This week, President Trump designated National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Vice Chairman Kyle Hauptman as the thirteenth Chairman of the NCUA Board. Hauptman succeeds Todd Harper as NCUA Chairman. In the press release announcing his appointment, Chairman Hauptman said, “I am deeply honored that President Trump has asked me to serve as Chairman of NCUA. I look forward to leading the agency’s dedicated professionals and working with my Board colleagues to create a regulatory structure that promotes growth, opportunity, and innovation within the credit union system.”

Chairman Hauptman also outlined several key priorities for his tenure:

  • Re-examining the NCUA Budgeting Process
  • Identifying Internal Efficiencies
    • He plans to convene groups of NCUA employees to identify achievable internal efficiencies to reduce unnecessary frictions in the agency’s operations.
  • Promoting the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
    • Hauptman advocates for the appropriate use of AI as a tool for NCUA employees to enhance productivity and better understand the technologies used by regulated credit unions.
  • Focusing on Financial Inclusion
    • He emphasizes the importance of removing barriers to the establishment of new credit unions and addressing the challenges that have led to a decline in small credit unions. Hauptman notes that compliance should be manageable for all credit unions.
  • Codifying Procedures to Prevent Regulation-by-Enforcement
    • Hauptman stresses that enforcement actions should not set or clarify policy. He believes in setting clear regulations first and then enforcing them, ensuring that no one is unfairly penalized for being unaware of new policies.
  • Assessing Community Climate Risks
    • He believes that credit unions and their members are best positioned to assess their communities’ climate risks.
  • Re-assessing Policies Affecting Low-Income Areas
    • Hauptman intends to review NCUA policies that may inadvertently dissuade credit unions from serving low-income areas, including overdraft policies, especially in states with punitive government late fees and penalties.
  • Right-sizing Obligations Under the Bank Secrecy Act
    • He aims to adjust credit unions’ obligations where possible under the Bank Secrecy Act, including regulations surrounding suspicious activity reports.