In early April, the National Credit Union Administration’s Board of Directors was briefed on the 2026-2030 Strategic Plan. Acting Chief Financial Officer Melissa Lowden and Supervisory Budget Analyst Jim Holm spoke with NCUA Chairman Kyle Hauptman on the plan, which includes three primary strategic goals the administration will pursue over the next nine years. These are further broken down into nine objectives.

Per an NCUA statement, all of the strategic goals and objectives “support the agency’s new mission, which is to enable access to financial services by facilitating safe, sound, and resilient credit unions.”

In the plan’s opening message from the Chairman, he spoke of the typical goals of ensuring the safety and soundness of credit unions, protecting the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF), and of supporting credit unions in responsible access to new technologies, the flavor being artificial intelligence and digital assets this go round.

He also touched on the ongoing deregulation efforts, which have already announced nine rounds of proposals. “Going forward, NCUA will remain focused on measurable, material risks, and a disciplined supervisory approach that supports strong oversight while allowing credit unions to best serve their members,” he writes.

Three goals with three objectives each

The plan provides an in-depth breakdown of its three primary goals for the next year, and the nine corresponding objectives.

The first of these goals is to safeguard federally insured credit unions. To accomplish this, NCUA will focus on three objectives:

1. Advance risk-focused examination and supervision programs to improve efficiency, prioritize material risks, and reduce unnecessary regulatory or administrative burden.
2. Ensure the long-term stability of the Share Insurance Fund.
3. Expand and augment the use of data, analytics, and artificial intelligence tools to strengthen credit union oversight.

All three objectives center around the examination process, improving observation of credit unions, and the intervention and mitigation, where appropriate, of troubled institutions.

The second goal is to enable access to cooperative financial services and responsible innovation. Artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies being the foremost areas of excitement and concern, the objectives for the second goal seek to keep the NCUA in the loop as credit unions explore a wild west of technology:

1. Foster an environment where federally insured credit unions can responsibly adopt financial technology, digital assets, and other innovations.
2. Increase collaboration with key stakeholders to identify emerging trends and safeguard the long-term success of cooperative financial services.
3. Enable access to cooperative financial services by reducing unnecessary or unduly burdensome barriers, including for chartering and expansion of services.

The key words NCUA uses when referring to credit union adoption of these emerging technologies is “safe and prudent”. While the three objectives vary to an extent—the third in particular addresses the need to improve the chartering and field of membership processes to expand reach—all three come back to the “responsible” expansion of products and services to do so.

The last strategic goal focuses on strengthening NCUA’s capabilities and performance. Amid the administration’s mandate to reduce spending and staffing, this goal seeks to optimize technology and data capabilities as well as improve the hiring/staff management process to ensure the NCUA is running optimally.

1. Optimize enterprise systems and technology to increase efficiency and performance through enhanced data management, analytics, and automation.
2. Implement and sustain an organizational structure that supports clear accountability, eliminates duplication, and emphasizes the core statutory functions that Congress established the agency to perform.
3. Strengthen workforce capabilities through merit-based hiring, talent management, and enhanced performance management.

Credit unions aren’t the only ones who seek to implement artificial intelligence tools to improve capabilities. NCUA will look to use AI as well as other emerging technologies to improve its operational effectiveness. NCUA also plans to streamline operations by reviewing its organizational structure, removing duplicative efforts, and generally pulling back to its core responsibilities. This goes hand-in-hand with its third objective of creating a “high-performing” workforce through the use of “merit-based” hiring, but also improving onboarding and training opportunities for speedy deployment.

To read the 2026-2030 Strategic Plan in its entirety, visit the NCUA website.