A public hearing on the proposed 2026-2027 budget of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is slated for 1 p.m. eastern Nov. 6.
The deadline for comments from the public has also been extended from Oct. 24 to Nov. 7, the agency said in a press release and in a notice scheduled for Federal Register publication Tuesday. Requests to deliver an in-person statement “must be received” on or before Oct. 30, the notice says, via email to BudgetBriefing@ncua.gov. (For those scheduled to present, the deadline for submitting written statements and presentations is before 1 p.m. eastern Nov. 3, the notice says.)
The NCUA announced the proposed budget Sept. 25, noting the budget for 2026 is reduced 20.6% from 2025. That reduction will be fueled mostly by a 23% cut in staffing levels.
The 2026 budget, proposed at $313.8 million, is a combined budget that includes the agency’s operating budget, capital budget, and Share Insurance Fund administrative budget.
Staffing cuts account for the greatest dollar amount of reduction from the 2025 to 2026 budgets – a combined 23.1% reduction representing $72.1 million in salary and benefit cost reductions combined. About $239.6 million is proposed for total salary and benefits costs in 2026. The agency is also cutting the staff travel budgets 13.4%, or $3.1 million, to $74.2 million. Contracted services are being cut 34.1%, or $12.4 million, to about $24 million.
To recap previous reporting here, the NCUA began 2025 with an approved staffing level of 1,255 positions. It then embarked on its voluntary separation program to satisfy the Trump administration’s aim for reductions across the federal government. The agency anticipated cutting 250 positions by year-end; the proposed budget shows a reduction of 288 positions – to 967 – from 2025 to 2026, and no change in 2027.
The three parts of the agency’s proposed, combined 2026 budget of $313.8 million are:
- a $292.4 million operating budget, down 23.5%, or about $90 million, from 2025 (and funded by federal credit union operating fees and the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund [NCUSIF] transfer rate);
- the capital budget, $18.1 million, up 146%, or $10.8 million, from 2025 (including, the agency said, $10 million for implementation of the NCUA’s 2026 reorganization plan along with investment in systems “to increase efficiency and meet other Administration priorities”); and
- Share Insurance Fund administrative budget, $3.3 million, down 41.6%, or $2.4 million, from 2025.
The draft budget, as announced last month, projects federal credit unions funding 38.2% of the operating budget through the payment of operating fees. The remaining 61.8% would be paid by the NCUSIF as insurance-related expenses.
The proposed, combined budget for 2027 is about $344.7 million, up 9.8% from 2026; that includes an operating budget increase to $321 million, also up 9.8%.
Tuesday’s Federal Register notice addresses only the upcoming hearing and comment deadline extension. The draft budget itself was published Sept. 29 in the Federal Register; the budget documents are also accessible on the agency’s website.
Budget hearing notice, comment deadline extension (Federal Register notice)
Budget documents on NCUA website
Draft NCUA 2026-2027 budget (Federal Register notice)
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