Credit Union Exam Solutions Presents With Flying Colors

www.marktreichel.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-treichel/ In this episode, Mark Treichel responds directly to a podcast released by the American Bankers Association (ABA) titled “Are Credit Union Commercial Loans Risky Business?” — a 12-minute episode that contains significant factual errors, conflates distinct regulatory mechanisms, and presents advocacy as analysis. Mark draws on 33 years...

www.marktreichel.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-treichel/ In this episode, Mark Treichel walks through the full-year 2025 CAMEL code data across all four quarters, providing a comprehensive analysis of where the industry stands and what the numbers mean for credit unions at every asset tier. The episode opens with context: in September 2024, then-National Credit Union Administration Chairman...

www.marktreichel.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-treichel/ In this solo episode of With Flying Colors, host Mark Treichel presents a comprehensive data analysis of credit union mergers using thirty quarters of NCUA quarterly merger reports, covering activity from the third quarter of 2018 through 2025. The dataset includes 1,901 credit unions involved in merger activity, 1,298 completed merge...

Two documents shape how NCUA conducts credit union examinations: the Examiner's Guide and the National Supervision Policy Manual (NSPM). In this episode, Mark Treichel sits down with former NCUA veterans Todd Miller and Steve Farrar to break down what credit unions need to know about both.  The discussion covers the history behind these documents—including why NCUA's six regions once operated so d...

www.marktreichel.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-treichel/ In this episode, Mark Treichel is joined by Steve Farrar, Todd Miller, and Dennis Bauer for their quarterly review of the National Credit Union Administration call report data. The group walks through the Q4 2025 numbers across each component of the CAMEL framework, discussing what the data is showing, where the risks are building, an...

In this episode of With Flying Colors, Mark Treichel sits down with Todd Miller to explore what makes credit union policies effective — and what separates the policy frameworks at high-performing credit unions from those that consistently generate examination findings.   Todd, who spent over 33 years at NCUA including a decade as Director of Special Actions, draws on his experience examining credi...

www.marktreichel.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-treichel/ Episode Summary Mark Treichel sits down with Jason Stverak, Chief Advocacy Officer at the Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC), for a wide-ranging conversation on the policy threats credit unions are currently facing. From the government shutdown's impact on Coast Guard members to the proposed 10% interest rate cap, interchange regulat...

When a crisis hits your credit union—whether it’s a cyber breach, ransomware attack, or liquidity event—how you communicate in those first hours and days can define the outcome. In this episode, Mark Treichel sits down with John McKechnie to discuss crisis communication lessons learned from decades in the credit union industry.  John served at CUNA for over 18 years before joining NCUA, where he l...

www.marktreichel.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-treichel/ Episode Title: My Takeaways from Monday at GAC: Structure, Supervision, and Stablecoins In this episode, I share my takeaways from Monday at GAC in Washington, D.C. This was my first GAC in 2000 as Deputy Executive Director at NCUA. I’ve attended more than 20 since. It was good to be back in D.C., reconnect with colleagues, clients, a...

Mark Treichel sits down with Steve Farrar and Todd Miller to break down Letters of Understanding and Agreement—NCUA's formal enforcement tool that requires board-level commitment. With over 100 combined years of NCUA experience, including Steve's authorship of NCUA's enforcement manual, this episode delivers insider perspective on what LUAs mean for credit unions, how boards should approach them,...

Episode Title: It's Never as Bad as You Think: Suicide, Fraud, and the Stories I've Never Told Content Warning: This episode discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling, please call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline). Episode Description: The death of 25-year-old Vikings wide receiver Rondale Moore this weekend brought back memories Mark has never shared publicly. In 33 ye...

www.marktreichel.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-treichel/ Episode Description: When your credit union receives an examination result you believe is wrong, what are your options? In this episode, Mark Treichel walks through NCUA's formal appeal process from start to finish — the timeline, the levels of review, what you can actually appeal, and how to think about whether it makes sense for you...

www.marktreichel.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-treichel/ The NCUA has issued a proposed rule implementing the GENIUS Act , establishing a federal licensing framework for payment stablecoin issuers. For the first time, credit union subsidiaries could apply to become Permitted Payment Stablecoin Issuers (PPSIs) — but only under strict supervisory standards. In this episode, Mark breaks down:...

In this special archive episode of With Flying Colors , Mark Treichel is joined by Steve Farr and Todd Miller — both former NCUA leaders — to revisit a foundational topic that continues to shape credit union supervision today: risk appetite, risk culture, and concentration risk. While regulators often emphasize capital levels, history shows that capital alone cannot offset poor risk governance. Th...

www.marktreichel.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-treichel/ In this episode of With Flying Colors , Mark Treichel is joined by former NCUA leaders Geoff Bacino, Alonzo Swann, and John McKechnie for a timely and candid discussion about Chairman Kyle Hauptman’s appointment to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) — and what it signals for the future of the NCUA. While the announc...

www.marktreichel.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-treichel/ Chairman Hauptman’s Statement on Appointment to PCAOB ALEXANDRIA, VA (January 30, 2026) – National Credit Union Administration Chairman Kyle S. Hauptman issued the following statement after being named as a member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). “I am grateful to President Donald J. Trump and Chairman Paul S....

www.marktreichel.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-treichel/ In this episode of With Flying Colors , Mark Treichel is joined by former NCUA senior leaders Todd Miller and Steve Farrar for a deep dive into NCUA’s 2026 Supervisory Priorities Letter — and what it means in the real world for credit unions heading into the next exam cycle.  Deep Dive on NCUA Priority Lett… With significant staffing...

In this emergency update of With Flying Colors , Mark breaks down a newly proposed NCUA rule that could meaningfully reduce barriers to serving on a federal credit union board. The proposal would allow federal credit unions to reimburse or directly pay reasonable dependent care costs for volunteer officials when those costs are incurred while attending board meetings or performing official duties...

www.marktreichel.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-treichel/ In this special preview episode of With Flying Colors , Mark Treichel tees up an upcoming live, on-stage discussion from the Florida Q’s Cruise with team members Steve Farr and Todd Miller. Just days before the cruise, NCUA released its 2026 Supervisory Priorities Letter , and as always, that letter gives us important clues about what...

www.marktreichel.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-treichel/ The clash between President Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has now expanded beyond interest rates — and into a $2.5 billion building renovation at the Fed. Some see waste.  Some see politics.  Most people just see a number that’s hard to comprehend. In this episode, I take a middle-ground look at what’s really going on:...

www.marktreichel.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-treichel/ President Trump has called for a one-year cap on credit card interest rates at 10%. It’s a headline-grabbing proposal — but can he actually do it, and what would it really mean for consumers, banks, and credit unions? In this episode, Mark Treichel breaks down: Why presidents can “call for” caps but can’t impose them unilaterally Why...

www.marktreichel.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-treichel/ NCUA exam reports often contain more than meets the eye. Examiner findings, supplementary facts, and documents of resolution may look like routine supervisory language — but each serves a distinct purpose and sends a different signal to credit union boards and management. In this episode of With Flying Colors , Mark Treichel is joined...

This is a classic episode of With Flying Colors —and a rare one that steps slightly outside the credit union lane for a reason. As teamwork becomes an increasingly critical theme heading into 2026, this conversation felt worth revisiting. In this episode, Mark sits down with Joe Jacoby , an Olympic gold medalist and performance coach, to explore what high-performing teams really look like when con...

www.marktreichel.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-treichel/ In this quarterly roundtable episode of With Flying Colors , Mark Treichel is joined by former NCUA executives Dennis Bauer, Steve Farrar, and Todd Miller to break down the NCUA Q3 2025 Quarterly Credit Union Data Summary . The discussion highlights a key theme: the credit union system is gradually returning to a more normal operating...

www.marktreichel.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-treichel/ NCUA has launched a new Deregulation and Simplification Project , signaling a shift toward clearer, more flexible rules—without weakening safety and soundness. In this episode of With Flying Colors , Mark Treichel breaks down the four proposed regulatory changes released by NCUA and explains what they mean in practice for credit union...