NCUA proposes $325 million budget.
The regulator’s 2027 spending plan would rise 2.9% as it invests in cybersecurity and technology while reorganizing an agency that cut its staffing by 23%.
The National Credit Union Administration has proposed a $325.4 million budget for 2027, a 2.9% increase from its approved 2026 spending plan, as the federal regulator continues a broad reorganization following significant staffing reductions.
The draft budget, released for public review and comment, includes higher spending on employee compensation, contracted services and cybersecurity. The agency also plans five additional positions to address emerging needs tied to new legislation and administration priorities.
The proposed budget is open for public comment through Nov. 30. The NCUA will hold a public hearing on Nov. 17 at 10 a.m. Eastern at its central office in Washington, with a livestream available on the agency’s website.
The $325.4 million proposal consists of a $312.4 million operating budget, a $7.9 million capital budget and $5.1 million for administrative expenses associated with the Share Insurance Fund.
The proposed 2028 budget would rise further, to $344.2 million, an increase of 5.8% from the proposed 2027 total. The agency’s planning assumptions include continued compensation growth, a 3% increase in most non-compensation spending categories and adjustments for projects expected to cost more. Lower projected surpluses available to offset expenses also contribute to the increase.
The budget comes as the NCUA works to reshape its operations after a voluntary separation program begun in 2025 reduced staffing by 23%. The agency has since been pursuing plans to streamline business units, consolidate functions, improve service delivery and use technology to make its remaining staff more efficient. The reorganization is targeted for completion by December 2027.
The proposed 2027 budget includes higher contracted-services spending, reflecting inflation, cybersecurity investments and a projected $10 million reduction in prior-year surpluses available to offset costs. The agency also will no longer have the one-time benefit it received in 2026 from the sale of its Austin office building, which helped offset that year’s budget.
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Those increases are partly offset by lower capital spending. The 2026 capital budget included $16 million for systems and process improvements related to reorganization; the 2027 proposal includes no additional funding for those projects.
Mark Treichel, a former NCUA executive director and founder of Credit Union Exam Solutions, highlighted staffing and funding changes in a LinkedIn post reviewing the draft. The proposal lists 972 positions, just five more than the previous year’s level, compared with 1,255 positions approved in 2025, he noted. He also pointed to planned spending on artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.
The funding structure distributes costs between federal and state-chartered credit unions. Federal credit unions pay the agency’s operating fee, which Treichel said is projected to decline by 49 basis points. All federally insured credit unions, including state-chartered institutions, help fund agency overhead through a transfer from the Share Insurance Fund. That transfer is projected to cover 62% of the operating budget, up 20 basis points, according to Treichel.
Under those calculations, federal charters would bear 70.4% of the operating budget and state charters 29.6%.
The budget proposal comes during a leadership transition at the regulator. John Crews, who became the NCUA’s 14th chairman on Aug. 24, 2026, following Senate confirmation earlier that month, was ceremonially sworn in Wednesday in the historic Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington.
The agency has undergone board changes as well. President Trump removed board members Todd Harper and Tanya Otsuka in April 2025, and former chairman Kyle Hauptman later moved to a position on the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.
The NCUA said its reorganization will focus on prioritizing statutory responsibilities, consolidating units with similar functions, increasing the supervisor-to-employee ratio and using technology to improve efficiency. The draft budget is intended to support those efforts while maintaining the agency’s core work overseeing the credit union system.
Ken McCarthy is manager of marketing communications at Tyfone, where he monitors the credit union industry and contributes to conversations shaping its future. He previously covered credit unions and community banking for American Banker and S&P Global Market Intelligence. He holds a journalism degree from Point Park University and has more than 15 years of experience covering financial services. He is also the author of three literary fiction novels.
