Contact: Mike Bridges – Vice President, Communications 850.558.1022 mike.bridges@lscu.coop www.twitter.com/LeagueofSECUs
Southeastern Credit Unions adding Members, increasing Savings and Lending More - AL/FL credit unions add 74,000 new members -Credit union member savings at a five-year high - Alabama lending five times the national average
BIRMINGHAM, AL/TALLAHASSEE, FL (April 21, 2010) — Consumers were very clear in 2009, they were looking for a local financial institution with their best interest in mind. Southeastern credit unions earned consumers’ trust by adding 74,000 new members last year; the highest total in four years. Credit union members also saw the benefits of a local institution that would help them save money. Southeastern credit unions saw record growth in savings with members saving more in 2009 than in the past five years. Alabama credit union members’ savings was up 12-percent, two times the national credit union average. Florida members’ savings was five percent higher; a 100-percent improvement from 2008. The gauge of strength for a financial institution is its net worth ratio. A financial institution with a seven-percent ratio is considered well capitalized. Collectively, Florida credit unions are at 9.5 percent, while Alabama credit unions are collectively at 11.2 percent. As the economy begins to pick up, lending remains scarce. In Alabama, credit unions are doing their part by lending to their members in the areas of new and used auto loans, as well as first mortgages. Alabama credit unions saw a five-percent growth in lending, five times the national credit unions average. “If you look inside the Alabama numbers, the credit unions are making high-quality loans with low delinquencies and charge offs,” said the LSCU President/CEO Patrick La Pine. “In Florida, the local economy continues to struggle, but credit unions remain on solid ground. They are working with their members to help them save, as well as continuing to meet their lending needs.” In fact, Florida credit unions maintain a healthy 66 percent loans-to-assets ratio. This is higher than the national credit union average and shows credit unions aren’t pulling their money back during a tough economic stretch. In 2009, Southeastern credit unions earned
Contact: Mike Bridges – Vice President, Communications 850.558.1022 mike.bridges@lscu.coop www.twitter.com/LeagueofSECUs
their members trust, had their best interest in mind and helped them achieve a higher level of savings. To learn more about Southeastern credit unions, go to www.lscu.coop. The League of Southeastern Credit Unions represents 313 credit unions in Alabama and Florida with a combined total of $54 billion in assets and more than 6.3 million members. LSCU provides advocacy and regulatory information; education and training; cooperative initiatives (including financial education outreach); media relations and information; and business solutions. For more information, visit www.lscu.coop. Follow the LSCU on Twitter at www.twitter.com/LeagueofSECUs. ###