ALEXANDRIA, Va. – NCUA is planning to increase spending next year by 15%, the highest in more than a decade, as it hires dozens of new examiners and takes other steps to deal with the growing financial turmoil in the industry.
The NCUA Board is expected to vote next month on a 2009 budget of $182.9 million budget, which includes 100 new examiners, new laptop computers for all examiners, and average pay raises of 6.4%, up from 5% this year, for all NCUA employees.
The budget includes $12.8 million to hire, train and recruit the new examiners, and add five problem case officers, five risk management officers and additional support staff, said Len Skiles, the agency executive director, at NCUA’s annual budget briefing yesterday. Skiles said NCUA believes it is important to expand its examiner staff and develop a team of well-trained experts during a time credit unions are faced with unprecedented liquidity pressure, increased interest rate risk, additional risks on member business loans and additional government requirements.
The spending rise will mean increases in the annual operating fees paid by federal credit unions, but no one knows how much at this point.
