A First Step to a Fresh Start for a New NCUA Board

An easy but critical first step for a new NCUA board for insight into the agency would be to change the current auditor, KPMG, of its three credit union financed funds. This is normal good business practice as NCUA documents in its examination recommendations cited below.

It would bring a fresh set of eyes and objective rigor to a series of events such as the ambiguities in managing the corporate AME assets and the inexplicable annual accounting for loss reserves in the NCUSIF.

It would also bring much needed review for how the Inspector General’s office performs both its internal and external audit oversight.

Finally, it would replace a firm whose professional integrity and competence have been publicly and repeatedly called to account in the past three years by both regulators and the financial press.

KPMG’s Recent Press Reports

For several years the business press has reported on the professional and ethical failures at KPMG. The following are a few of the public stories about events from 2016 through this year.

1. The KPMG cheating scandal was much more widespread than originally thought

Jun 18, 2019 — A $50 million fine against KPMG LLP for its use of stolen regulatory information to cheat on audit inspections wasn’t a surprise: The Wall Street Journal warned last week that the Securities and Exchange Commission was ready to impose such a move, and the scandal had been known about for more than a year.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-kpmg-cheating-scandal-was-much-more-widespread-than-originally-thought-2019-06-18

2. KPMG reveals eight audit clients collapsed

Updated Feb 18, 2020 

KPMG has revealed it failed to flag problems with the financial statements of two of the eight collapsed listed companies it audited over the last 10 years.

https://www.afr.com/companies/professional-services/kpmg-reveals-that-eight-audit-clients-collapsed-20200203-p53x6l

3. Accounting Watchdog Finds Ongoing Problems at KPMG

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) said half of the 52 audits it inspected from top accounting firm KPMG were seriously deficient and KPMG was not as committed to quality as the accountancy claimed.

“In 26 audits, certain of these deficiencies were of such significance that it appeared to the inspection team that the firm, at the time it issued its audit report, had not obtained sufficient appropriate audit evidence to support its opinion,” the PCAOB said in its report.

The accounting watchdog also released a revised inspection report for 2016 that found deficiencies in 22 of 51 engagements.

Some of the most common deficiencies occurred in the area of revenue and included failures to sufficiently test the design or effectiveness of controls.

https://www.cfo.com/auditing/2019/01/accounting-watchdog-finds-ongoing-problems-at-kpmg/

4. SEC Charges Three Former KPMG Audit Partners for Exam Sharing Misconduct

Washington D.C., May 18, 2020 

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against three former KPMG LLP audit partners for improperly sharing answers to internal training exams and for subsequent wrongdoing during an investigation of exam sharing misconduct at the firm. The SEC previously charged KPMG with violations concerning the exam sharing misconduct, as well as for altering past audit work after receiving stolen information about inspections that would be conducted by the PCAOB.

An NCUA Examination Comment On External Auditing

Following is an excerpt of standard wording NCUA provided one  credit union’s supervisory committee about managing their external audit process: (emphasis added)

Examiner’s Observation: As standard exam procedure, we conducted a meeting with the supervisory committee chair during this year’s examination. We inquired about the process of soliciting bids from audit firms prior to the end of the engagement period, to select the audit firm for the next engagement period. Our discussions with the supervisory committee and review of policies and procedures noted that there is no documented bidding process and that the audit committee has not solicited bids since 2010.

It also appears that the audit committee had no defined timeline as to when they would solicit bids in the future. While specific limits are not required, recent accounting and auditing scandals highlight the importance of rotating audit firms periodically. Otherwise, auditors and clients could loose independence and overlook areas of concern.

Prudent and standard business practices recommend the development of written processes and procedures, outlining the steps the supervisory committee needs to follow when engaging an audit firm to complete the annual audit. The supervisory committee needs to follow the guidelines when soliciting and reviewing bids from audit firms.

We recommend the supervisory committee develop, approve, and implement written procedures for reviewing proposals for the annual audit. Furthermore, the audit committee must understand and implement the procedures as intended, as this is among the most important functions of the committee. It is imperative the supervisory committee maintain documentation to support their review and selection of the audit firm. Furthermore, we recommend that management and the board consider periodically rotating audit firms. It is important to note we are not taking exception to or criticizing the quality of the annual audit report or the audit firm.

An Example of a Board Policy Statement of a Co-op’s Audit Process

Effective audit controls include review as to whether internal and external audits are effective.

    • The Board of Directors and Executive Management of XYZ expect to be apprised of the condition of the organization, including the system of internal controls.
    • On an annual basis the Board of Directors is asked to approve the Risk Based Audit Plan. The Audit Plan describes the internal and external audits designed to prove the adequacy and effectiveness of internal controls and policy, as directed by the Board of Directors and Executive Management of XYZ.

Board Action Required

This brief policy statement should be the starting point for a new NCUA Board to better monitor and understand the effectiveness of the Agency’s management. It is what the agency expects of credit unions. Should it not hold itself to the same standard?

A Simple Solution for NCUSIF Revenue

At the November NCUA board meeting, two members responding to the NCUSIF update made “the sky is falling” projections about whether the fund will have adequate resources in 2021.

One board member confidently predicted that the assessment of a premium is not a question of if, but when.

Neither forecast was supported by factual analysis.

Relevant Facts

Before offering a simple, immediate solution to these future seers’ concerns it is important to affirm basic facts about the NCUSIF’s financial strength and record.

  • As reported by Chairman Hood to Congress the fund’s NOL is 1.32, which is above the legal cap of 1.3%. Anytime the fund exceeds this cap, a premium cannot be charged.
  • The current NOL is 12 basis points above the 1.20 floor below which a restoration plan must be prepared. This is a financial margin of almost $2 billion.
  • In the last 12 years of operations, the total insurance losses for the entire period Is $1.887 BN or less than the current NOL “surplus” margin.
  • NCUA’s transfer of its fixed operating expenses to the NCUSIF via the overhead transfer rate (OTR) in this same 12 years is $1.968 BN or more than the total insurance losses.
  • NCUSIF’s operating expenses have grown at a CAGR of 8.06% versus the growth of insured shares of only 5.6% in this time span. It is this fixed operating expense, not insurance losses, that eat up the fund’s revenue.
  • The fund’s average insurance 12-year loss is 1.727 of insured savings. This includes the entire years of the Great Recession. The current 12 basis point NOL margin is seven times (700%) this average annual rate of loss.
  • The September 2020 NCUSIF financials show an allowance reserve already funded for both general and specific losses. Moreover, the total assets of all code 4 and 5 credit unions is only .64% of the industry’s assets, that is less than 1%. This is the lowest level in the past decade.

Full details of the NCUSIF’s operations can be found on this spread sheet.

2019 NCUSIF Performance Spreadsheet_AJ1

 

The NCUSIF 1% semi-annual deposit “true up” underwriting means the NCUSIF is entirely countercyclical in its structure. The NOL range of 10 basis points(1.20 to 1.30) provides flexibility no matter the uncertainties that might occur. It is the ever-increasing fixed expense charged the NCUSIF in the OTR, not the variable insurance losses, that take the majority of NCUSIF income.

The fund’s financial architecture has proven its resilience since 1984 a period of time in which the FDIC has gone negative three times. The FSLIC failed and was merged into the FDIC in the 1990’s. In spite of these failures, the FDIC is still based on the same premium financial model that has led to its repeated failure.

A Ready, Easy Source of Additional Revenue-Not Premiums

As of September 30, the market value of the NCUSIF investment portfolio exceeded its book value by $586 million. This is due to the precipitous fall in interest rates engineered by the Federal Reserve at the beginning of March responding to the pandemic and economic shut down.

By selling these securities and staying short, the fund would book immediate revenue in the hundreds of millions, become more liquid and be better positioned for the inevitable rise in rates from present historic lows.

This market premium disappears if the securities are held to maturity. The time to realize this gain is now. It will add immediately to equity if the board truly believes the NCUSIF must sustain an NOL above 1.3. A premium cannot be levied if the NOL is above 1.3%

But what about the future revenue possibly foregone when the bonds are sold and reinvested at today’s lower rates? That is a contingency easily modeled, but ultimately relies on the assumptions made about how long the current rate environment is likely to continue.

The NCUSIF reported the following fixed rate investments by the NCUSIF in September:

Term   Rate
4 yrs    .20%
5 yrs    .27%
6 yrs    .36%
7 yrs     .45%

Is there any CFO or CEO who would make investments for their credit union at these terms and fixed rates into the future? While no one knows the future, the preponderance of experience suggests that it will take only one move by the Fed from its current 0-25 bps overnight range, to a first step raising it to 25-50 bps, for all of these investments to be underwater, that is less than book value.

Yes, there is a risk of some foregone revenue next year, but a reasonable forecast suggests that a strong recovery will bring with it higher rates. And if the opposite happens and economic disaster occurs, then the liquidity would be readily available.

The Action Needed and the Precedent

If the NCUA board decides to keep the NOL above the 1.3% current cap, then sell some of its investments, take the gains and recognize the revenue now. When rates rise, the market premium goes away. This is an opportunity that will decline if not disappear in the not-too-distant future.

The precedent is 2008 when the NCUSIF sold longer term securities to prepare for the potential contingencies brought by the Great Recession. This boosted income so that no premium was necessary with the fund reporting net income of $24 million and an NOL of 1.26.

The Pervasive and Invasive Power of Social Media

In September Netflix released the film The Social Dilemma.

The documentary portrayed the ever expanding influence of social media platforms focusing on Google and Facebook. These services track everything we do online. They store our activity, use AI to create individual profiles, and use algorithms to influence our future behaviors.

Your time on their sites is converted into advertising dollars for marketers, politicians, and influencers seeking specific consumer interests or needs.

The film builds its credibility with interviews from many individuals who worked on the inside of these companies as well as examples showing real world impact. Fake news, for example, spreads six times faster than true stories. One result is growing disinformation and conspiracy falsehoods.

The message is how the computer power in your pocket is changing your behavior, even to the point of addiction.

The film should make a viewer more aware of the manipulative and darker potential of our dependence on technology.

A Close To Home Example

Platforms using AI to inform or influence are not limited to social media. My wife belongs to several book clubs, Her preference is to read books online versus hard copy.

The public library is her fist choice as e-books are free even though time limited in check out.

Recently she received he following email updating her most recent on line borrowing:

A Benefit or a Concern?

She showed the email to me and asked my reaction. The idea the library was monitoring her reading activity raised concern. Meant to be informative, it also demonstrated how a third party can tell you something about yourself that you may not be aware of. What else might the library be tracking and who has access to this data from a public institution?

Every day credit unions store data on their members’ activity that they analyze to better serve them individually and collectively. How members perceive this proactive use of their information can help build or undermine the trust foundation essential in all relationships. Even if intended to be a positive, helpful suggestions can raise concerns. Fr example, how did you know I was laid off?

One way to enhance trust is to be transparent by announcing in advance how you will try to add value beyond traditional transactions. My wife’s concern was due in part because she had no knowledge this reading summary was available. Would your members be surprised by any of your communications that rely on the selected knowledge you compiled about their financial activities?

Early Views from McWatters All Credit Unions Would Still Echo

In an October 6, 2015 CU Times op ed, then new board member McWatters presented his approach to credit union regulation. He resigned his board seat last Friday. Below are selected verbatim excerpts of his original policy priorities that I believe should stand the test of time and party.

Credit unions are best served by having a regulator that understands the not-for-profit, cooperative business model. . .

Rick Based Capital Rule

Last week, by a bipartisan margin of 50-9, the House Financial Services Committee sent an undeniable message to the NCUA: Take more time to review the law, assess the need for additional regulation, evaluate alternatives and consider the real impact now and into the future before moving ahead with the Risk-Based Capital 2 final rule.

This is a message I welcomed and championed in my written dissent (available on the agency’s website) to the issuance by the agency of its proposed RBC2 rule last January as contrary to a plain reading of the Federal Credit Union Act.

Regulatory Burden

I think the agency would do well to heed this message for other major regulatory issues as well, most notably how the agency deals with the growing regulatory burden confronting credit unions, particularly small credit unions. The increasing number, scope and costs associated with regulatory requirements, not just from the NCUA but from all agencies, that credit unions must manage is a concern that the NCUA must take more seriously and devote more resources toward addressing in a meaningful way. , ,

Fraud Losses Cost to NCUSIF

We should also more rigorously address the dramatic losses, year in and year out, to the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund caused by fraudulent activity committed by a limited number of bad actors within the credit union community. . .

Editorial note: All these issues are still live in the industry today.

Revisiting NCUA’s Mission Statement

With a new leadership team on the horizon, might a first task be to review the NCUA’s Mission Statement?

As now worded:

“Provide, through regulation and supervision, a safe and sound credit union system, which promotes confidence in the national system of cooperative credit.”

Proposed Reframing: Putting  Ends First

Promote a national system of cooperative credit by chartering and supervising a safe and sound credit union network. 

Thoughts?

 Wisdom from the Field

When you label your peers competition and fear them as such you are on the road to simply going it alone.

My confidence comes from the fact that traditionally “competition” is defined by two players racing in the same race.

I have no competition.  For the race I am running is my own- my communities – our own reward.

 

 

 A Covid Test & The Paradox of  Bureaucracy

To ensure a safe Thanksgiving, my wife and I lined up Friday night for our Covid tests at the county recreation center. The test was free. The line took about an hour. Everyone stood six feet apart as the temperature got cooler as night came.

We were given clipboards to complete our registration—name, email, age, race. One of the staff helping with sign ins came by to ask the obligatory questions. Have you had any Covid symptoms? Been around anyone who has tested positive?

It was the last question that was memorable, however. She qualified it by saying “I think I know the answer, but I have to ask anyway. Are you pregnant?”

An NCUA Exam Risk Rating

The predictable routine of bureaucracy is an important factor in performance. We rely on formulaic responses especially by those in authority. But it can also result in actions that contradict common sense.

In a conversation with a CEO about how to respond to his most recent exam, this same anomaly was present.

The credit union has been a CAMEL 1 for almost two decades. It has navigated the pandemic with improving performance. Liquidity is 500% the policy minimum, delinquency is down and most loans in forbearance are back making payments. ROA and net worth are way above peer averages. A consistent track record of exceptional performance in the present and the past, through thick and thin.

So, I asked given these documented facts why the risk rating for “credit” and “liquidity” were judged “moderate” versus the “low” ranking on every other factor. The CEO’s observation was “It feels like we are being punished for what could happen in the future.”

The Culture of Bureaucracy

This is the difficulty with bureaucratic culture. When facts don’t fit a program’s priorities, the instinct is to assert future scenarios that do. This tendency is not limited to examiners. Listening to last week’s NCUA board meeting, two members confidently predicted the future financial downturn of credit unions in 2021 and with it, the necessity of collecting more money for the NCUSIF. This was after the staff updated the distribution of CAMEL ratings that showed the continuing reduction in code 4 and 5 classifications in both total assets and number of credit unions.

Facts will not deter the inevitable government instinct to always seek more money. This prediction of future NCUSIF premiums reflects a bureaucratic mindset similar to asking all males if they are pregnant.

After getting our Covid tests, we walked out by the admin line and everyone wished me a safe pregnancy. For I had answered yes to the question. We all enjoyed the humor of this bureaucratic incongruity.

Common sense, humor and a negative test. Good ingredients for a safe 2020 Thanksgiving. For it is my hunch that 2021 could be the best year credit unions and their members have ever enjoyed.

Credit Unions Investing in Other Cooperatives

Responding to the listing of America’s top 100 cooperatives by total revenue, I received the following comment from Leo Sammallahti, marketing manager for the Coop Exchange:

“Credit unions do fantastic charitable work, but do we just try to do the type of charitable work that conventional banks do, but just more and better? How about we take a different, distinct approach. Let’s help our members help themselves by fostering creation of new cooperatives. Isn’t that what Filene was all about? If the 120 million member strong credit unions are not doing this, who is? We could find great ideas and energy among those members if we look for it.”

A Case Study of a Credit Union Investing in Coops

Leo then sent me this example:

“Matthew Cropp from the Vermont Employee Ownership Center recently rediscovered a little-known credit union statute applicable to state-chartered credit unions in eight states (Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico and Vermont). It allows credit unions to make equity investments into cooperatives, including worker cooperatives.

As a result of this discovery, one of the largest credit unions in Vermont (VSECU) has begun to offer equity to cooperatives in its region—an unprecedented move as most credit unions, if they offer any financing for coops, offer debt financing.

The Vermont statue’s language specifies that state-chartered credit unions are authorized to invest equity of up to 10% of the shares, deposits, and surplus of the credit union into cooperatives. These investments would not count against the 12.25% member business lending cap that most credit unions are currently subject to.

VSECU has decided to make 10% of their total equity available for equity investment in coops, roughly equal to $8.5M in 2020. It appears that the VSECU is the only credit union in any of these eight states that has started investing using this statute. Its co-op capital tool kit can be found at this link https://www.vsecu.com/community/resources/co-op-capital

Consequentially, cooperative advocates are working to identify credit unions in the other eight states to follow VSECU’s lead and invest equity capital in coops. There is also talk of lobbying other state’s legislatures, then eventually congress to “follow suit by broadening the range of credit unions that are legally permitted to make such investments.”

Are there other instances of this coop investment effort readers can share?