NCUA Board: Wildfires, Annual Performance Plan and Changing of the Guard

By Lisa Freeman
Contributing Editor
 
The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) first board meeting of 2025 featured a brief spotlight on how credit unions are faring the California wildfires, the approval of the agency’s 2025 Annual Performance Plan and the coming shuffle of seats with the advent of a new president.

In what is expected to be his final meeting as the regulator’s chairman, Todd Harper said the agency has been monitoring the situation in California, where wildfires have caused widespread destruction. Some 58 credit union facilities owned by 38 different credit unions are within five miles of the impacted area.

Credit unions are reporting that all of their employees are safe and accounted for and that no CU buildings have been destroyed, though some have been closed due to power outages or air quality, Harper related.

Just as credit unions in the beleaguered region are already trying to work with members whose homes have been damaged or destroyed, NCUA is working with credit unions to help them help those members while maintaining their own financial safety and soundness. Harper reported agency staff will be receiving training on how to help credit unions manage their loan portfolios in the wake of the ongoing disaster.

Vice Chair Kyle Hauptman, who lived in Southern California for nine years including his time as a student at UCLA, noted that American credit unions are extremely adept at helping their members recover from natural disasters, in part because unlike many other nations, the U.S. faces so many different types.

Board Member Otsuka thanked staff for the hard work they’ve been putting in to help credit unions support their members and reminded NCUA has special grants and loans through the Community Development Fund.

The board then moved on to the sole agenda item, approving the Annual Performance Plan with a unanimous vote. Harper said the plan includes a metric related to Minority Depository Institutions, signaling the agency’s continued belief of the importance of further developing MDIs.

Both Otsuka and Hauptman made a point of noting that NCUA offers assistance to credit unions in need of help and that asking for such aid is not held against them by examiners.

A report of the results of NCUA’s 2024 performance is expected out in March.

Prior to closing the meeting, Harper took a moment to acknowledge the pending change in roles at the agency, with Hauptman expected to be elevated to the chair by incoming President Donald Trump -- who, as it happens, was the president who appointed Harper to serve on the board in the first place.

Hauptman noted that unlike at many other federal agencies, the current board has largely avoided intense partisanship. “I don’t know if it’s us or credit unions,” he said, but vowed that the bipartisan nature at NCUA will continue even after the new administration takes over.

Otsuka, who pointed out that Harper was the first career NCUA staffer to be appointed to the board, thanked Harper for his service as chair and said she looked forward to continuing to serve with both her colleagues.

Watch the Board Meeting video for all the details.

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