83 FR 4518 - Modernizing Data Collection for Supervision of Credit Unions

NATIONAL CREDIT UNION ADMINISTRATION

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 21 (January 31, 2018)

At the May 19, 2016, meeting of the NCUA Board, the agency discussed plans for modernizing NCUA's collection of data from federally insured credit unions. Key goals of the modernization effort include reducing the reporting burden on credit unions, improving offsite supervision capability, and updating the organization of the forms and related instructions. In June 2016, the NCUA issued a Request for Information in the Federal Register seeking public input on the regulatory data collected through the Call Report and Profile, resulting in 684 individual comments. In September 2016, the Call Report Modernization Working Group solicited feedback from agency staff and state supervisory authorities, resulting in 492 comments. The working group also hosted phone calls with state supervisory authorities and credit unions representing each of the five asset peer groups during October 2016. These calls gave stakeholders an additional opportunity to have a dialogue on recommendations for the Call Report and Profile. The working group reviewed all stakeholder comments and posted summaries of the comments on the NCUA's Call Report Modernization web page. The working group also conducted additional technical research, such as on generally accepted accounting principles relevant to the Call Report. The working group's comprehensive analysis resulted in this proposal to reorganize the schedules in the Call Report and Profile, retire obsolete account codes, and relocate some account codes to other collections. The proposed streamlining for the Call Report results in a net reduction of roughly 40 percent of account codes. The proposed changes to the Profile result in approximately a 20 percent net reduction. The proposed updates to the 5300 Call Report and 4501A Profile forms, instructions, and related background material are available for review and comment, online at https://www.ncua.gov/About/Pages/open- government/call-report-modernization.aspx. Target participants include credit unions, credit union leagues, trade associations, regulators, and industry-related persons.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 21 (Wednesday, January 31, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4518-4519]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-01879]


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NATIONAL CREDIT UNION ADMINISTRATION


Modernizing Data Collection for Supervision of Credit Unions

AGENCY: National Credit Union Administration.

ACTION: Notice; Request for Information (RFI).

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SUMMARY: At the May 19, 2016, meeting of the NCUA Board, the agency 
discussed plans for modernizing NCUA's collection of data from 
federally insured credit unions. Key goals of the modernization effort 
include reducing the reporting burden on credit unions, improving 
offsite supervision capability, and updating the organization of the 
forms and related instructions.
    In June 2016, the NCUA issued a Request for Information in the 
Federal Register seeking public input on the regulatory data collected 
through the Call Report and Profile, resulting in 684 individual 
comments. In September 2016, the Call Report Modernization Working 
Group solicited feedback from agency staff and state supervisory 
authorities, resulting in 492 comments. The working group also hosted 
phone calls with state supervisory authorities and credit unions 
representing each of the five asset peer groups during October 2016. 
These calls gave stakeholders an additional opportunity to have a 
dialogue on recommendations for the Call Report and Profile. The 
working group reviewed all stakeholder comments and posted summaries of 
the comments on the NCUA's Call Report Modernization web page.
    The working group also conducted additional technical research, 
such as on generally accepted accounting principles relevant to the 
Call Report. The working group's comprehensive analysis resulted in 
this proposal to reorganize the schedules in the Call Report and 
Profile, retire obsolete account codes, and relocate some account codes 
to other collections. The proposed streamlining for the Call Report 
results in a net reduction of roughly 40 percent of account codes. The 
proposed changes to the Profile result in approximately a 20 percent 
net reduction.
    The proposed updates to the 5300 Call Report and 4501A Profile 
forms, instructions, and related background material are available for 
review and comment, online at https://www.ncua.gov/About/Pages/open-government/call-report-modernization.aspx. Target participants include 
credit unions, credit union leagues, trade associations, regulators, 
and industry-related persons.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 2, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted using one of the methods below 
(Please do not send comments through multiple methods). Include ``[Your 
name and company name (if any)]--Call Report/Profile Content 
Modernization'' in all correspondence.
     Mail: Please direct written comments related to Call 
Report/Profile Content Modernization to Mary Thor, National Credit 
Union Administration, Office of Examination and Insurance, 1775 Duke 
Street, Alexandria, VA 22314.
     Email: Address to [email protected]. Any of the 
following formats is acceptable: HTML, ASCII, Word, RTF, TXT or PDF.
    NCUA will post all material received by the deadline on the agency 
website (www.ncua.gov) without alteration or redaction, so commenters 
should not include information they do not want to become public (such 
as personal or confidential business information). Spam or marketing 
materials will be discarded without publication. All comments should be 
specific to this notice on the proposed Call Report and Profile forms 
and instructions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Thor, National Credit Union 
Administration, Office of Examination and Insurance, 1775 Duke Street, 
Alexandria, VA 22314, telephone (703) 518-6586, and email 
[email protected]. Media inquiries should be directed to NCUA's Office of 
Public and Congressional Affairs at (703) 518-6330 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Credit Union Administration's 
(NCUA) regulation and supervision of federally insured credit unions is 
designed to protect the safety and soundness of credit unions and 
enforce applicable laws and regulations. As the financial services 
industry and credit union landscape evolve, the NCUA must regularly 
review and update our data collection and other supervisory processes. 
While the NCUA is proposing to reduce the amount of data collected

[[Page 4519]]

through the 5300 Call Report, credit unions will need to maintain 
supporting documentation for the information typically requested during 
examination and supervision contacts. The NCUA uses the Call Report and 
Profile to collect financial and nonfinancial information from 
federally insured credit unions. The resulting data are integral to 
risk supervision at institution and industry levels, which is central 
to safeguarding the integrity of the National Credit Union Share 
Insurance Fund.
    After extensive outreach, the working group developed a prototype 
of streamlined Call Report and Profile forms. The current Call Report 
has 1,523 \1\ account codes (the September 2017 post-MBL/Commercial 
loan changes). The prototype retires 1,017 account codes. Most of the 
account codes proposed to be retired are no longer needed, but some 
would be collected through another means, such as the exam process.
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    \1\ Of the 1,523 account codes, 1,179 account codes are for data 
input. The remaining accounts are calculated or prepopulated.
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    The prototype Call Report adds 413 new account codes to accommodate 
necessary changes such as for ASC Topic 326, Financial Instruments 
Current Expected Credit Losses and for the risk-based capital rule 
currently scheduled to go into effect in January 2019.\2\
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    \2\ The NCUA is considering delaying the effective date of this 
rule, as well as modifying or eliminating the rule. This schedule 
would revert to the current risk-based net worth requirement 
collection if the risk-based capital rule is delayed or eliminated, 
and would otherwise be modified based on any changes to the capital 
rules the Board might adopt. The risk-based schedule was designed as 
a stand-alone schedule so it could be removed or modified without 
impacting any other schedules of the Call Report.
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    After these additions, the final number of total account codes on 
the prototype Call Report is 919--a net reduction of approximately 40 
percent.\3\ The schedules have been reorganized so they are separated 
by programs and significantly smaller. The reorganization of the 
schedules would also facilitate an adaptive user interface the NCUA 
plans to provide for CU Online as part of the Enterprise Solutions 
Modernization. The prototype also includes improved instructions. The 
Profile underwent a similar review and redesign, eliminating outdated 
data elements and attributes resulting in a reduction of approximately 
150 data elements and attributes. All of these changes incorporate the 
stakeholder feedback received.
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    \3\ Of the 919 account codes, 753 account codes are for data 
input and the remaining account codes are calculated or 
prepopulated. However, the proposed new form provides for credit 
unions to report information based on ASC 326 (CECL) if they have 
chosen to adopt it early. Otherwise, credit unions would continue to 
report based on current account standards. CECL is an either or 
selection in the new form; thus the total account codes and the 
fillable account codes for a credit union adopting CECL is 891 and 
733 respectively, and 871 and 716 respectively if they have not 
early adopted CECL.
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Request for Comment

    The NCUA is seeking comments on all proposed changes to the Call 
Report form 5300, the Profile form 4501A, and their accompanying 
instructions. The proposed forms and instructions are available on the 
NCUA's Call Report Modernization web page. When reviewing the comment 
documents, please consider the following questions.
    1. Are there account codes that are proposed to be retired that are 
still pertinent? If so, please provide the account code(s) and the 
reason for maintaining it.
    2. Are there additional account codes that should be retired or 
consolidated? If so, please provide the account code(s) and the reason 
for retiring it.
    3. Are relocated account codes grouped logically? If not, please 
propose a location you feel is more logically suited.
    4. Should any of the schedules be expanded to assist in analysis 
based on new rules or accounting changes? If so, please provide details 
of data the NCUA should also collect.
    5. Are the instructions adequate in both content and design? If 
not, please cite specific sections that require improvement or 
correction.
    6. How much lead time do credit unions need to work with vendors to 
make changes to their systems in order to support such changes to the 
Call Report?
    7. Are there any other operational issues the NCUA should be aware 
of prior to implementing the proposed changes?
    8. From your perspective, do you think this is a reduction in your 
reporting burden? Please explain.
    Information received will not be used for statistical purposes. 
Responses containing references to studies, research, or data not 
widely available to the public should include copies of referenced 
materials. A description of the commenter's organization and its 
interest in the Call Report and Profile will help the NCUA use the 
input provided.
    Next Steps: The NCUA will review all comments and make necessary 
changes before implementing the future Call Report and Profile forms. 
When the NCUA is ready to implement the future Call Report and Profile 
forms, the OMB Paperwork Reduction Act process will be used to formally 
announce planned changes.

    By the National Credit Union Administration, this 25th day of 
January 2018.
Gerard Poliquin,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2018-01879 Filed 1-30-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7535-01-P