as
financial audit support.
Budget Trends
Since 2017, inflation has matched or outpaced the growth of the
NCUA budget. While the NCUA's annual Operating Budget is projected to
increase 2.1 percent from 2018 to 2019, inflation is forecast to be 2.3
percent. Therefore, in real dollar terms, the NCUA Operating Budget is
0.2 percent lower in 2019 than in 2018 (i.e., 2.1 percent budgetary
growth less 2.3 percent inflation). Likewise, the projected 2.7 percent
total budget growth between 2019 and 2020 represents an inflation-
adjusted increase of only 0.4 percent, based on the assumption that
2020 economic inflation remains constant at 2.3 percent (i.e., 2.7
percent budgetary growth less 2.3 percent inflation).
In addition, as shown in the chart below, the relative size of the
NCUA budget (red line) continues to decline when compared to balance
sheets at federally-insured credit unions (gray line). This trend
illustrates the greater operating efficiencies the NCUA has attained in
the last several years. Additionally, the NCUA has improved its
operating efficiencies more aggressively than other financial industry
regulators (red line compared to blue line).
[[Page 49696]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.008
It is also notable that the NCUA's operations have become more
efficient relative to the size of the credit union system because
consolidation in the industry has led to growth in the number of large
credit unions, specifically those with more than $10 billion in assets.
This results in additional complexity in the balance sheets of such
credit unions, and a corresponding increase in the supervisory review
required to ensure the safety and soundness of such large institutions.
The NCUA has responded to this increasing complexity through several
initiatives: Creation of the specialized Office of National Examination
and Supervision (ONES), development of an improved analytic model for
large credit unions' financial condition, and improved quality of
examination reports through enhanced quality review processes.
2019 Budget in Brief: Summary Table
BILLING CODE 7535-01-P
[[Page 49697]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.009
[[Page 49698]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.010
BILLING CODE 7535-01-C
II. Introduction and Strategic Context
History
For more than 100 years, credit unions have provided financial
services to their members in the United States. Credit unions are
unique depository institutions created not for profit, but to serve
their members as credit cooperatives.
The NCUA is the independent federal agency created by the U.S.
Congress to regulate, charter, and supervise federal credit unions.
With the backing of the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government,
the NCUA operates and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance
Fund (NCUSIF), insuring the deposits of the account holders in all
federal credit unions and the vast majority of state-chartered credit
unions.
The NCUA, through its predecessors, was created in 1934 with the
passage of the Federal Credit Union Act. As the products and services
provided to members of credit unions changed over the years, the NCUA's
supervision and regulation evolved as well. In 1970, Congress created
the NCUSIF to protect deposits by providing the backing of the full
faith and credit of the U.S. Government to credit union accounts. No
credit union member has ever lost a penny of deposits insured by the
NCUSIF.
The NCUA is responsible for the regulation and supervision of 5,480
federally insured credit unions \1\ with approximately 114.1 million
members \1\ and more than $1.4 trillion \1\ in assets across all states
and U.S. territories.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Source: The NCUA quarterly call report data, Q2 2018.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Authority
Pursuant to the Federal Credit Union Act, authority for management
of the NCUA is vested in the NCUA Board (the Board). It is the Board's
responsibility to determine the resources necessary to carry out the
NCUA's responsibilities under the Act.\2\ The Board is authorized to
expend such funds and perform such other functions or acts as it deems
necessary or appropriate in accordance with the rules, regulations, or
policies it establishes.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ See 12 U.S.C. 1752a(a).
\3\ See 12 U.S.C. 1766(i)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Upon determination of the budgeted annual expenses for the agency's
[[Page 49699]]
operations, the Board determines a fee schedule to assess federal
credit unions. The Board gives consideration to the ability of federal
credit unions to pay such a fee, and the necessity of the expenses the
NCUA will incur in carrying out its responsibilities in connection with
federal credit unions.\4\ Pursuant to the law, fees collected are
deposited in the agency's Operating Fund at the Treasury of the United
States, and those fees are expended by the Board to defray the cost of
carrying out the agency's operations, including the examination and
supervision of federal credit unions.\5\ In accordance with its
authority to use the NCUSIF to carry out a portion of its
responsibilities, the Board approves an annual Overhead Transfer Rate
and transfers resources from the Share Insurance Fund to the Operating
Fund on a monthly basis to account for insurance-related expenses.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ See 12 U.S.C. 1755(a)-(b).
\5\ See 12 U.S.C. 1755(d).
\6\ See 12 U.S.C. 1783(a).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mission, Goals, and Strategy
The NCUA's 2019-2020 Budget Submission supports the agency's second
year implementing its 2018-2022 Strategic Plan (https://www.ncua.gov/About/Documents/AgendaItems/AG20160721Item2b.pdf) to achieve its
priorities and improve program performance.
Throughout 2019 and 2020, the NCUA will continue fulfilling its
mission to ``provide, through regulation and supervision, a safe and
sound credit union system which promotes confidence in the national
system of cooperative credit,'' and its vision to ensure that the
``NCUA protects credit unions and consumers who own them through
effective supervision, regulation and insurance.'' This budget commits
the resources necessary to implement the NCUA's plans to identify key
challenges facing the credit union industry and leverage agency
strengths to help credit unions address those challenges.
The budget supports the NCUA's programs, which are focused on
achieving the agency's three strategic goals:
[ssquf] Ensure a safe and sound credit union system;
[ssquf] Provide a regulatory framework that is transparent,
efficient, and improves consumer access; and
[ssquf] Maximize organizational performance to enable mission
success.
Additional information about alignment of the budget to the NCUA's
strategic goals is in Appendix A.
In support of its first strategic goal--ensure a safe and sound
credit union system--the NCUA will continue to supervise federally
insured credit unions effectively while insuring a growing and evolving
credit union system. As highlighted in the Strategic Plan, the credit
union system faces several key risks, including:
How credit unions respond to a changing economic
environment,
technological changes in how consumers interact with
financial institutions, in addition to more general technological
advances,
increasing competition and consolidation within the
financial services industry,
demographic shifts, such as aging credit union membership,
forecasts that the U.S. population will become more
diverse, implying changes in the services needed by credit union
members, and
generational shifts in consumer preferences.
Each risk requires continual monitoring and, where prudent, risk-
mitigation strategies to protect the overall credit union system from
preventable losses or failures. The NCUA staff of credit union
examiners are the agency's most important assets for identifying and
addressing risks before they threaten members' deposits. To do their
jobs effectively in this complex and dynamic financial environment, the
NCUA staff require the advanced skills, training, and tools supported
by the budget.
To fulfill the NCUA's second strategic goal--provide a regulatory
framework that is transparent, efficient, and improves customer
access--the agency strives to issue balanced, clear, and
straightforward regulations while addressing emerging adverse trends in
a timely manner. The NCUA also seeks to improve consumer access and
ensure consumer compliance, financial protection, and consumer
education. The budget allocates resources to agency programs that keep
regulations up to date and consistent with current law, assist existing
and prospective credit unions with expansion and new chartering
activities, and promote consumer awareness of sound financial
practices.
Accomplishing the third strategic goal--maximize organizational
performance to enable mission success--ensures the NCUA employees
achieve the agency's mission by supporting them through efficient and
effective business processes, modern and secure technology, and
suitable tools and workspaces necessary to perform their duties. The
budget makes investments in better process management and internal
controls, improved tools and facilities for the NCUA staff, and
technological enhancements including new systems that will improve
operational effectiveness and efficiency.
Organization, Major Agency Programs, and Workforce
The NCUA employs regional offices to perform all the tasks in the
agency's major program areas and support functions, a central office to
administer and oversee its programs, and an Asset Management and
Assistance Center (AMAC) to liquidate failed credit unions and recover
assets.
Effective January 2019, the NCUA plans to consolidate its five
regional offices into three--Eastern, Southern, and Western--as part of
its on-going effort to strengthen agency operations while increasing
efficiency. Reporting to these regional offices, the NCUA has credit
union examiners responsible for a portfolio of credit unions covering
all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the
U.S. Virgin Islands. One-time costs associated with the NCUA
reorganization are being funded by reprioritizing unspent balances from
2017 and 2018 budgets. These costs include: Salaries and benefits for
current employees whose positions will be eliminated after their
separation from the agency, leased office space in Albany, New York and
Atlanta, Georgia that will be vacated at the end of 2018, central
office renovation costs necessary to consolidate the former Region II
office staff into the NCUA-owned central office building, and other
miscellaneous one-time relocation, separation, and other contractual
payments.
The NCUA organizational chart below reflects the new regional
structure, and the map shows the new regions' geographical alignment:
BILLING CODE 7535-01-P
[[Page 49700]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.011
[[Page 49701]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.012
BILLING CODE 7535-01-C
The NCUA's new regional office structure will carry out the
agency's 2019 examination workload. Based on second quarter statistics
from call reports, the number of credit unions, members, and assets
shows a rough estimate of the how the workload will be divided among
the new regional offices:
Eastern Region: 2,055 credit unions with 30.6 million
members and $386 billion in assets.
Southern Region: 1,668 credit unions with 31.2 million
members and $340 billion in assets.
Western Region: 1,751 credit unions with 37.4 million
members and $504 billion in assets.
In addition, the Office of National Examination and Supervision
(ONES) will continue to examine credit unions with assets that total
over $10 billion and that are located throughout the United States.
Based on 2018 second quarter call report statistics, there are
currently six such credit unions with 14.8 million members, accounting
for $200 billion in credit union assets.
In 2019 and 2020, the agency's workforce will undertake tasks in
all of the NCUA's major programs:
Supervision: The NCUA supervises federally insured credit
unions through examinations and regulatory enforcement including
providing guidance through various publications, taking administrative
actions and conserving, liquidating, or merging severely troubled
institutions as necessary to manage risk.
Insurance: The NCUA manages the $16 billion NCUSIF, which
provides insurance for deposits up to $250,000 that are held at
federally insured credit unions. The fund is capitalized by credit
unions and through retained earnings.
Credit Union Development: The NCUA charters new federal
credit unions, as well as approves modifications to existing charters
and fields of membership. Through training, partnerships and resource
assistance, the NCUA fosters credit union development, particularly the
expansion of services to eligible members provided by small, minority,
newly chartered, and low-income designated credit unions.
Consumer Financial Protection: The NCUA protects
consumers' rights through effective enforcement of federal consumer
financial protection laws, regulations, and requirements. The NCUA also
develops and promotes financial education programs for credit unions to
assist members in making smarter financial decisions.
Asset Management: The NCUA conducts credit union
liquidations and performs management and recovery of assets through the
AMAC. The new Southern Region includes AMAC.
Stakeholder Outreach: In order to clearly understand the
needs of the credit union system, the NCUA seeks input from all of its
stakeholders, including Congress, State Supervisory Authorities, credit
union members, credit unions and their associations.
Cross-Agency Collaboration: The NCUA is involved in
numerous cross-agency initiatives by collaborating with the other
financial regulatory agencies including through participation in
several councils. Significant councils include the Financial Stability
Oversight Council (FSOC), the Federal Financial Institutions
Examination Council (FFIEC), and the Financial and Banking Information
Infrastructure Committee (FBIIC).
Budget Process--Strategy to Budget
The NCUA's budget process starts with a review of the agency's
goals and objectives set forth in the Strategic Plan (https://www.ncua.gov/About/Documents/AgendaItems/AG20160721Item2b.pdf). The
Strategic Plan is a framework that sets the agency's direction and
guides resource requests, so that the agency's resources and workforce
are allocated and aligned to agency priorities and initiatives.
Each regional and central office director at the NCUA develops an
initial budget request identifying the resources for their office to
support the NCUA's
[[Page 49702]]
mission, strategic goals, and strategic objectives. These budgets are
developed to ensure each office's requirements are individually
justified and remain consistent with the agency's overall Strategic
Plan.
For regional offices, one of the primary inputs in the development
process is a comprehensive workload analysis that estimates the amount
of time necessary to conduct examinations and to supervise federally
insured credit unions in order to carry out the NCUA's dual mission as
insurer and regulator. This analysis starts with a field-level review
of every federally insured credit union to estimate the number of
workload hours needed for the current year. The workload estimates are
then refined by regional managers and submitted to the NCUA central
office for the annual budget proposal. The workload analysis accounts
for the efforts of nearly seventy percent of the NCUA workforce and is
the foundation for budget requests from regional offices and the Office
of National Examinations and Supervision (ONES).
In addition to the workload analysis, from which central office
budget staff derive related personnel and travel cost estimates, each
of the NCUA offices submit estimates for fixed and recurring expenses,
such as rental payments for leased property, operations and maintenance
for owned facilities or equipment, supplies, telecommunications
services, major capital investments, and other administrative and
contracted services costs.
Because information technology investments impact all offices
within the agency, the NCUA has established an Information Technology
Prioritization Council (ITPC). The ITPC meets several times each year
to consider, analyze, and prioritize major information technology
investments to ensure they are aligned with the NCUA's Strategic Plan.
These focused reviews result in a mutually agreed-upon budget
recommendation to support the NCUA's top short-term and long-term
information technology needs and investment priorities.
Once compiled for the entire agency, all office budget submissions
undergo thorough reviews by the responsible regional and central office
directors, the Chief Financial Officer, and the NCUA executive
leadership. Through a series of presentations and briefings by the
relevant office executives, the NCUA Executive Director formulates an
agency-wide budget recommendation for approval by the Board.
In recent years, the Board has emphasized the need for increased
transparency of the NCUA's finances and its budgeting processes. In
response, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer has made draft
budgets available for public comment via the NCUA's website, and
solicited public comments before presenting final budget
recommendations for the Board's approval. Furthermore, the Economic
Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, Public Law 115-
174, enacted May 24, 2018, requires in Section 212 that the NCUA ``make
publicly available and publish in the Federal Register a draft of the
detailed business-type budget.'' To fulfill this requirement, the Board
delegated to the Executive Director the authority to publish the draft
budget before submitting it for Board review.
This budget justification document includes comparisons to the
Board approved budget for 2018--2019. As in the 2018 budget, this
document includes a summary description of the major spending items in
each budget category to provide transparency and understanding of the
use of budgeted resources. Estimates are provided by major budget
category, office, and cost element.
The NCUA also posts supporting documentation for its budget request
on the NCUA website (https://www.ncua.gov/About/Pages/budget-strategic-planning/supplementary-materials.aspx) to assist the public in
understanding its budget development process. The budget request for
2019 represents the NCUA's projections of operating and capital costs
for the year, and is subject to approval by the Board.
Commitment to Financial Stewardship
The NCUA funds its activities through operating fees levied on all
federal credit unions and through reimbursements from the Share
Insurance Fund, funded by both federal credit unions and federally
insured state-chartered credit unions. The Overhead Transfer Rate (OTR)
calculation determines the annual amount that the Share Insurance Fund
reimburses the Operating Fund to pay for the NCUA's insurance-related
activities. At the end of each calendar year, the NCUA's financial
transactions are subject to audit in accordance with Generally Accepted
Accounting Principles.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ See 12 U.S.C. 1783(b) and 1789(b).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Since nearly all of the revenue to finance the NCUA's programs
comes from non-profit credit unions, the Board and the agency are
committed to providing sound financial stewardship. In recent years,
the NCUA Chief Financial Officer, with support and direction from the
Executive Director and Board, has worked to improve the NCUA's
financial management, financial reporting, and budget processes. In
addition, through prudent management of the Corporate System Resolution
Program, in July 2018 the NCUA paid nearly $736 million in dividends to
over 5,700 credit unions--an amount larger than the cumulative total of
all previous cash distributions made since the agency's Share Insurance
Fund was created.
In the 2018 budget, the NCUA revised its financial presentations to
conform to Federal budgetary concepts and increase transparency of the
agency's planned financial activity. The 2019 budget continues this
presentation. The NCUA is the only Financial Institutions Reform,
Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) agency that publishes a
detailed, draft budget and solicits public comments on it at a meeting
with its Board or other agency leadership.
The NCUA works diligently to strengthen its internal controls for
financial transactions, in accordance with sound financial management
policies and practices. Based on the results of the NCUA's assessments
conducted through the course of 2017, the agency provided an unmodified
Statement of Assurance (signed 2/15/2018) that its management had
established and maintained effective controls to achieve the objectives
of the Federal Managers Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA) and Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-123. Specifically, the NCUA
supports the internal control objectives of reporting, operations, and
compliance, as well as its integration with overarching risk management
activities. Within the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, the
Internal Controls Assessment Team (ICAT) continues to mature the
agency-wide internal control program and continues to strengthen the
overall system of internal control, further promote the importance of
identifying risk, and ensure that the agency has identified appropriate
responses to mitigate identified risks, in accordance with the
Government Accountability Office (GAO) Standards for Internal Controls
in Federal Government (Green Book) requirements.
III. Forecast and Enterprise Challenges
Economic Outlook
The NCUA's mission is to provide, through regulation and
supervision, a safe and sound credit union system, which promotes
confidence in the national system of cooperative credit.
[[Page 49703]]
The challenges that the NCUA faces, and the resources the NCUA requires
to fulfill its mission, depend on a variety of factors that directly or
indirectly affect the health of the credit union system. The NCUA must
anticipate, to the extent possible, developments that will affect the
system, develop strategies, plans and processes to meet both the
current and anticipated needs, and assemble the resources, including
staff, necessary to ensure a safe and sound system.
One key determinant of credit union performance is the underlying
economic environment in which they must operate. In general, for the
past few years, the economy has supported solid financial system
performance. The economy performed well in the first half of 2018. Real
GDP grew at a relatively strong 3.2 percent annual rate, and the
unemployment rate dipped below 4.0 percent--near or below the full-
employment rate. Inflation edged higher, moving closer to the Federal
Reserve's 2-percent inflation target, and Federal Reserve policymakers
raised short-term interest rates. Longer-term rates also increased but
a variety of factors have kept them from moving in lock-step with
shorter-term rates.
With the support of a solid economic foundation, credit union
lending, membership growth, and credit quality remained strong through
the second quarter of 2018. Federally insured credit unions added 4.8
million members over the year, boosting credit union membership to
114.1 million in the second quarter of 2018. Credit union shares and
deposits rose 5.4 percent over the year to $1.2 trillion. Total loans
outstanding at federally insured credit unions increased 9.8 percent to
$1.0 trillion, and the system-wide loan delinquency rate fell to 67
basis points, down from 75 basis points a year earlier. The credit
union system's return on average assets rose to 90 basis points, and
the system's net worth ratio increased to just over 11 percent in the
second quarter.
The consensus of forecasters suggests the economic environment will
continue to be a solid support to credit union performance over the
2019-2020 budget horizon. Forecasts for the next two years call for
somewhat slower economic growth. Employment is projected to continue to
rise and the unemployment rate--already below the level associated with
full employment--is expected to remain low. Tight labor market
conditions are projected to keep inflation near the Federal Reserve's
2.0 percent target. Solid economic conditions should remain a positive
force for credit union lending, membership growth, and credit quality
over the budget horizon.
However, analysts caution that the tight labor market conditions
and higher inflation could be associated with higher interest rates.
Federal Reserve policymakers indicate that the federal funds rate could
move higher over the next three years to fulfill their dual mandate of
maintaining maximum employment and low inflation. Analysts are
projecting that short term interest rates--which largely determine
interest payments credit unions make--could rise relative to longer
term interest rates, which largely determine the interest payments
credit unions receive.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.013
In the consensus projected economic environment, credit unions'
ability to manage and mitigate interest rate risk will become
increasingly important to their success. On the liability side, rising
deposit rates, if realized, could force credit unions to adapt more
quickly than in the past, since many members have a number of financial
institution alternatives and can move funds quickly between
institutions.
On the asset side, the low interest rate environment of the past
decade has led some credit unions to lengthen the term of investments
to boost their portfolio's earnings or to lock in relatively low rates
on long-term loans like mortgages. For affected credit unions, higher
deposit rates will push up against low loan rates, which would compress
net interest margins.
While the overall forecast appears largely supportive of credit
unions, forecasts of the economic environment are far from perfect.
Some analysts are suggesting the long expansion could end during the
NCUA 2019-2020 budget period; a recession would pose significant
challenges to the system in terms of rising delinquencies, reduced loan
demand, and, potentially, an increase in shares as consumers move funds
from riskier investments into safer, insured credit union deposits. The
NCUA, like the credit unions themselves, needs to plan and prepare for
a range of economic outcomes that could affect credit union performance
and determine resource needs.
In addition to risks associated with movements in the general
economy, the NCUA and credit unions will need to understand their
increasing exposure to, and address risks associated with, the
technological and structural changes facing the system. Over the
longer-term, increased concentration of loan portfolios, development of
alternative loan and deposit products, technology-driven changes in the
financial landscape, continued industry
[[Page 49704]]
consolidation, and ongoing demographic changes will continue to shape
the environment facing credit unions and will determine the resource
needs of the NCUA.
Cybersecurity: Credit unions' increasing use of technology is
making the credit union system more vulnerable to cyber-attacks. The
prevalence of malware, ransomware, distributed denial of service (DDOS)
attacks, and other forms of cyber intrusion are creating challenges at
credit unions of all sizes, and will require ongoing measures for
containment. These trends are likely to continue, and even accelerate,
over the next two years.
Lending trends: Increasing concentrations in member business loans
and private student loans, in addition to other new types of lending by
credit unions, emphasize the need for long-term risk diversification
and effective risk management tools and practices, along with expertise
to properly manage increasing concentrations of risk.
Financial Landscape and Technology: New financial products that
mimic deposit and loan accounts, such as Apple Pay, Walmart pre-paid
cards and peer-to-peer lending, are emerging. These new products pose a
competitive challenge to credit unions and banks alike. Credit unions
also face a range of challenges from financial technology (fintech)
companies in the areas of lending and the provision of other services.
For example, underwriting and lending may be automated at a cost below
levels associated with more traditional financial institutions, but may
not be subject to the same regulations and safeguards that credit
unions and other traditional financial institutions face. The emergence
and increasing importance of digital currencies may pose both risks and
opportunities for credit unions. As these institutions and products
gain popularity, credit unions may have to be more active in marketing
and rethink their business models.
Technological changes outside the financial sector may also lead to
changes in consumer behavior that indirectly affect credit unions. For
example, the increase in on-demand use of auto services and the
potential for pay-as-you-go on-demand vehicle rental, could reduce
purchases of consumer-owned vehicles. That could lead to a slowdown or
reduction in the demand for vehicle loans, now slightly more than a
third of the credit union system loan portfolio.
Membership trends: While overall credit union membership continues
to grow strongly, 50 percent of federally insured credit unions had
fewer members at the end of the second quarter of 2018 than a year
earlier. Demographic and field of membership changes are likely to
continue to result in declining membership at many credit unions. All
credit unions need to consider whether their product mix is consistent
with their members' needs and demographic profile. For example, in some
areas, to be effective, credit unions may need to explore how to meet
the needs of an aging population or of a growing Hispanic population.
Smaller credit unions' challenges and industry consolidation: Small
credit unions face challenges to their long-term viability for a
variety of reasons, including weak earnings, declining membership, high
loan delinquencies, and elevated non-interest expenses. If current
consolidation trends persist, there will be fewer credit unions in
operation and those that remain will be considerably larger and more
complex. As of June 30, 2018, there were 542 federally insured credit
unions with assets of at least $500 million, 28 percent more than just
five years earlier. These 542 credit unions accounted for 71 percent of
credit union members and 77 percent of credit union assets. Large
credit unions tend offer more complex products, services and
investments. Increasingly complex institutions will pose management
challenges for the institutions themselves, as well as the NCUA;
consolidation means the risks posed by individual institutions will
become more significant to the Share Insurance Fund.
Enterprise Risk Management
In light of the strategic direction and the challenges and issues
described above, the NCUA employs an Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)
program. The ERM program is a means by which agency leadership
evaluates the various factors (both internal to the agency and external
in the industry) that can impact the agency's performance relative to
its mission, vision, and performance outcomes. Agency priority risks
include both internal consideration such as the agency's internal
controls framework, to external factors such as credit union
concentration risk. All of these risks can materially impact the
agency's ability to achieve its mission.
The NCUA's ERM Council provides oversight of the agency's
enterprise risk management activities. Through the ERM program, the
agency is identifying and managing risks that could affect the
achievement of its mission. The ERM program was established in 2015 to
include an enterprise risk appetite statement and risk taxonomy. In
2018, the NCUA identified a number of enterprise risks that helped
inform the agency's planning and budget processes, and assigned roles
and responsibilities for monitoring risks in several specific
activities. Overall, the NCUA's ERM program promotes effective internal
controls, which, when combined with robust measurement and
communication, are central to cost-effective decision-making and risk
optimization within the agency.
In its 2018-2022 iteration of its Strategic Plan, the NCUA adopted
its first agency enterprise risk appetite statement, which is:
The NCUA is vigilant and has an overall judicious risk appetite.
The NCUA's primary goal is to ensure the safety and soundness of the
credit union system and the agency recognizes it is not desirable or
practical to avoid all risk. Acceptance of some risk is often
necessary to foster innovation and agility. This risk appetite will
guide the NCUA's actions to achieve its strategic objectives in
support of providing, through regulation and supervision, a safe and
sound credit union system, which promotes confidence in the national
system of cooperative credit.
The agency's risk appetite will help align risks with opportunities
when making decisions and allocating resources to achieve the agency's
strategic goals and objectives. This enterprise risk appetite statement
is part of the NCUA's overall management approach and is supported by
detailed appetite statements for individual risk areas.
In practice, this means that the NCUA recognizes that risk is
unavoidable and sometimes inherent in carrying out the agency's
mandate. The NCUA is positioned to accept greater risks in some areas
than in others; however, when consolidated, the risk appetite should be
within the boundaries established for the entire agency. Cross-
collaboration across programs and functions is a fundamental piece of
ensuring the agency stays within its risk appetite boundaries. The NCUA
will identify, assess, prioritize, respond to and monitor risks to an
acceptable level. This budget proposal for 2019/2020 incorporates the
NCUA's enterprise risk management program and agency risk appetite in
recommending how best to allocate its resources.
IV. Key Themes of the 2019-2020 Budget
Overview
The budget supports the priorities and goals outlined in the
agency's annual performance plan and the NCUA Strategic Plan 2018-2022
(https://www.ncua.gov/About/Documents/
[[Page 49705]]
AgendaItems/AG20160721Item2b.pdf). The resources and new initiatives
proposed in the budget support the NCUA's mission to maintain a safe
and sound credit union system.
The 2019-2020 budget carries forward a number of key ongoing
initiatives, which include: The Exam Flexibility Initiative; the
increased use of off-site examinations work and data analytics; the
modernization of information technology systems; regulatory reform
initiatives; and efforts to implement organizational efficiencies. Over
the course of the next five years, these efforts will result in a more
effective and efficient organization.
In the 2019-2020 budget, the NCUA continues to reduce its staffing,
reflecting greater operational efficiency at the agency. The NCUA
employees are the agency's most valuable resource for achieving its
mission, and the agency is committed to a workplace and a workforce
with integrity, accountability, transparency, inclusivity, and
proficiency. As the NCUA continues its efforts to curb expenses and
reduce overhead costs, we will continue investing in the workforce
through training and development, helping employees develop the tools
they need to do their work effectively.
At the same time, managing the size of the workforce is important
from a budgetary standpoint, because employment-related costs are the
single largest driver of the NCUA budget. As discussed in this
document, the NCUA continues to use workload models to estimate the
amount of time necessary to conduct examinations and supervise
federally insured credit unions. This analysis results in an estimate
of the staffing level required to carry out the NCUA's dual mission as
insurer and regulator. The NCUA continues to assess and balance its
mission workload needs with the financial costs the agency imposes on
the credit union system. Although the number of credit unions continues
to decline nationwide, the NCUA must also consider the increasing
complexity and growing asset base of the entire credit union system.
The efficiency and effectiveness of the agency's workforce is
dependent upon the resiliency of the NCUA's information technology
infrastructure and availability of technological applications. The NCUA
is committed to implementing new technology responsibly and delivering
secure, reliable and innovative technological solutions to support its
mission. This necessitates investments funded in the Capital Budget, to
provide the analytical tools and technology the workforce needs to
achieve the NCUA mission.
Reorganization/Restructuring
In July 2017, the NCUA's executive leadership committed to a bold
plan that would invest in the agency's future, make critical
organizational alignment changes, and reduce overall staffing of the
agency. The Board approved a series of operational actions to improve
the NCUA's efficiency, effectiveness, and focus on its core mission
responsibilities.
The NCUA's reform plan positioned the agency to meet the ongoing
changes in the industry it regulates and insures. The U.S. financial
sector is subject to continuing advancements and emerging risks, which
necessitate changes in the way the NCUA conducts its business.
Advancements in the type and quantity of data available also demands a
fresh way of thinking about our business model. At the same time, the
continuing reality of smaller credit unions merging with larger ones,
while existing credit unions grow significantly in size and complexity,
requires an even more strategic, nimble and innovative way to carry out
our responsibilities as established in the Federal Credit Union Act.
As a result of the NCUA's on-going implementation of its reform
plan:
The NCUA created an office focused exclusively on new
charters and credit union expansion--the Credit Union Resources and
Expansion (CURE) Office.
The NCUA is lowering the agency's authorized staffing
level from 1,247 positions in the 2016 approved budget, down to 1,178
in the 2019 budget, a reduction of 69 positions, or nearly 6 percent.
Leased office space is being reduced by 80 percent.
Examination reports are being improved through
implementing enhanced quality measures.
Two regional offices will close in January 2019.
AMAC's staffing has been reduced, and support functions
are now carried out by the central office.
The agency is on-track to meet the staffing reduction targets and
other key outcomes identified in the reform plan. These actions are
predicated on the understanding that the industry is consolidating and
becoming more complex at the same time. The NCUA continues to examine
how to best reshape its workforce to meet future needs, and to look for
ways to contain operating costs to create a more efficient
organization.
Modernizing the Examinations Process
In August 2018, the NCUA issued Letter to Credit Unions: 18-CU-01-
``Examination Modernization Initiatives.'' This letter outlined five
initiatives the NCUA Board approved to modernize the agency's
examinations processes. Some of the intended benefits of these
initiatives are:
More efficient examinations and supervision
Reduced burden on credit unions
More consistent and accurate supervisory determinations
Greater ability to adapt to changes in the marketplace and
credit union business models
Enhanced coordination with State Supervisory Authorities
Reduced travel costs
Improved quality of life for examiners
More secure, reliable, and flexible technology foundation able
to support future expansion capabilities
These five initiatives are interrelated and complement each other.
As these initiatives support and build upon each other, they will
ultimately result in a fully modernized examination and supervision
program with various incremental improvements occurring along the way.
Throughout this budget, the NCUA aligns its resources in support of
these improvements. Below is a more in-depth discussion of each of the
initiatives:
Flexible Examination Program (FLEX). FLEX is a pilot program in the
Southern Region. FLEX is evaluating conducting offsite certain existing
exam procedures. The pilot was developed to assess examiners working
remotely on elements of examinations of well-run credit unions that
have the technology and platforms to provide electronic data securely.
This program reflects the NCUA's most immediate solution to the
agency's efforts to reduce, but not eliminate, onsite presence during
exams.
In 2017, the NCUA tested the pilot with five examiner groups in 28
credit unions located in a variety of geographical locations. The pilot
was tested on credit unions as small as $4 million in assets to those
as large as $9.4 billion in assets.
Preliminary results from the pilot show cost savings to the NCUA,
realized in part by reducing travel time and costs for examiners. In
designated FLEX reviews, over 35 percent of the total exam hours were
performed offsite. Credit union feedback has also been positive, with
the majority of credit unions reporting positive experiences with the
modified exam approach.
However, the pilot identified the need for the NCUA to have a
secure file transfer portal to support much of this offsite work
efficiently. The secure file
[[Page 49706]]
transfer portal was fully deployed in July 2018. The agency is
currently testing the portal and expects to move forward developing
plans to increase agency use of offsite procedures.
ONES Data-Driven Supervision. This initiative began in 2018 as an
effort to move to a continuous supervision model for the large,
natural-person credit unions supervised by the Office of National
Examinations and Supervision. The continuous supervision model will use
data-driven analytics to monitor and identify credit union risk while
supporting the transition to credit union-driven stress testing. The
data-driven supervision initiative may lead to analytical advancements
that can be adapted for supervising some or all other insured credit
unions.
Shared NCUA-State Regulator Federally-Insured State Credit Unions
(FISCU) Program. In 2017, the NCUA created the Joint NCUA-State
Supervisor Working Group (working group), which is tasked with
improving coordination and scheduling for joint exams, providing
scheduling flexibility, and reducing redundancy where possible. The
group's goal is to minimize the burden on FISCUs resulting from having
a separate financial regulator and insurer.
In addition, the working group is evaluating the efficacy,
appropriateness, and feasibility of adopting an alternating-year
examination approach for FISCUs. A pilot program is under development
and will allow the NCUA, state regulators, and stakeholders to evaluate
the benefits and challenges of an alternate-year examination program.
The pilot will need to run about three years in order to evaluate one
full alternating-year exam cycle, and will provide valuable insight
into the advantages and risks of such an approach prior to finalizing a
decision about a permanent alternating-year exam cycle.
For joint examinations of FISCUs, the working group is also
exploring ways to minimize duplication and overlap through process
improvements and greater use of technology. In addition, the working
group is evaluating other areas of potential duplication that can be
reduced or eliminated, such as loan participations, CUSO and third
party vendor reviews, and other supervisory matters. The goal of these
reviews is to better leverage the work of each regulatory party in
examining and supervising FISCUs.
Enterprise Solution Modernization (ESM). In November 2015, the NCUA
Board authorized the ESM program. This effort will replace legacy
applications such as the examination system (AIRES) and the Call Report
data collection tool (CU Online). ESM will also introduce emerging and
secure technology that supports the NCUA's examination, data
collection, and reporting efforts. The result will be a flexible
technology architecture that integrates modernized systems and tools
across the agency. The new systems will streamline processes and
procedures helping create a more effective, less burdensome process.
ESM will also provide essential upgrades to the NCUA's technology
foundation that supports the FLEX and Virtual Exam efforts with:
More efficient ways to securely communicate with credit
unions.
Updated tools such as workflow management, data
integration, document management, and customer relationship management
capabilities.
A flexible framework that will allow for integration of
new solutions so the NCUA's supervisory systems can evolve with changes
to regulations, data and analytical needs, and activities credit unions
engage in.
The first of a series of technology upgrades from ESM are scheduled
to begin in 2019. Throughout the multi-year implementation phase of
this initiative, the NCUA will continue to provide updates and engage
stakeholders.
Virtual Examination Program. In 2017, the NCUA Board approved the
project and associated resources to research methods to conduct offsite
as many aspects of the examination and supervision processes as
possible. The virtual exam project team is researching ways to harness
new and emerging data, advancements in analytical techniques,
innovative technology, and improvements in supervisory approaches.
By identifying and adopting alternative methods to remotely analyze
much of the financial and operational condition of a credit union, with
equivalent or improved effectiveness relative to current examinations,
it may be possible to significantly reduce the frequency and scope of
onsite examinations. Onsite examination activities could potentially be
limited to periodic data quality and governance reviews, interventions
for material problems, and meetings or other examination activities
that need to be handled in person.
The virtual exam should lead to greater use of standardized
interaction protocols, advanced analytical capabilities, and more-
informed subject matter experts. This should result in more consistent
and accurate supervisory determinations, provide greater clarity and
consistency with respect to how the agency conducts supervisory
oversight, and reduce coordination challenges between agency and
institution staff.
To be successful, it is likely examination staff will need to
analyze more information about the credit union being examined and
communicate more frequently with management at the credit union.
However, it is not the agency's intent to intervene in credit unions'
day-to-day operations or strategic planning.
The virtual examination team will deliver to the NCUA board by the
end of 2020 a report discussing alternative methods identified to
remotely analyze aspects of the financial and operational condition of
a credit union. For credit unions that are compatible with this
approach, the agency's goal is to transform the examination and
supervision program into a predominately virtual one within the next
five to ten years. The transformation is expected to occur through
incremental adoption of the corresponding new techniques and
approaches.
Reducing Regulatory Burden
The NCUA established a Regulatory Reform Task Force (Task Force) in
March 2017 to oversee implementation of the agency's regulatory reform
agenda. This is consistent with the spirit of Executive Order 13777 and
the Trump administration's regulatory reform agenda. Although the NCUA,
as an independent agency, is not required to comply with Executive
Order 13777, the agency chose to review all of the NCUA's regulations,
consistent with the spirit of initiative and the public benefit of
periodic regulatory review. The Task Force published and sought comment
on its first report in August 2017.
The NCUA has undertaken a series of regulatory changes as part of
this effort, and continues to pursue a regulatory reform agenda,
including matters such as advertising, field of membership, equity
distribution, and securitization. The task force is in the process of
preparing its second report, which should be issued in late 2018 or
early 2019.
V. Operating Budget
Overview
The NCUA Operating Budget is the annual resource plan for the NCUA
to conduct activities prescribed by the Federal Credit Union Act of
1934. These activities include: (1) Chartering new Federal credit
unions; (2) approving
[[Page 49707]]
field of membership applications of Federal credit unions; (3)
promulgating regulations and providing guidance; (4) performing
regulatory compliance and safety and soundness examinations; (5)
implementing and administering enforcement actions, such as prohibition
orders, orders to cease and desist, orders of conservatorship and
orders of liquidation; and (6) administering the National Credit Union
Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF or the Share Insurance Fund).
The NCUA funds its activities through operating fees levied on all
Federal credit unions and through reimbursements from the Share
Insurance Fund, which is funded by both Federal credit unions and
federally-insured state-chartered credit unions.
As outlined in the NCUA Letter to Credit Unions 18-CU-01, dated
August, 2018, there are several examination modernization initiatives
in process to improve how the agency conducts examinations and
supervision. The goals of these initiatives are to replace outdated,
end-of-life examination systems, streamline processes, adopt enhanced
examination techniques, and leverage new technology and data to
maintain high quality supervision of insured credit unions with less on
site presence. Modernizing agency systems and processes will reduce the
burden on the credit union community and increase the effectiveness of
the NCUA.
Staffing
The staffing levels proposed for 2019 reflect the resource
requirements for steady state operations at the NCUA as it implements
the agency reform plan and modernizes the examination process. The
estimated resource level will fund the appropriate workload balance
that supports extended exam cycles and enhanced examinations. The new
positions supported by the budget include a Business Data Lead, two
Business Innovation Officers, a Bank Secrecy Act Specialist, a
Financial Technology Analyst, two Enforcement and litigation attorneys,
and one Regulations and Legislation attorney. There will be a
realignment of three regional office vacancies to offset three of the
new positions.
In 2019, the agency is also establishing the Office of Business
Innovation to lead the Enterprise Solution Modernization (ESM) program,
as well as other modernization and business enterprise initiatives
outside the scope of ESM. This includes the agency's initiative to
modernize the member loan and share download, advance the information
security program, and enhance analytics through data management.
Previously, the employees assigned to Business Innovation were included
in the Office of the Executive Director. By creating the new office
structure, the budget will more clearly delineate these expenses and be
more transparent to interested parties.
The budget for 2019 supports a total agency staffing level of 1,178
personnel. This is a net decrease of ten positions from the Board-
approved level for 2018, or a decrease of 0.8 percent.
BILLING CODE 7535-01-P
[[Page 49708]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.014
BILLING CODE 7535-01-C
Request for New Staff in 2019
Business Data Lead (1 Position Reallocated From Regional Vacancies)
The Office of Business Innovation requires one full-time position
to serve as the Business Data leader who will drive implementation of
an agency-wide analytic data strategy and governance framework. This
work will include: (1) Chairing an enterprise analytic data council;
(2) supervising three enterprise data stewards; (3) working with
contract consultants to assist the council and data stewards; (4)
piloting the enterprise data strategy and governance framework; (5)
initiating the enterprise data office study; and (6) recommending and
running a future state for enterprise data management.
Business Innovation Officers (2 Positions Reallocated From Regional
Vacancies)
The Office of Business Innovation requires two Business Innovation
Officers to conduct the daily work to support development of an agency-
wide analytic data strategy and governance framework, including: (1)
Creating and executing a data governance framework, (2) defining
business requirements to ensure initial proper configuration of the
NCUA's analytic data repository, (3) researching data information to
update the NCUA's data dictionary and develop data lineage
requirements, and (4) working with system owners and other stakeholders
to resolve conflicts and facilitate acceptance into the data framework.
Bank Secrecy Act Specialist (+1 New Position)
The Office of Examination and Insurance requires a full-time
position to support Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) policies and workload
requirements. The BSA has consumed considerable attention within the
NCUA and throughout the government's regulatory responsibilities for
the financial services industry. Interagency planning and policy
development groups have already created significant new workload for
the NCUA. This additional workload is expected to continue as the
interagency groups develops new supervisory policies, coordinate BSA-
related rulemaking, implement industry and supervisory guidance, and
conduct industry outreach.
[[Page 49709]]
Financial Technology Analyst (+1 New Position)
The Office of the Chief Economist requires one new employee to
research new financial technology innovations and organize and lead a
working group to review these emerging technologies. This position will
also expand the NCUA's policy expertise in cryptocurrencies.
Enforcement and Litigation Attorneys (+2 New Positions)
The Office of General Counsel requires two additional attorneys in
the Enforcement and Litigation Division to support the agency and
enable attorneys to work more collaboratively as supervisory offices'
formal enforcement actions are being considered and planned. These
additional employees will help improve the NCUA's overall enforcement
process by focusing support and investigatory efforts more
strategically and earlier in the enforcement process.
Regulations and Legislation Attorney (+1 New Position)
The Office of General Counsel requires an additional attorney for
the Division of Regulations and Legislation. This attorney will focus
on the review of legislation, provide technical drafting assistance for
legislation when necessary, write responses to Congressional and
interagency inquiries, and assist in drafting both oral and written
testimony for Congressional hearings. The new attorney will also
coordinate legislative efforts with other public and Congressional
Affairs staff at the NCUA.
Budget Category Descriptions and Major Changes
There are five major expenditure categories in the NCUA's budget.
This section explains how these expenditures support the NCUA's
operations, and presents a transparent and comprehensive accounting of
the Operating Budget.
BILLING CODE 7535-01-P
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.015
BILLING CODE 7535-01-C
Salaries and Benefits
The budget includes $222.8 million for employee salaries and
benefits in 2019. This change is a $2.1 million, or 1.0 percent,
increase from the 2018 Board Approved Budget.
Salaries and benefits make up 73 percent of the total budget. The
primary driver of increased costs in the Salaries and Benefits category
is merit and locality pay increases for the NCUA's 1,173 personnel paid
from the Operating Budget, in accordance with the agency's current
Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and its merit-based pay system.
In 2019, the NCUA's compensation levels will continue to ``maintain
comparability with other federal bank regulatory agencies,'' as
required by the Federal Credit Union
[[Page 49710]]
Act.\8\ The Salaries and Benefits category of the budget includes all
employee pay raises for 2019, such as merit and locality increases, and
those for promotions, reassignments, and other changes, as described
below.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ The Federal Credit Union Act states that, ``In setting and
adjusting the total amount of compensation and benefits for
employees of the Board, the Board shall seek to maintain
comparability with other [f]ederal bank regulatory agencies.'' See
12 U.S.C. 1766(j)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consistent with other federal pay systems, the NCUA's compensation
includes base pay and locality pay components. The NCUA staff will be
eligible to receive an average merit-based increase of 3.0 percent, and
an additional locality adjustment ranging from zero to 3.0 percent,
depending on location. The average increase in locality pay is
estimated to be 1.4 percent. Starting in 2019, the NCUA discontinued
the annual, general pay scale increase of 1.25 percent in accordance
with recent CBA negotiations. By merging the general pay scale increase
into the annual merit-based pay increase, the NCUA expects to better
reward employee performance while reducing future year payroll growth.
The first-year cost of the new positions added in 2019 is estimated
to be $1.0 million, or approximately half the annual salaries and
benefits associated with the positions since these new employees will
be hired throughout the year. The full-year salaries and benefits costs
of these employees will approximately double in 2020. Specific
increases to individual offices' pay and benefits budgets will vary
based on current pay levels, position changes, and promotions.
Personnel compensation at the NCUA varies among every office and
region depending on work experience, skills, years of service,
supervisory or non-supervisory responsibilities, and geographic
locations. In general, more than 85 percent of the NCUA workforce has
earned a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to approximately 35
percent of the private-sector workforce. This high level of educational
achievement ensures the NCUA workforce is able to fulfill its mission
effectively and efficiently, and attracting a well-qualified workforce
requires the agency to pay employees competitive salaries.
Individual employees' compensation varies, depending on the cost of
living in the location where the employee is stationed. The federal
government sets locality pay standards, which are managed by the
President's Pay Agent--a council established to make recommendations on
federal pay. The council uses data from the Occupational Employment
Statistics program, collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, to
compare salaries in over 30 metropolitan areas, and establishes
recommendations for equitable adjustments to employee salaries to
account for cost-of-living differences between localities.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) economic assumptions for
actuarial valuation of the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS)
remains unchanged in 2019, so all federal agencies are expected to
contribute 13.7 percent of FERS employees' salary to the OPM retirement
system. This mandatary contribution is expected to increase to 16.0
percent, or +230 basis points, in 2020, consistent with published
actuarial updates. This change will result in an estimated $3.5 million
in additional, mandatory retirement-related payments by the NCUA to
OPM.
The average health insurance costs for the Federal Employees Health
Benefits program for 2019 are consistent with historical actual
expenses. The employee pay and benefits category also includes costs
associated with other mandatory employer contributions such as Social
Security, Medicare, transportation subsidies, unemployment, and
workers' compensation. Notably, charges from the U.S. Department of
Labor (DOL) for the NCUA's workers' compensation claims increased by
nearly $250,000 between 2018 and 2019. DOL manages the workers'
compensation system for all federal agencies.
The 2019 budget reflects a $4.0 million reduction, or the
equivalent of a two percent vacancy rate (21 positions) during the
year. This aligns with the NCUA's most recent attrition rates and the
recruitment and retention challenges the agency expects to face in the
current, high-employment labor market. The effect of this adjustment
lowers the NCUA budget and results in reduced fees collected from
credit unions.
The 2020 budget request for salaries and benefits is estimated at
$233.6 million, a $10.8 million increase from the 2019 level, which
accounts for merit and locality increases consistent with the CBA
(approximately $6.3 million), the full-year cost impact of new
positions (approximately $1 million), and the mandatory FERS retirement
contributions to OPM (approximately $3.5 million).
Travel
The 2019 budget includes $26.8 million for Travel. This change is a
$326,000, or 1.2 percent, increase to the 2018 Board Approved Budget.
Travel comprises approximately nine percent of the overall 2019 budget.
The cumulative reduction of the credit union examiner positions
compared to past years, extended examination cycles, and increased use
of offsite examinations all help contain the NCUA's travel costs.
However, the General Services Administration has announced an increase
of nearly eight percent for per diem rates in 2019, which drives the
growth of estimated travel expenses in 2019.
The Travel cost category includes expenses for employees' airfare,
lodging, meals, auto rentals, reimbursements for privately owned
vehicle usage, and other travel-related expenses. These are necessary
expenses for examiners' onsite work in credit unions. Close to two-
thirds of the NCUA's workforce is comprised of field staff who spend a
significant part of their year traveling to conduct the examination and
supervision program.
The NCUA staff also travel for training, and there will be minor
increases to training-related travel expenses to support field exams.
For example, technical experts such as payment system, capital market,
and lending specialists will assist field examiners with program
examinations and training, while consumer access analysts will provide
support on field consumer compliance issues and follow-up field
assessments of business marketing plans for field-of-membership
expansions.
The 2020 budget request for travel is estimated at $27.8 million, a
$1 million increase to the 2019 level, which accounts for a national
program examination training event. This one-time training conference
is anticipated to coincide with full deployment of the new Examination
and Supervision Solution system.
The NCUA plans to evaluate future cost avoidance for travel through
continued expansion of offsite examination work. In addition, agency
personnel will continue to utilize more virtual training options, where
appropriate, to help minimize travel expenses.
Rent, Communications, and Utilities
The 2019 budget includes $8.0 million for Rent, Communications, and
Utilities. This is a $445,000 reduction, or five percent less than the
2018 Board Approved Budget. The Rent, Communications, and Utilities
category is the smallest component of the NCUA's budget and funds the
agency's telecommunications and information
[[Page 49711]]
technology network expenses, and facility rental costs. The agency
telecommunications expense for 2019 is $3.2 million. Office building
leases, meeting rentals, office utilities, and postage expenses are
also included in this budget category. Facility costs total $2.6
million for 2019, which is $600,000 less than the prior year budget due
to the closure of regional offices in Atlanta, Georgia and Albany, New
York. Facility costs also include the NCUA's annual payment of $1.3
million to the Share Insurance Fund for its central office note, which
is scheduled to be fully repaid in 2023.
The 2020 budget request for the Rent, Communications, and Utilities
category is $8.0 million, and is unchanged from 2019. Additional
savings from lease terminations are expected in 2021, once Eastern
Region personnel are co-located in the NCUA-owned central office
building.
Administrative Expenses
The 2019 budget includes $8.7 million for Administrative Expenses.
This is an increase of $1.2 million, or 16 percent, compared to the
2018 Board Approved Budget. Recurring costs in the Administrative
Expenses category include the annual reimbursement to the Federal
Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), employee relocation
expenses, recruitment and advertising, shipping, printing,
subscriptions, examiner training and meeting supplies, office
furniture, and employee supplies and materials.
Service contracts, maintenance fees, and end-user licensing for
computer software and database management applications will cost $3.8
million in 2019. This includes annual software licenses and maintenance
support fees for the call center managed by the Office of Consumer
Financial Protection. This line item represents a $435,000 increase
over the prior year budget to support purchases of critical financial
and information services subscription services to manage risk.
As part of the FFIEC, the NCUA shares in costs for joint actions
and services that affect the financial services industry. These costs
are largely outside of the NCUA's control and are estimated at $1.4
million in 2019, which is $100,000 more than 2018.
Employee relocation expenses are adjusted in 2019 to reflect the
historical average annual expenditures of $750,000. This is a $500,000
increase over the 2018 Board Approved Budget, which was lower than
historical averages because of one-time agency reorganization funding
set aside for relocations in 2018.
Due to reformed business processes and improved financial controls,
costs for printing. Meeting support costs are estimated to be $150,000
less than in 2018.
Contracted Services
The 2019 budget includes $38.1 million for Contracted Services.
This is a $3.1 million, or nine percent, increase compared to the 2018
Board Approved Budget.
The Contracted Services budget category includes costs incurred
when products and services are acquired in the commercial marketplace.
Acquiring specific expertise or services from contract providers is
often the most cost-effective approach to fulfill the NCUA's mission.
Such services include critical mission support such as information
technology hardware and software development, accounting and auditing
services, and specialized subject matter expertise that enable staff to
focus on core mission execution.
The majority of funding in the Contracted Services category is
related to the NCUA's priority to implement a robust supervision
framework by identifying and resolving traditional risk concerns such
as interest rate risk, credit risk, and industry concentration risk, as
well as by addressing new and evolving operational risks such as
cybersecurity threats. Growth in the contracted services budget
category results primarily from new operations and maintenance costs
associated with ongoing capital investments, such as replacements for
the Automated Integrated Regulatory Examination System (AIRES) and CU
Online. Other costs include core agency business operation systems such
as for payroll processing, and various recurring costs, as described in
the seven major categories, below:
[ssquf] Information Technology Operations and Maintenance (47
percent of contracted services)
--IT network support services and help desk support
--Contractor program and web support and network and equipment
maintenance services
--Administration of software products such as Microsoft Office, Share
Point and audio visual services
[ssquf] Administrative Support and Other Services (14 percent of
contracted services)
--Examination and Supervision program support
--Technical support for examination and cybersecurity training programs
--Equipment maintenance services
--Legal services and other expert consulting support
--Other administrative mission support services for the NCUA central
office
[ssquf] Accounting, Procurement, Payroll and Human Resources
Systems (11 percent of contracted services)
--Accounting and procurement systems and support
--Human resources, payroll, and employee services
--Equal employment opportunity and diversity programs
[ssquf] Building Operations, Maintenance, and Security (9 percent
of contracted services)
--Central office facility operations and maintenance
--Building security and continuity programs
--Personnel security and administrative programs
[ssquf] Information Technology Security (7 percent of contracted
services)
--Enhanced secure data storage and operations
--Information security programs
--Security system assessment services
[ssquf] Training (7 percent of contracted services)
--Examiner staff technical and specialized training and development
--Senior executive and mission support staff professional development
[ssquf] Audit and Financial Management Support (5 percent of
contracted services)
--Annual audit support services
--Material loss reviews
--Investigation support services
--Financial management support services
The following pie chart illustrates the breakout of the seven
categories for the total contracted services budget of $38.1 million.
[[Page 49712]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.016
Major programs within the contracted services category include:
[ssquf] Training requirements for the examiner workforce. The
NCUA's most important resource is its highly educated, experienced, and
skilled workforce. It is important that staff have the proper
knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform assigned duties and meet
emerging needs. Each year, Credit Union Examiners attend several levels
of training, including in core areas such as capital markets, consumer
compliance, and specialized lending. The training deliverables for 2019
include classes offered by the Federal Financial Institutions
Examination Council, new examiner classes, and subject matter expert
training sessions for the NCUA examiners and state regulators.
Contracted service providers will develop and design several
subject matter expert training classes for examiners and conduct a
triennial review of several modules of the NCUA's core course
curriculum. Additionally, regional and central office staff will
conduct change management and teambuilding training exercises to help
integrate new operations as a result of the Agency reorganization.
[ssquf] The NCUA's information security program supports ongoing
efforts to strengthen cybersecurity and ensure compliance with the
Federal Information System Management Act.
[ssquf] Agency financial management services, human resources
technology support, and payroll services. The NCUA contracts for these
back-office support services with the U.S. Department of
Transportation's Enterprise Service Center (DOT/ESC) and the General
Services Administration. A new service provider offers the NCUA's human
resource system, HR Links, also adopted by many federal agencies, the
shared solution automates routine human resource tasks and improves
time and attendance functionality.
[ssquf] Audit. The NCUA Office of Inspector General contracts with
an accounting firm to conduct the annual audit of the agency's four
permanent funds. The results of these audits are posted annually on the
NCUA website and also included as part of the agency's Annual Report.
A significant share of the budget for the Contracted Services
category finances on-going infrastructure support for the agency. For
example, the NCUA relies on recurring contracted services to maintain a
number of the agency's systems including critical legacy systems such
as AIRES and Credit Union Online. Several of the NCUA's core
information technology systems and processes require additional
contract support in 2019, which result in increased budgets in the
Contracted Services category, as described below.
Within the budget for the Office of Chief Information Officer, an
additional $3.2 million is required for various contractor support
requirements in 2019, including:
Contract Realignment $1.5M. Costs include transition to
new Operations & Maintenance contract, increase in support skill set to
cover service gap.
New Capabilities & Modernization $1.0M. Costs include
examination solution circuit's maintenance & program rent cost, new
security tools implementation, and true-up for service management
system licenses.
Cost Inflation $0.5M. Costs include expected inflation for
telecommunications, equipment repair and maintenance and contract
services.
AMAC Support $0.2M. Costs include establishing on-site
information technology support for AMAC.
Within the budget for the Office of Chief Financial Officer, the
annual fee paid to the Department of Transportation (DOT) for the
NCUA's financial management system will increase by nearly $800,000
over the 2018 level. This is because DOT revised its cost allocation
model for all of its financial system customers. In 2018, the NCUA also
replaced its legacy human resources and time and attendance systems
with a more modern platform called HR Links, which better supports the
agency's workforce and personnel requirements. The 2019 cost for HR
Links decreased from the 2018 level by $325,000 due to one-time start-
up costs that were included in the 2018 Board Approved Budget.
VI. Capital Budget
Overview
The NCUA uses a rigorous process to identify the investment needs
for information technology, facility improvements and repairs, and
other
[[Page 49713]]
multi-year capital investments. The NCUA staff review the agency's
inventory of owned facilities, equipment, information technology
systems, and information technology hardware to determine what requires
repair, major renovation, or replacement. The staff then make
recommendations for prioritized investments to the Executive Director
and the NCUA Board.
Routine repairs and lifecycle-driven property renovations are
necessary to properly maintain the investments in the NCUA's central
office building in Alexandria, Virginia and the agency's owned office
building in Austin, Texas. The NCUA facility manager assesses the
agency's properties to determine the need for essential repairs,
replacement of building systems that have reached the end of their
engineered lives, or renovations required to support changes in the
agency's organizational structure or to address revisions to building
standards and codes.
Information technology (IT) systems and hardware are another
significant capital expenditure for modern organizations. The 2019
budget includes significant investment in current and replacement IT
systems. The NCUA Examination and Supervision Solution (ESS) project,
for example, will replace the legacy Automated Integrated Regulatory
Examination System (AIRES) system, and is the largest single capital
investment in the 2019 budget. Other IT investments include ongoing
enhancements and upgrades to decades-old legacy systems, incident and
vulnerability management systems to enhance the agency's cybersecurity
posture, and various hardware investments to refresh agency networks
and ensure staff have the tools necessary to maintain and increase
their productivity.
The NCUA's 2019 capital budget is $22.0 million. The capital budget
includes long-term investment projects. The Information Technology
Prioritization Council recommended $17.1 million for IT software
development projects and $4 million in other IT investments for 2019.
The NCUA facilities require $0.9 million in capital investments.
Detailed descriptions of all 2019 capital projects, including a
discussion of how each project helps the agency achieve its strategic
goals and objectives, are provided in Appendix C.
Summary of Capital Projects
Examination and Supervision Solution and Infrastructure Hosting
(ESS&IH) ($8.4 million). The purpose of the ESS&IH project is to
implement a new, flexible, technical foundation to enable current and
future NCUA business process modernization initiatives, and replace the
NCUA's legacy exam system, AIRES, with a new Commercial-Off-The-Shelf
(COTS) solution.
Data Collection Solution (DCS)/Enterprise Content Management (ECM)
Analysis of Alternatives Study ($0.2 million). The purpose of this
project is to award and complete an Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) to
study the operational effectiveness, suitability, risks and life-cycle
costs of alternative ECM solutions to support the NCUA's requirements
for data collection, workflow, document management, customer
relationship management and records management. An AoA needs to be
completed to gather the requirements across these areas and to validate
that the ECM solutions are the most effective and efficient way to meet
the NCUA's data collection, document management, and records management
needs.
Business Intelligence (BI) Tools and Capability Enhancement ($1.9
million). The purpose of this project is the collection,
centralization, organization and storage of data collected by the
Office of National Examination and Supervision (ONES) so that analysis
is more accurate and efficient. This accessibility will integrate with
BI tools to improve ONES's overall reporting and data analysis
capabilities.
Enterprise Central Data Repository ($1.0 million). The Enterprise
Central Data Repository (ECDR) project will implement a central data
repository that will serve as the data integration point for
Examination and Supervision Solution (ESS), ONES's analytic tools, the
NCUA's legacy applications and the Data Collection Solution (DCS). The
ECDR will become an enterprise solution for the NCUA allowing the
agency to transition in a phased approach from the existing legacy
databases to a cloud-based data repository serving the agency's needs.
Asset Management and Assistance Center (AMAC) Servicing System
($0.6 million). The purpose of this project is to enhance AMAC's legacy
content management and servicing systems. Phase I of the project
resulted in an enhanced, secure content management solution. During
Phase II of the project, the NCUA will identify, acquire, and implement
replacement solutions for AMAC's aging core data processor. The key
project deliverables are the acquisition and deployment of a
replacement core processing system.
Enterprise Data Analytics, Governance and Reporting Services ($0.6
million). The purpose of this project is the centralization,
organization and storage of the NCUA data so analysis is more accurate,
simple and easily distributed across the agency. This increased
accessibility is combined with analytic tools to improve the NCUA's
overall reporting and data analysis capabilities.
Asset and Liabilities Management Application ($3.2 million). The
purpose of the Asset and Liabilities Management (ALM) application is
for the NCUA to build internal analytical capabilities to run
supervisory stress testing in house and to conduct regular quantitative
risk assessments by procuring and configuring off-the-shelf analytical
tools, models and software used commonly in stress testing and other
risk management activities.
This effort delivers a complete solution that will focus on
modernizing the NCUA's supervision tools and approaches, identifying
material risks facing the covered credit unions, and tailoring
resources to the material risks and risk focused exams. This effort
will allow the NCUA to reduce the existing third party contractor's
role to only consultation.
Enterprise Learning Management System Replacement ($0.6 million).
The purpose of the Enterprise Learning Management System (LMS)
Replacement project is to conduct market research, initiate an
acquisition, create a project management plan, and execute the
production and implementation of a cost-effective, cloud-based solution
and training services that provides the NCUA with the full-range of
eLearning functionality associated with a modern LMS. This will allow
for enhanced examiner utilization and accessibility driven by quality
content, ease of use and system reliability, role-based interface,
ability to view personalized pages by role, centralized content,
adherence to federally-mandated reporting requirements and records
management adherence.
Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance (GRC) tool for Managing
Compliance Information ($0.3 million). The purpose of the GRC Tool for
Managing Compliance Information project is to acquire and implement a
software platform that provides a structured repository for all system
security and privacy documentation; security risk assessments; risk
scoring; Plan of Actions and Milestones (POAM) management; and
authorization workflow.
Financial Management Analysis of Alternatives ($0.35 million). The
purpose of this project is to award and complete an Analysis of
Alternatives
[[Page 49714]]
(AoA) for federal financial management system service providers. The
NCUA's current financial management system service provider--the
Department of Transportation's Enterprise Service Center (ESC)--will
increase the fee it charges the NCUA in 2019 by approximately $800,000,
or 40 percent more than the 2018 charge. As a result, the NCUA plans to
review alternative service providers to determine whether it is
possible to achieve similar or better financial management results in a
cost-effective manner.
Enterprise Laptop Lease ($0.8 million). The purpose of the
Enterprise Laptop Refresh project is to provide the NCUA with a more
efficient, mobile friendly, and secure tool to help employees better
perform their jobs at a reasonable cost.
Information Technology Infrastructure, Platform and Security
Refresh ($2.4 million). The purpose of the Information Technology (IT)
Infrastructure, Platform and Security Refresh project is to refresh
and/or replace routers, switches virtual servers, wireless, virtual
private network, end of life and end of service components in order to
ensure that the NCUA data is secure and operations are stable.
Security Management Tool Upgrades ($0.7 million). The purpose of
the Security Management Tool Upgrades (Security Event and Incident
Management (SEIM)) project is to optimize event collection, monitoring,
detection and response capabilities for information security and IT
operations, which will enable data-driven proactive management of the
agency's cybersecurity programs.
The purpose of the Security Management Tool Upgrade (Patch &
Vulnerability Management) project is to comply with the Department of
Homeland Security's requirements for its Continuous Diagnostics and
Mitigation (CDM) program, which sets standards for effective IT
cybersecurity service management for Federal agencies.
Refresh End of Life VOIP Phone System ($0.2 million). The purpose
of the Refresh End of Life Voice over internet Protocol (VoIP) Phone
System project is to replace the agency's phone system infrastructure
and endpoints, which is at end of its service life. The new system will
ensure voice communications capabilities via a cloud solution that
provides business continuity and stable operations.
The NCUA Central Office Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning
(HVAC) System Replacement ($0.75 million). The NCUA central office HVAC
system replacement project will recapitalize the HVAC system in the
agency's central office building, including all cooling towers, air
handlers, boilers and HVAC components. The current HVAC system is
original to the facility, 24 years old and obsolete. The current system
is at the end of its usable life and it is not working efficiently.
The NCUA Austin, Texas Office Building Modernization ($0.15
million). In 2019, the NCUA plans to repair or replace several priority
projects at the Austin, Texas office building. These capital
improvements are required for the facility to continue routine and safe
operations, and align with the life cycle replacement required for
critical infrastructure.
VII. Share Insurance Fund Administrative Budget
Overview
The Share Insurance Fund Administrative budget funds direct costs
associated with authorized Share Insurance Fund activities. As in 2018,
the 2019 budget has been developed to reflect the closure of the
Temporary Corporate Credit Union Stabilization Fund into the Share
Insurance Fund. The direct charges to the Share Insurance Fund are
combined with the NGN program and administrative costs, and represent
total estimated costs to the Share Insurance Fund.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ Note these direct costs are exclusive of any costs that are
shared with the Operating Fund through the Overhead Transfer Rate,
and with payments available upon requisition by the Board, without
fiscal year limitation, for insurance under section 1787 of this
title, and for providing assistance and making expenditures under
section 1788 of this title in connection with the liquidation or
threatened liquidation of insured credit unions as it may determine
to be proper.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The cost of the NCUA Guaranteed Notes (NGN) program and the
Corporate System Resolution Program, including costs associated with
the administration of those programs, will be funded from the Share
Insurance Fund Administrative Budget. These costs have no impact on the
NCUA's current and future Operating Fund budgets. The budget for the
Share Insurance Fund also includes funding for expenditures previously
authorized as direct expenses of the Share Insurance Fund for items
such as state examiner computer leases and training. Other direct
expenses include contract support for stress testing for certain large
credit unions and financial audit support.
The 2019 total Share Insurance Fund Administrative budget is
estimated to be $8.4 million, $0.3 million, or 3.5 percent, more than
2018. The budget increase is primarily driven by increased support
required for data-driven analytics on stress testing that large credit
unions perform, partially offset by savings in other cost categories.
The Share Insurance Fund Administrative budget also funds five
positions that were formerly part of the Stabilization Fund budget.
These costs will enable the NCUA to continue supporting the NGN
program, which includes managing legacy assets within the NGN trusts.
Legacy assets consist of over 1,000 investment securities that are
secured by residential mortgages and other assets.
The 2020 requested budget supports similar workload and resources;
however, one additional stress test would be added and is estimated to
cost $750 thousand. The total administrative budget estimate is
estimated to be $9.1 million.
Budget Category Descriptions and Major Changes
Salaries and Benefits
The employee pay and benefits expense category for the Share
Insurance Fund Administrative budget is estimated to be $1.24 million,
which represents a decrease of $22,000 compared to 2018. This decrease
is due to aligning the budget to actual payroll costs for staff on
board. Personnel compensation is 15 percent of the total budget. The
financial analysts on the NGN team have specialized technical expertise
to manage the remaining $7 billion of legacy assets. Personnel costs
are estimated in a manner similar to the operating budget.
Travel
The estimated travel cost of $52,000 is less than one percent of
the overall 2019 budget and decreases by 31 percent from last year's
budget estimate. These costs cover all of the travel expenses for the
five staff that manage and support the NGN program. Two of the five
staff are remote employees and are expected to travel periodically to
the NCUA's central office.
Administrative Training
Training expenses, which represent less than one percent of the
budget, are estimated to be $27,000, a decrease of $3,000 from the 2018
budget based on updated projections of employee professional
development plans and specialized training requirements.
Support for the NGN Program (Contract Support)
Contract costs to support the NGN program, which represent 35
percent of the budget, are estimated to be $2.9
[[Page 49715]]
million, an increase of $0.3 million from the 2018 level. Funding is
needed to fulfill Corporate System Resolution Program requirements and
includes outside professional services such as external valuation
experts, financial specialists, and accountants.
These experts are needed to assist the NCUA with the following
types of services:
Consulting Services in the amount of $1.0 million will
support two NCUA offices: Examination and Insurance and the Chief
Financial Officer. Services will include quarterly management reviews
of asset valuations, as well as analyses of emerging issues. Support
for the annual financial audit process and improvements in internal
controls will also be provided by contractors. Tasks include:
Supporting complex accounting and financial requirements for
settlements, sale of legacy assets, parity payments, changing valuation
model assumptions, and other asset disposition activities.
Additionally, professional services will be used to assist with
accounting, tax, financial reporting, and systems support for the
corporate Asset Management Estates.
Valuation Services in the amount of $1.1 million to fund
valuation support for the NGN legacy assets. As supported by the NGN
Oversight Committee, resources are also needed to conduct special
analyses, including valuations for determining reasonable market prices
for securities to be sold by auction.
Software and Data Subscription Services in the amount of
$0.8 million will support technical tools used to provide waterfall
models, calculations, and metrics for the structured investment
products underlying the NGN portfolio. The service provides coverage of
all relevant asset classes, waterfall models that are seasoned and
tested throughout the industry, and a broad array of calculations and
metrics. Financial data analytics play a critical role in the
surveillance, modeling, and pricing of the legacy assets that
securitize the NGN Trusts, as well as supporting the management reviews
that the NCUA performs on the cash flow projections. Now that some of
the NCUA Guaranteed Notes have begun maturing, the NCUA has added data
subscription services to provide additional valuation and has added
support for the legacy asset disposition process.
Other annual subscriptions provide important services
related to surveillance of the portfolio of corporate bonds and
mortgage-related bonds. Independent credit research services include
fundamental capital structure research, credit analyses for
surveillance of corporate bond portfolio and monoline insurer exposure,
and direct access to various industry experts for discussion on
specific credits.
Other Direct Expenses
Other direct expenses of the Share Insurance Fund represent close
to 50 percent of the budget, and are estimated to be $4.1 million. The
estimated costs for state examiner computer leases and training in the
amount of $1.2 million is slightly lower than prior years. This will
allow the NCUA to analyze the stress testing that large credit unions
perform. By 2020, additional credit unions are anticipated to be
subject to stress testing. Financial audit support is also expected to
remain the same as prior years.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.017
[[Page 49716]]
The NCUA website has a dedicated section that provides financial
reports for the Share Insurance Fund,\10\ and a separate page that
explains the NCUA Guaranteed Notes Program and provides comprehensive
reporting and analysis on the legacy assets.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ See: https://www.ncua.gov/services/Pages/share-insurance/reports.aspx.
\11\ See: https://www.ncua.gov/regulation-supervision/Pages/guaranteed-notes.aspx.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.018
VIII. Financing the NCUA Programs
Overview
As part of the annual budgetary process, the NCUA remains mindful
that its operating funding comes directly from federal and state
chartered credit unions. The agency strives to ensure that any
allocation of these funds follows a thorough review of the necessity of
the expenditures and whether programs are operating in an efficient,
effective, transparent, and fully accountable manner.
To achieve its statutory mission, the NCUA incurs various expenses,
including those involved in examining and supervising federally insured
credit unions. The NCUA Board adopts an Operating Budget, including the
Capital Budget, in the fall of each year to fund the vast majority of
the costs of operating the agency.\12\ The Federal Credit Union Act
authorizes two primary sources to fund the Operating Budget:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\12\ Some costs are directly charged to the Share Insurance Fund
when appropriate to do so. For example, costs for training and
equipment provided to State Supervisory Authorities are directly
charged to the Share Insurance Fund.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Requisitions from the Share Insurance Fund ``for such
administrative and other expenses incurred in carrying out the purposes
of [Title II of the Act] as [the Board] may determine to be proper'';
\13\ and
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\13\ 12 U.S.C. 1783(a).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2) ``fees and assessments (including income earned on insurance
deposits) levied on insured credit unions under [the Act].'' \14\ Among
the fees levied under the Act are annual Operating Fees, which are
required for federal credit unions under 12 U.S.C. 1755 ``and may be
expended by the Board to defray the expenses incurred in carrying out
the provisions of [the Act,] including the examination and supervision
of [federal credit unions].''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\14\ 12 U.S.C. 1766(j)(3). Other sources of income for the
Operating Budget have included interest income, funds from
publication sales, parking fee income, and rental income.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Taken together, these dual authorities effectively require the
Board to determine which expenses are appropriately paid from each
source while giving the Board broad discretion in allocating expenses.
In 1972, the Government Accountability Office recommended the NCUA
adopt a method for properly allocating Operating Budget costs--that is,
the portion of the NCUA's budget funded by requisitions from the Share
Insurance Fund and the portion covered by Operating Fees paid by
federal credit unions.\15\ The NCUA has since used an allocation
methodology, known as the Overhead Transfer Rate (OTR), to determine
how much of the Operating Budget to fund with a requisition from the
Share Insurance Fund.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\15\ https://www.gao.gov/assets/210/203181.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To allocate agency expenses between these two primary funding
sources, the NCUA uses the OTR methodology. The OTR is the formula the
NCUA uses to allocate insurance-related expenses to the Share Insurance
Fund under Title II. Almost all other operating expenses are collected
through annual Operating Fees paid by federal credit unions.\16\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\16\ Annual Operating Fees must ``be determined according to a
schedule, or schedules, or other method determined by the NCUA Board
to be appropriate, which gives due consideration to the expenses of
the [NCUA] in carrying out its responsibilities under the [Act] and
to the ability of [FCUs] to pay the fee.'' 1755(b).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Two statutory provisions directly limit the Board's discretion with
respect to Share Insurance Fund requisitions for the NCUA's Operating
Budget and, hence, the OTR. First, expenses funded from the Share
Insurance Fund must carry out the purposes of Title II of the Act,
which relate to share insurance.\17\ Second, the NCUA may not fund its
entire Operating Budget through charges to the Share Insurance
Fund.\18\ The NCUA has not imposed additional policy or regulatory
limitations on its discretion for determining the OTR.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\17\ 12 U.S.C. 1783(a).
\18\ The Act in 12 U.S.C. 1755(a) states, ``[i]n accordance with
rules prescribed by the Board, each [federal credit union] shall pay
to the [NCUA] an annual operating fee which may be composed of one
or more charges identified as to the function or functions for which
assessed.'' See also 12 U.S.C. 1766(j)(3).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 49717]]
Overhead Transfer Rate (OTR) Methodology
The NCUA undertook a multi-year process to simplify and make more
transparent its OTR methodology.\19\ The OTR is designed to cover the
NCUA's costs of examining and supervising the risk to the Share
Insurance Fund posed by all federally insured credit unions, as well as
the costs of administering the fund. The OTR represents the percentage
of the agency's operating budget paid for by a transfer from the Share
Insurance Fund. Federally insured credit unions are not billed for, and
do not have to remit, the OTR amount; instead, it is transferred
directly to the Operating Fund from the Share Insurance Fund. This
transfer, therefore, represents a cost to all federally insured credit
unions.
The NCUA Board approved the current methodology for calculating the
OTR at its November 2017 open meeting. The current methodology is
principles-based, simpler, more equitable and transparent, and will
result in lower administrative costs.
The OTR formula is based on the following underlying principles to
allocate agency operating costs:
1. Time spent examining and supervising federal credit unions is
allocated as 50 percent insurance related.\20\
2. All time and costs the NCUA spends supervising or evaluating the
risks posed by federally insured state-chartered credit unions or other
entities the NCUA does not charter or regulate (for example, third-
party vendors and CUSOs) is allocated as 100 percent insurance
related.\21\
3. Time and costs related to the NCUA's role as charterer and
enforcer of consumer protection and other non-insurance based laws
governing the operation of credit unions (like field of membership
requirements) are allocated as 0 percent insurance related.\22\
4. Time and costs related to the NCUA's role in administering
federal share insurance and the Share Insurance Fund are allocated as
100 percent insurance related.\23\
These four principles are applied to the activities and costs of
the agency, which results in the portion of the agency's Operating
Budget that is transferred from the Share Insurance Fund. Based on the
Board-approved methodology, the OTR for 2019 is estimated to be 60.4
percent; thus, 60.4 percent of the total operating budget is estimated
to be paid out of the Share Insurance Fund. The remaining 39.6 percent
of the Operating Budget is estimated be paid for through the FCU
Operating Fee. The explicit and implicit distribution of total
Operating Budget costs for FCUs and federally insured, state-chartered
credit unions (FISCUs) is as follows:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Est. share of the operating
budget covered by: FCUs FISCUs
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FCU Operating Fee................ 39.6% 0.0%
OTR x Percent of Insured Shares.. 31.0% (60.4% x 51.3%) 29.4% (60.4% x 48.7%)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total........................ 70.6% 29.4%
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In terms of accounting for funds transferred from the Share
Insurance Fund to the Operating Fund, the OTR is applied to actual
expenses incurred each month. Therefore, the rate calculated by the OTR
formula is multiplied by each month's actual operating expenses and
charged to the Share Insurance Fund. Because of this monthly
reconciliation to actual operating expenditures, when the NCUA's
expenditures are less than budgeted, the amount charged to the Share
Insurance Fund is also less--and those lower expenditures benefit both
federally chartered and state charted credit unions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\19\ 82 FR 55644 (Nov. 22, 2017).
\20\ The 50 percent allocation mathematically emulates an
examination and supervision program design where the NCUA would
alternate examinations, and/or conduct joint examinations, between
its insurance function and its prudential regulator function if they
were separate units within the NCUA. It reflects an equal sharing of
supervisory responsibilities between the NCUA's dual roles as
charterer/prudential regulator and insurer given both roles have a
vested interest in the safety and soundness of federal credit
unions. It is consistent with the alternating examinations FDIC and
state regulators conduct for insured state-chartered banks as
mandated by Congress. Further, it reflects that the NCUA is
responsible for managing risk to the Share Insurance Fund and
therefore should not rely solely on examinations and supervision
conducted by the prudential regulator.
\21\ The NCUA does not charter state-chartered credit unions nor
serve as their prudential regulator. The NCUA's role with respect to
federally insured state-chartered credit unions is as insurer.
Therefore, all examination and supervision work and other agency
costs attributable to insured state-chartered credit unions is
allocated as 100 percent insurance related.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following chart illustrates the share of the Operating Budget
paid by Federally Insured Credit Unions (FCUs, 70.6%) and Federally
Insured, State-Chartered Credit Unions (FISCUs, 29.4%).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\22\ As the federal agency with the responsibility to charter
federal credit unions and enforce non-insurance related laws
governing how credit unions operate in the marketplace, the NCUA
resources allocated to these functions are properly assigned to its
role as charterer/prudential regulator.
\23\ The NCUA conducts liquidations of credit unions, insured
share payouts, and other resolution activities in its role as
insurer. Also, activities related to share insurance, such as
answering consumer inquiries about insurance coverage, are a
function of the NCUA's role as insurer.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 49718]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.019
Operating Fee
The Board delegated authority to the Chief Financial Officer to
administer the methodology approved by the Board for calculating the
Operating Fees, and to set the fee schedule as calculated per the
approved methodology outlined in this section. There is no change to
the underlying approved Operating Fee methodology for 2019; the change
in the assessments for 2019 are due to changes in the OTR rate and to
indexing the fee schedule for projected asset growth.
For 2019, based on the OTR methodology discussed above, the
resulting share of the budget that is funded from the Operating Fee is
$140.859 million. This equates to 0.0185 percent of the estimated
federal credit union assets for December 2018. The overall increase for
the operating fee is 2.2 percent over 2018.
The Operating Fee will be assessed to federal credit unions based
on estimated year-end assets. Credit unions with assets less than $1
million will not be assessed an Operating Fee. To set the assessment
scale for 2019, federal credit union asset growth will be projected
through December 31, 2018. Based on the June 30, 2018, Call Report
data, annual growth is projected to be 6.2 percent at year end. The
asset level dividing points will be increased by this same projected
growth rate. Assets are indexed annually to preserve the same relative
relationship of the scale to applicable asset base.
To establish the rate applicable to each asset level, the factors
outlined in the table below result in an average Operating Fee rate
increase of 2.2 percent for natural person federal credit unions. The
corporate federal credit union rate scale remains unchanged from prior
years.
To illustrate the rate impact for federal credit unions with assets
under $1.5 billion, the fee increases from $264 per one million dollars
of assets, to $270 per one million dollars of assets. This is an
increase of $6 per million dollars of assets, or 2.2 percent.
Federal credit union assets between $1.5 billion and $4.5 billion
would be assessed at a rate of $78.69 per million, and assets above
$4.5 billion would be assessed at $26.28 per million. As noted above,
these tiers were indexed to the 6.2 percent projected asset growth, and
the rates are increased by 2.2 percent.
The following tables illustrate the methodology and calculations
used to develop the Operating Fee.
[[Page 49719]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.020
[[Page 49720]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.021
IX. Appendix A: Supplemental Budget Information
[[Page 49721]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.022
[[Page 49722]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.023
[[Page 49723]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.024
[[Page 49724]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.025
[[Page 49725]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.026
[[Page 49726]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.027
[[Page 49727]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.028
[[Page 49728]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.029
[[Page 49729]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.030
X. Appendix B: Capital Projects
[[Page 49730]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.031
[[Page 49731]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.032
[[Page 49732]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.033
[[Page 49733]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.034
[[Page 49734]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.035
[[Page 49735]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.036
[[Page 49736]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.037
[[Page 49737]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.038
[[Page 49738]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.039
[[Page 49739]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.040
[[Page 49740]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.041
[[Page 49741]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.042
[[Page 49742]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.043
[[Page 49743]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.044
[[Page 49744]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.045
[[Page 49745]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.046
[[Page 49746]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.047
[[Page 49747]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.048
[[Page 49748]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.049
[[Page 49749]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.050
[[Page 49750]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.051
[[Page 49751]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.052
[[Page 49752]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.053
[[Page 49753]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.054
[[Page 49754]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.055
[[Page 49755]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.056
[[Page 49756]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.057
[[Page 49757]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.058
[[Page 49758]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.059
[[Page 49759]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.060
[[Page 49760]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.061
[[Page 49761]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.062
[[Page 49762]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.063
[[Page 49763]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.064
[[Page 49764]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.065
[[Page 49765]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.066
[[Page 49766]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.067
[[Page 49767]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.068
[[Page 49768]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN02OC18.069
By the National Credit Union Administration Board on September
26, 2018.
Gerard S. Poliquin,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2018-21282 Filed 10-1-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7535-01-P