NCUA Chairman Kyle Hauptman announced from the main stage Monday at the Governmental Affairs Conference that the NCUA Call Report Data on overdraft will now be confidential. 

“There is a well-intentioned movement aimed at protecting consumers from excessive fees, which is something we all support,” he said. “However, we must also consider the unintended consequences of such policies. In this instance, the previous data collection policy incentivized credit unions to avoid serving the needs of low-income and underserved communities. These fees can be the best option in a bad situation, saving money and protecting individuals’ credit scores. Overdraft also protects people from much higher costs imposed by their local governments.

“Our regulatory framework should protect consumers from predatory practices without depriving them of the financial tools they need to navigate their lives. The appropriateness of overdrafts and NSF fees charged is a matter between a credit union and its member-owners who ultimately determine how their credit union is run,” Hauptman concluded.

He appeared onstage for a fireside chat with America’s Credit Unions President/CEO Jim Nussle. The agency began collecting that data in call reports starting March 31, 2024, and America’s Credit Unions raised concerns about reporting and publicly publishing urged the agency to use a more transparent process for changes to call reports 

“Credit unions offer overdraft programs in safe, clearly disclosed terms to members who may need help to make ends meet, but having this data publicly accessible could lead to consequential misunderstandings. America’s Credit Unions thanks Chairman Hauptman for hearing the concerns of credit unions and moving to protect institutions from reputational harm,” Nussle said. “We look forward to continued collaboration on issues that ensure credit unions remain consumers’ best option for financial partners.”

Hauptman also said he hopes to “right size” tailor the agency’s supervision going forward to better align with individual institutions’ risk, which would help create a climate of financial inclusion. 

“We’re going to focus more on larger risk, and less on lower risk,” he said. “If you’re making it one bit harder for someone to run a tiny credit union, if you’re making it harder for a new immigrant group to start one by requiring one more form than needed, then you’re not a champion of inclusion.”

He also praised credit unions’ legacy of innovation.  

“Credit unions have innovated for 100 years and the main thing for me when I came into the job is I don’t want credit unions to go the way of Blockbuster Video because their regulator wouldn’t let them,” he said.