NCUA Needs to Upgrade Its Call Report Custom Query Function

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) recently upgraded its website. Unfortunately, the agency did not upgrade its custom query function.

The biggest drawback is the lack of data items that can downloaded.

NCUA's custom query function allows for only 59 Call Report line items to be downloaded. This means a number of critical call report line items are not available for download.

Lending data that cannot be accessed through the custom query function includes member business loans, nonguaranteed student loans, and payday alternative loans.

On the liability side, information on share certificates and money market shares is not available.

The custom query function does not include information on a credit union's low income designation.

While the custom query allows for the downloading of total delinquencies, it does not provide information on the aging of delinquencies or information on delinquencies by loan type. Moreover, downloading information on troubled debt restructurings is not an option.

Also, any performance or condition ratios, including measures of profitability, asset quality, and capitalization, are not available.

NCUA should look at upgrading its custom query function by adding a greater number of data elements that can be downloaded. This will benefit credit unions and other end users of credit union financial information.