NCUA Chairman Hauptman On Regulation by Enforcement
Samantha: Hello, this is Samantha Shares.
This episode covers Chairman Hauptman
on Regulation by Enforcement.
The following is an audio
version of that document.
This podcast is educational
and is not legal advice.
We are sponsored by Credit Union
Exam Solutions Incorporated, whose
team has over two hundred and
forty years of National Credit
Union Administration experience.
We assist our clients with N C
U A so they save time and money.
If you are worried about a recent,
upcoming or in process N C U A
examination, reach out to learn how they
can assist at Mark Treichel dot com.
Also check out our other podcast called
With Flying Colors where we provide tips
on how to achieve success with N C U A.
And now the document.
Chairman Hauptman On
Regulation by Enforcement
ALEXANDRIA, VA, October 1,
2025 â The National Credit Union
Administration Chairman Kyle S.
Hauptman issued the following
statement about N C U Aâs No
Regulation-by-Enforcement Policy:
Todayâs policy statement fulfills a
goal listed back in January upon being
designated as Chairman: âCodifying
our procedures to protect Americans
from regulation-by-enforcement.
For example, no enforcement action
should ever setâor even clarifyâ policy.
In America and other free societies,
the sequence is: set speed limits,
then give speeding tickets (no
one has any obligation to be
aware of someone elseâs ticket).â
To be clear, this agency has
a good track record regarding
regulation-by-enforcement, so this
statement shouldnât be viewed as being
the result of any recent N C U A actions.
After all, itâs counterproductive
for a deposit insurer to engage in
regulation-by-enforcement against
the same institutions we insure.
That said, itâs important to put in
writing a policy of fairness, whereby
government employees give regulated
credit unions the same due-process that
they, under civil servant protections,
rightly expect in their own careers.
Todayâs statement is born partly
of my frustrating interactions with
regulators, both in my time on Capitol
Hill and in the private sector.
I know that millions of others share
the frustration of being told âif
you want to figure out the rules,
look at our prior settlements.â
Americans expect better from
their government, including
financial regulators.
No Regulation-by-Enforcement
Policy Statement
Regulation-by-enforcement is unethical
and not permitted at N C U A.
Enforcement actions shall only occur
in the case of clear and significant
violations of law or regulation.
Therefore, no person or entity regulated
by N C U A has any obligation to be
aware of any prior N C U A enforcement
actions because no new policy is
ever set via an enforcement action.
No enforcement action, nor the timing of
enforcement actions, shall be motivated by
trying to boost the agencyâs enforcement
totals or get the enforcement done
in a certain fiscal or calendar year.
Enforcement is a necessary
tool, but is not, by itself, an
accomplishment or a metric of success.
Our goal is for credit unions to operate
safely and soundly and in compliance
with applicable laws and regulations.
We will seek to remedy any such
problems whenever we can without
needing to use enforcement action.
The goal is to resolve any problems,
not to issue press releases, rack up
enforcement numbers or improve the post-N
C U A career options of agency staff.
We donât set âspeed trapsâ to
increase enforcement totals.
A guiding principle here is
avoiding double-standards.
In their own careers, civil servants
are protected against arbitrarily poor
performance reviews, allegations of
misconduct, wrongful termination and other
things that could harm their career path.
In turn, government employees
must extend the same due process
protections to those they regulate.
If N C U A finds a harmful practice
that threatens our mission or is
otherwise injurious or abusive, and it
is not currently addressed by law or
regulation, then our next step is to
consider rulemaking or other remedy.
As is the norm in America, the sequence of
events at N C U A is: one, publish rules,
two, then and only then, enforce them.
This concludes the document.
If your credit union could use assistance
with your exam, reach out to Mark Treichel
on LinkedIn, or at Mark Treichel dot com.
This is Samantha Shares and
we thank you for listening.
