By Ray Birch
ALEXANDRIA, Va.—The number of credit unions filing late 5300 Call Reports continues to drop, with 56 receiving letters from NCUA outlining civil money penalties for missing the Q2 report deadline.
One hundred and four credit unions filed late first-quarter 5300 Call Reports, with 62 receiving late-filing penalties for a total of $57,750, NCUA reported. The median fine was $243.
The 104 late filers marked an 80% decline from the 561 CUs that submitted their fourth-quarter Call Reports late or made corrections after the Jan. 24 deadline. Those CUs received warning letters from the agency.
NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz told CUToday.info that she is surprised to still see late filings.
“But I am pleased to see the number has been whittled down from about 1,000 late filers (seen with 2013 filings) to less than 100. But it still should be zero. There is absolutely no excuse for filing late except for those rare instances when a natural disaster or some significant internal disruption occurs.”
NCUA’s recent letters to CUs that missed the July 25 Q2 filing deadline—as letters conveyed for Q1 report offenders—calculate the civil money penalty that each credit union would pay if they agree to the fine and sign a consent form. Penalties increase if a credit union chooses to contest the fine and loses the case decided by an administrative law judge.
The majority of Q1 late filers that missed the April 25 deadline were small credit unions: 93 had assets of less than $50 million, 64 were below $10 million, 29 were between $10 to $50 million, and 11 were between $50 million and $250 million. No credit union of more than $250 million was late in filing its 5300. NCUA did not share an asset-size breakdown for the latest list.
Matz pointed out the latest number of tardy filers facing fines (56) could shrink if the agency learns of legitimate reasons for missing the deadline. While Matz restated that the goal is zero, she agrees the penalties have credit unions moving in the right direction. She also reminded that fines double for repeat offenders.
The amount of each CU's penalty is based on its asset size, length of delay and whether it was late filing its call report for the previous quarter. Of the 104 that filed late in April, 19 had filed late the previous quarter. Tardy CUs could be fined up to $1 million a day, NCUA has stated.