ALEXANDRIA, Va.—The window for credit union comments NCUA’s proposed rule on succession planning closed yesterday, and America’s Credit Unions is hoping NCUA will closely review the letters and reconsider aspects of the proposal.
The rule would require federally insured credit unions to establish a written succession plan for certain positions.
“I want to be clear that credit unions think succession planning is incredibly important, and America's Credit Unions thinks succession planning is incredibly important,” said ACU Chief Advocacy Officer Carrie Hunt. “But it also needs to be done in a in a way that makes sense.”
Hunt said ACU understands that having the right people in place to succeed the current CEO can be difficult for small credit unions.
“It’s a really big challenge for small credit unions,” she said. “I know from personal experience. I've had a lot of conversations with credit unions who are smaller, who have great plans in place. But, ultimately, it comes down to having qualified staff. And there just aren't necessarily enough resources to allow small credit unions to meet this need.”
Hunt pointed out the cost of doing business has dramatically increased for credit unions across the board.
“The cyber security threats are bigger, there’s implementing digital banking…I think that NCUA having a succession planning rule isn't necessarily helping to solve the core of the problem (of small credit unions)—which is how can smaller credit unions meet the needs of the business. That's an ongoing issue, and our comments reflect some of those issues. We hope that NCUA will create a regime that is less restrictive in terms of some of their detailed requirements.”