WEYBURN – The Weyburn Credit Union had a strong year in 2022, with growth in deposits and loans, and the institution is closing in on $1 billion in assets under management, members and staff heard at their annual meeting on Wednesday evening.
The AGM was held in spite of the heavy snow falling in blizzard conditions, as it had been advertised to be held on that date.
Board chair Jeff Richards noted he is asked a lot what the board does, and his answer was, “We take all of the things we think you members want and encourage the executive team to run things the way you want. Our job is to represent the members and make sure the staff is building an organization that is going to be here for a long time. Our goal is to get good value for the people who own us. Those are our shareholders, and our goal is to make sure we get there.”
From meetings with other credit unions around the province, both larger and smaller ones, Richards said it is clear the Weyburn Credit Union is well-managed, and is a well-run organization.
CEO Don Shumlich added in his remarks that the credit union had “a strong growth again in 2022. It’s always amazing we see so much growth year after year.”
He noted the WCU is “very close” to reaching the $1 billion mark for assets under management, and said they are making sure to continue to educate their staff and invest in their people.
He also pointed out that with the Community Fund, donations and sponsorships, they provide significant support to the community at large.
In a highlight from the financial report, the Credit Union ended 2022 with assets under administration of $966.9 million, up 3.5 per cent from the year before.
Chief Financial Officer Krista Hubic said a combination of growth and management translates into profitability, and the Credit Union is doing well in all areas in achieving this goal.
She said the WCU will likely exceed $1 billion in assets under administration within the year, “which is pretty impressive for the size we are.”
The year 2022 saw a lot of time spent on interest rate adjustments, and they found they needed to manage their business costs due to high inflation.
Loans comprise 78.3 per cent of total assets as of Dec. 31, and totaled $539 million, an increase of 8.79 per cent over 2021, with most of the loan growth in commercial loans, and commercial mortgages now account for 45 per cent of the loan portfolio, and consumer loans are now 35 per cent of the portfolio.
Deposits were $614 million at the end of 2022, an increase of 6.46 per cent from the previous year. In addition, capital increased by $11 million to $68 million, or 19.86 per cent.
An unexpected piece of good news came as a large one-time dividend of $7.6 million came from SaskCentral’s sale of Concentra Bank, which helped the Credit Union reach its highest level of profitability to date. The board of directors decided to retain this dividend for capital building purposes.
With the higher-than-anticipated income in 2022, the board approved a distribution to Member Spark Rewards program of $1,070,831, and a Community Fund allocation of $71,389, both up from 2021, to be disbursed this summer.
This was the first time the Spark Rewards program has exceeded $1 million since its inception in 2019, and those funds were deposited into members’ accounts on the day of the AGM, said Hubic, “which I think is pretty impressive.”
In her report to the AGM, Lynn Colquhoun said the three directors whose term was up to be back on the board by acclamation, and no election was required. The directors included Matt Caudill, Jeff Richards and Norm Wall.
Colquhoun received recognition for her 10 years on the board, while Larry Heggs and Duane Walkeden were both recognized for five years on the board.
