ALEXANDRIA, Va. NCUA on Tuesday said it is making a variety of changes to its examinations process, including a requirement that its examiners follow up with credit unions on all issues raised in a document of resolution (DOR) within 120 days after the exam.
One specific change outlined by the agency is separating the DOR and examiner's findings sections of the examination reports into stand-alone documents. Separating the DOR and the findings documents and providing descriptive definitions of each document's purpose will help credit union officials clearly differentiate between major and minor problems in order to prioritize corrective actions, NCUA Chairwoman Debbie Matz said in a letter to CUs.
Failure to correct problems documented in the DOR may result in enforcement actions, and will impact CAMEL and risk ratings, the Matz letter noted.
Examiner concerns and documented support for material problems listed in the examinations will be included in the DOR, along with corrective action plans. "This will help credit unions and NCUA implement timely problem resolution of the most critical and material concerns" and "enhance consistency in the exam process," wrote Matz.
In addition, reasonable solutions provided by the CU will become the corrective action plan included in the DOR.
Examiners currently are required to follow up with credit union officials on outstanding DOR items within 120 days after the timeframe for completion has passed. That means examiners will contact each CU shortly after the timeframe for DOR resolution to verify compliance. NCUA said this will help ensure timely resolution of identified problems.
Examiner’s findings will include less urgent problems the CU must address, but can do so in the normal course of business. NCUA said management may use its own discretion to determine the timeframe and approach for correcting these problems.
Matz said, however, that NCUA expects management to address concerns documented in the Examiner’s Findings within a reasonable timeframe. Unresolved findings will impact CAMEL and risk ratings. The changes are scheduled to be implemented Jan. 1
