It’s been a whirlwind here at GECU as we have been working through our recent upgrade.  This project has been in the works for over two years now, and our hard work has paid off with a successful implementation, minus a few minor snags along the way!  So, forgive me if I haven’t found the time to blog for a while.

But that doesn’t mean that I’m not paying attention to our industry and our economic environment.  While the upgrade was a full-time job, we still have a credit union to run, and we still take great pride in our efforts to improve the financial well-being of our members.  With that in mind, I wanted to take a little time out to toot our horn – something I don’t do nearly enough quite frankly.

If you read the news - local, regional, or national – you may have read about some credit unions losing money last year, especially in the 4^th quarter.  Certainly, the interest rate environment has been a challenge for us all, and delinquent loans are also increasing, causing us to set aside more money in reserves.  But I am proud to say that despite those challenges, GECU was indeed profitable in every quarter of 2023.  And not only did we not lose money, we made a profit while paying higher than average deposit rates, and maintaining lower and fewer fees than most institutions.  And, we have had increased expenses related to our upcoming conversion to account for.  Despite all of these challenges, we turned a profit and increased our net worth.

I am a little disappointed to say that despite our efforts, we did slip in our national rankings for returning value to our members.  Out of more than 4600 credit unions, from the smallest to multi-billion dollars in assets, we slipped all they way down to the top 3%.  We like to finish in that top 1%, so this slide down to the top 3% is not sitting well with us! 

So, you can rest easy knowing that not only are we running a tight ship here at GECU, we are doing so while still returning greater value to you than almost any other institution in the country.  Plus, you get that exceptional personal service that you have come to expect going back almost 90 years.  We get it, and we will never lose sight of why we exist.  If that sounds good to you, then tell a coworker or friend, and let them join in on our, and your, success.