Bucking recent trends, only 12 federally insured credit unions paid civil monetary penalties for filing late call reports in the first quarter of 2017, according to a report from the National Credit Union Administration.
A total of $2,853 will be paid to the U.S. Treasury, the agency announced on Sept. 8. In the same quarter last year, 30 CUs agreed to penalties, while 25 consented to penalties in 4Q 2016.
For Q1 2017, 27 credit unions filed their call reports late, but after the NCUA consulted regional offices and, when appropriate, state supervisory authorities, the agency determined there were mitigating circumstances in six cases that led to CUs not being penalized and another nine credit unions received a requested waiver.
NCUA said it informed the remaining credit unions of the penalties they faced and advised them they could reduce their penalties by signing a consent agreement. NCUA also said it would initiate administrative hearings against credit unions that did not consent.
Penalties ranged from $74 to $382. The median penalty was $299. Penalties are determined based on asset size, recent call report filing history and the length of the filing delay
Of the 12 credit unions agreeing to pay penalties for Q1 2017:
· Eleven had assets of less than $10 million;
· One had assets between $10 million and $50 million; and
· None had assets of more than $50 million.
Six of the late-filing credit unions had been late in a previous quarter.
NCUA includes information in reminder messages about deadlines and how to receive technical support for filing problems.
The agency has an automated reminder email system contacting credit unions that have not filed call reports and confirms successful filings.
A list of the 12 CUs that filed late and agreed to penalties is available online
