A Message from our President

Our 2022 was another busy year for FCCU. We started off with the lingering effects of Covid, primarily dealing with historic inflation which hasn’t been seen since the 1970s. High inflation is a difficult environment for a credit union to work through as it creates a lot of unknowns. But despite all of this, we moved forward and completed several large projects that we’re proud of in 2022.

Firstly, we opened a new a branch facility in Mandan, ND. This was the culmination of a project that started initial planning way back in 2017. Everything came together perfectly and we have an amazing building representing both FCCU and the community of Mandan.

We also completed a major remodel and upgrade of our Devils Lake facility. It was a great building, but hadn’t been updated since the 1990’s. This project turned out really well and basically we have a new building which is an important investment and asset in the Devils Lake community. Another large project in 2022 was our merger with Elm River Credit Union. This added branches in both Page and Kindred. It also added more than 1,000 members from these communities and five great staff to our FCCU team.

Finally, and most importantly, we had another strong year financially with solid income, and growing over 100 million in loans and nearly 90 million in total assets. Looking ahead into 2023, we know growth will be a continued focus. If we aren’t growing, we will not be able to continue meeting the needs of our members into the future, so we have to keep moving FCCU forward. A couple highlights we expect to see in 2023 include the complete the renovation of our Bismarck North branch in the first quarter. Additionally, we plan to break ground for a new branch facility in Moorhead, MN this spring.

Perhaps the biggest project in 2023 will be the introduction of our digital journey to the membership. We have allowed online access to FCCU accounts for more than 20 years, but the digital transformation will take that to a whole new level. As we move forward, members will be able to do everything from your phone or home computer, whether that is applying for a loan and getting instant approval, opening a new account, or signing documents and almost anything else you might have to come to a branch for right now.

As our credit union grows, all of us involved have to grow as well. We cannot afford to maintain status quo; we cannot afford to rest on past successes; we need to constantly look for ways to improve ourselves and the credit union, doing things better each year – and that’s a difficult ask. But our employees and the Board have consistently stepped up, year after year, and words cannot express how appreciative I am of their efforts.

And to our members – YOU are the credit union and I want to thank you for your continued trust and dedication to FCCU.

Steve Schmitz, President & CEO First Community Credit Union