NCUA Releases Annual Report & Ninth Round of Deregulation Project

The NCUA has released its 2025 Annual Report, detailing key accomplishments over the past year and outlining strategic priorities for 2026.

Reorganization
In alignment with a February 2025 executive order, the NCUA undertook a significant organizational restructuring, resulting in a 23% workforce reduction through a voluntary separation program.

GENIUS Act Implementation
The agency has made substantial progress implementing the GENIUS Act, which mandates the development of a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins. NCUA continues to coordinate closely with other federal regulators on this effort.

Enhancing Exam and Supervision Efficiency
To reduce regulatory burden while maintaining a risk-focused approach, the NCUA revised its Document Request List process. Additionally, the agency extended the examination cycle to up to 24 months for well-managed credit unions. In accordance with an executive order, the NCUA also discontinued the use of "reputation risk" in supervision and reaffirmed its commitment to avoiding regulation by enforcement.

Advancing a Streamlined Regulatory Framework
As part of the federal Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation initiative, the NCUA is reviewing all existing regulations-with public input-to ensure they are clearly focused on safety, soundness, and the long-term resilience of credit unions.

Read the NCUA 2025 Annual Report.

Ninth Round of Deregulation Project Underway

The NCUA today announced the ninth round of proposed regulatory changes associated with its Deregulation Project. The project is an ongoing review of NCUA's regulations to ensure regulations are focused on credit unions' safety, soundness, and resilience.

With today's announcement, NCUA is requesting comments on one proposal that would eliminate unduly burdensome requirements in the Code of Federal Regulations related to chartering and field of membership eligibility.

The proposal includes:

Chartering and Field of Membership - 12 CFR 701, Appendix B

• Proposed Change: The proposed rule would remove the automatic disqualification of associational groups that require the purchase of a product or service as a condition of membership. Instead, eligibility will not be automatically denied solely for this reason and more holistic evaluation would be allowed.
• Impact on credit unions: The proposed amendments would alleviate burden and provide regulatory relief to single associational groups and multiple common bond federal credit unions of all sizes in seeking to include associations that may have some customer-client component.