The NCUA on Tuesday told credit unions that the agency will enter Phase 3 of resuming its onsite operations on Oct.17, 2022.

Under Phase 3, onsite examination and supervision activity will resume in all locations, an NCUA letter to credit unions stated. Given the lessons learned from offsite examinations conducted during the pandemic, examiners will seek to strike the right balance between onsite and offsite examination and supervision work, and examiners will continue to conduct some examination steps offsite when they can be completed efficiently and effectively in credit unions that can accommodate the offsite work, according to the agency.

“When scheduling examinations, the NCUA will continue to take into account any challenges a credit union is facing, such as the availability of key staff,” the letter stated. “Examiners will coordinate with credit union management in scheduling the examination and with respect to aspects of the examination that will be conducted onsite and offsite.”

Further, the well-being of agency staff and credit union employees remains a top priority of the NCUA, and agency staff working onsite in credit unions will generally be expected to follow credit union policies related to health and safety, to the extent they exceed the NCUA’s safety protocols for Phase 3.