The addition of qualitative questions to a post-examination survey, consideration of credit union asset size in determining those questions, and possible use of a third party to administer the survey itself are the result of a pilot project reviewed by the federal credit union regulator Thursday.
Meeting for its monthly gathering, the three-member National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board also said the next steps in the project include extending the current pilot project, determining future survey questions, and researching non-agency groups to administer the survey.
The board was hearing results of the pilot survey for its upcoming post-examination survey project. Launched in September and administered by the NCUA ombudsman, the survey is aimed at gathering input from credit unions on the agency’s pre-examination, reporting, and post-examination requirements. The agency announced the program in a letter to federal credit unions last year (21-FCU-05).
At that time, the agency said the survey would allow credit unions to provide timely feedback to the agency while helping to standardize the feedback process. “Credit union feedback helps the NCUA evaluate the effectiveness of our examination processes, and also improves communication with credit unions,” said the letter from agency Chairman Todd Harper.
During the pilot, which ran from Sept. 20 through March 31 of this year, federal credit union managers or CEOs received a link to the post-examination survey from the NCUA’s ombudsman at the conclusion of a regular examination, according to the agency. Credit unions had 15 days to submit responses. There will be no survey at the conclusion of a follow-up examination or supervision contact, and credit unions are not required to respond to the survey, it said.
In a statement, NCUA Board Chairman Todd Harper called the new post-examination survey well-crafted and said that it has “provided valuable feedback on the agency’s program.” He said the survey’s results demonstrate that examiners are performing well overall.