WEYBURN – The Weyburn Credit Union hit a major milestone in its history in the past year, in spite of challenges like high interest rates, as they are now over $1 billion with assets under management.
This fact was remarked upon by board chair Jeff Richards, at their annual meeting on Wednesday evening in the CU community room, as they went over the past year’s financials along with setting the new board of directors for 2024.
In noting that the Credit Union reached this milestone, Richards said, “It’s important not so much because of the number, but because of the growth, and that benefits the agency, the organization. We’re not here to put the money in a vault, if they even do that any more – what’s important is our organization is strong.”
He added that the board encourages growth in the organization, including the hiring of the best people available.
“We need them to have a very good organization, so we have to invest in that, and I believe we have that,” said Richards, adding there is an old saying which has been proven true: “We are what we repeatedly do, therefore excellence is not an act, excellence is a habit.”
An important part of what the Credit Union does is invest in the community, said Richards, noting they take one per cent of their profit and create community grants from that amount, which this year will be $65,000. Last year, 14 community organizations benefitted from this fund, plus the Credit Union committed to a $500,000 grant for the naming rights for the Weyburn Cinema, to be built in the downtown starting this year.
“I’m proud to be a part of this organization, and I mean that sincerely,” he said. “For 80 years, this organization has been rocking it. It’s been an interesting year for the board, but the board never lost sight of why they’re here, and that is to represent the members interests. There were times when that could’ve happened, but it never did.”
With the Credit Union having $1.03 billion under administration, this was a growth of 6.41 per cent or $61.96 million.
This total includes an off-balance sheet portion of $319 million, which is Wealth Management administered assets, an increase of nearly 15 per cent; and on-book assets of $709 million, a growth of just under three per cent.
The growth had been forecast to be four per cent, which is lower than the five-year average, but higher borrowing costs continued to affect consumer spending and business investment.
Loans made up 79.28 per cent of total assets, totaling $562 million, an increase of 4.27 per cent. The majority of the loan growth was in commercial loans, accounting for $32 million of the growth, while the agricultural area saw a decline of $9.1 million.
Commercial mortgages and loans account for over 49 per cent of the loan portfolio, up from 45 per cent the year before, while agricultural sector loans decreased from 20 per cent to 17 per cent, and consumer loans are 34 per cent of the loan portfolio.
Loan delinquency greater than 90 days was 1.52 per cent, up from 0.62 per cent the year before, and the Credit Union held 12 foreclosed properties at year-end worth $2,687,656.
Member deposits were $633 million, an increase of 3.01 per cent, and with higher interest rates, members locked funds into on-book fixed rate products. Term deposits were up $20 million, and registered products were up $6 million.
The Member Spark Rewards program will have a payout of over $968,000, which will be distributed to qualifying members in April.
Net income before taxes totaled $4.71 million, and after taxes was $3.48 million. Operating expenses for 2023 increased by $764,000, with increases in all areas.
On the board, Norm Wall stepped down after 20 years of service, and Larry Heggs after six years. Two new board members joined, Colleen Christopherson and Jerry LaFoy, with the other board members including chair Jeff Richards, Duane Walkeden, Angie Hastings, Jesse Ridgeway, Kelly Linnell, Lynn Colquhoun and Matt Caudill.
