Wisconsin CU League News Release - 06/13/11
Credit unions’ 1st quarter results reflect continued help for
millions of Wisconsin citizens
Credit unions’ 1st quarter results reflect continued help for
millions of Wisconsin citizens
Pewaukee, WI - Wisconsin credit unions saw continued
strong performance during the first quarter of 2011, a reflection of
Wisconsin citizens’ reliance on the financial cooperatives during
continuing economic challenges.
“Credit unions have fared well because the 2.2 million people of
our state who belong to them continue to derive value from owning their
financial institution – such as through their continued
willingness to make needed loans, offer repayment options to struggling
families and charge lower interest and fewer fees on a full range of
financial services,” said Brett Thompson, President & CEO of
The Wisconsin Credit Union League.
During the first quarter 2011, 220 credit unions saw assets increase to
$21.3 billion from $20.7 billion at year end. Net income also rose to
$27.8 million from $22.9 million at the same time in 2010. Credit
unions’ net worth was also strong at 9.83%, helped by solid
lending: members borrowed 84 cents of every dollar on deposit.
“Credit unions continue to help members with budgeting,
consolidating debt at lower rates, and providing small loans to help
make ends meet. They’re also making the kinds of loans businesses
need but the big banks don’t make because they’re not
profitable enough,” Thompson said. “So the continued health
of credit unions is a sign that Wisconsin consumers and companies are
receiving the resources they need to manage their finances.”
Highlights of credit unions’ service without regard for profit
– attributable to their member-ownership – is detailed in
The League’s REAL Solutions 2010 Scorecard for Wisconsin Credit
Unions.
The performance data comes amid efforts by the Wisconsin Bankers
Association to slip into the state budget – without input from
credit unions or their members – a provision that would ease
conversions of member-owned credit unions to commercial banks,
permitting the equity shared equally by all members of a credit union to
pass into the hands of the few shareholders who own a bank.
“The proposed process is so radical that forty-nine states
don’t allow it,” Thompson explained. “Every year,
member-owned credit unions return $200 million to consumers via lower
rates on loans, higher savings rates and lower and fewer fees. Is a
profit-seeking bank going to do that? This is just another covert
attempt by banks to rake in even higher profits by eliminating the
consumer-friendly competition posed by credit unions.”
