Federal credit union regulator outlines savings in 2023 operating fees with letter

Fees paid by federal credit unions (FCUs) that partially fund the operations of their regulator will drop in 2023 by an average of 1.8%, the agency reminded the institutions in a letter Wednesday.

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board, in a letter to FCUs (23-FCU-01), said the reduced “operating fees” came about, in part, by applying a $15 million credit from 2022 to amounts in fees that would otherwise be required to be paid to support the agency’s operating and capital budgets.

The board made the decision to apply the credit (and reduce FCU fees) at its December meeting.

“The $15 million credit comes from previously collected operating fees that remained unspent at the end of 2022,” the board said in its letter.

The agency said it reckons that the credit will result in a 11.4% reduction in operating fees than would otherwise be owed by each credit union.

The remainder of the reduction in the fee, the NCUA said, resulted from 8.5% FCU asset growth in 2022, which the agency said exceeded the growth of the NCUA’s combined operating and capital budgets. Operating fees are based on total assets of most credit unions.

Invoices will be sent in March, the NCUA said, with payment of the fee due April 18. The fee will be combined on the same invoice with any adjustment required to each credit union’s 1% capitalization deposit in the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF).

Letter to Federal Credit Unions (23-FCU-01): Federal Credit Union Operating Fee Schedule for 2023