WASHINGTON — Will a Trump Administration directive issued Wednesday lead to large-scale reductions in staff at NCUA?
A directive from the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management calls for federal agencies to submit plans for “large-scale” reductions in employees, no later than March 13.
The directive, outlined in a memo (posted on HuffPost) from OMB Director Russell Vought and OPM Acting Director Charles Ezell, states the federal government is “costly and inefficient,” stating what is being asked of federal agencies is reorganization.
The memo orders the heads of all executive departments and agencies to impose a “significant reduction” in the number of full-time employees by eliminating positions that “are not required.”
“Pursuant to the President’s direction, agencies should focus on the maximum elimination of functions that are not statutorily mandated while driving the highest-quality, most efficient delivery of their statutorily-required functions,” the memo states, according to a Politico report.
NCUA told CUToday.info the agency is reviewing the memo.
As CUToday.info reported, in line with the new Administration’s efforts to reduce government costs, NCUA has already pulled back offers to some potential new hires.
If NCUA makes any staff cuts, it won't be among field employees, predicts the pioneer of credit union purchases of banks Michael Bell.
"I cannot speak to all aspects of the agency, but I can say that NCUA is actually understaffed and overworked when it comes to the field," said Bell, a partner and chair of the Financial Institutions Practice Group at Honigman, LLP. "Examiners, analysts and subject matter experts cannot effectively process the current transactions--both CU to CU and CU to bank) quickly enough."
Bell has been part of more than 75 whole-bank agreements, plus additional bank branch purchases.