With a release reiterating the agency’s stance of “no regulation by enforcement,” the federal credit union regulator this week issued its 2026 supervisory priorities, addressing areas such as credit unions’ balance sheet management, rate sensitivity, payments system risks and more.
The agency’s supervisory priorities are noted in a Letter to Credit Unions announced Wednesday. In the letter, the National Credit Union Administration said it plans in the coming year to focus on risk-based supervision, “tailoring the examination scope to the credit union’s unique risk profile.”
Along that line, the agency said it will continue to conduct defined-scope exams in most federal credit unions with assets of $50 million or less; and risk-focused exam procedures for all other credit unions.
“NCUA examiners are expected to shift the areas of supervisory focus based on a credit union’s risk profile when appropriate,” the agency said.
The letter groups the agency’s supervisory priorities into three key areas:
- Balance sheet management, including lending, sensitivity to market risk and liquidity, and earnings and capital adequacy. Noting “moderated” loan growth over the years and declining performance, the agency said specific review areas for examiners will focus on institution-specific risks, possibly including the sufficiency of credit administration; as well as portfolio monitoring, including the management of any material credit risk concentrations. It said examiners will also assess related third-party risk-management practices “as appropriate.”
- Operational risk management, including payments systems, and fraud prevention and detection. “NCUA examiners will continue to assess whether credit unions have effective governance, risk assessments, vendor management, and security frameworks in place to support payment system operations, protect member data, and ensure resilience against fraud and cyber threats inherent in payment ecosystems,” according to the letter.
- Compliance risk management, including Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) compliance and anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) programs. “The emphasis in 2026 will be on evaluating your credit union’s risk-based approach to BSA compliance and how well the AML/CFT program is tailored to the credit union’s specific risk profile,” the letter says. “NCUA examiners will consider whether credit unions focus their resources on the areas of greatest money laundering and terrorist financing risk and whether policies, procedures and controls are effective at mitigating illicit financial activity risks.”
NCUA Letter 26-CU-01, “NCUA’s 2026 Supervisory Priorities”
Leave a Reply