Altura Credit Union reports net income of $8.09 million for third quarter
RIVERSIDE, CA (November 20, 2017) — Altura Credit Union today reported Net Income of $1.63 million on Total Assets of $1.287 billion for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2017. Year-to-date, Altura reported Net Income of $8.091 million, an increase of 9.9 percent compared to the same period in 2016. Total assets also increased 4.8 percent over the comparable period last year. Additionally, Altura reported a Net Worth Ratio of 10.7 percent, up from 10.62 percent from the same period last year*.
“Altura has experienced substantial revenue growth through the first nine months of 2017,” said Altura President and CEO Jennifer Binkley. “In particular, our year-over-year loan growth is very strong with our total loan balances increasing by 15.19 percent. While auto loans continue to be a mainstay of our loan business, during 2017 we focused on offering our Members more options for mortgage loans. We also introduced our Uphora Rewards Credit Card, something our Members told us they wanted,” she added.
Membership growth remains strong through the third quarter, especially among the population segment known as “millennials.” Binkley explained, “We created an internal marketing team of our own millennial-age employees to help us develop outreach campaigns to these potential members. The results have been incredibly successful. We are 127 percent over our 2017 target for new Members in this age group.”
Binkley added that Altura has been strategically reaching out to its Members in 2017 for service and product feedback. “We have made a number of changes in the last six months as a result of listening to our Members. Among these are changes at our branches and to our website,” she said.
“For instance, we just launched a new online banking portal,” Binkley pointed out, “that is easier to use even though it adds more features. We are revamping our branches so they are more relevant to the local community. For example, our 14th Street Branch features local artists in displays that change quarterly, and a community room is available for use by community groups during regular business hours.”
To ensure Altura is keeping up with expectations, Altura surveys its Members annually. An area of concern that came up repeatedly has been long lines in branches. In response, Altura is no longer providing free banking services in its branches to members of other credit unions. This service in the credit union industry is known as Shared Branching. It enables credit unions to assist members of other institutions without fees. Altura will continue to participate in CO-OP Financial Services, a network which allows no-fee usage of all Altura ATMs for members of other credit unions.
“For Altura, this has negatively impacted our own Members,” Binkley explained. “Altura is the largest credit union in Riverside County with 13 branches around the county, making it a popular choice for Shared Branching customers. Unfortunately, this led to long wait times in our branches as large numbers of people from other credit unions used them to conduct business.”
“Altura listened to our Membership and decided to make this change, which should reduce lines and wait times significantly. We may be sacrificing some revenue as a result, but it will greatly benefit our Members,” Binkley said. “While we regret that this may impact those who are members of other credit unions, we must maintain our focus on our own Members.”
Another area of emphasis during 2017, has been employee engagement. Binkley said, “By engaging and empowering our employees, they are better able to assist our Members. We were very pleased to recently be named on the “Best Credit Union to Work For” list by a leading credit industry publication.”
About Altura Credit Union
Based in the Inland Empire for 60 years, Altura Credit Union serves more than 127,000 Members, has $1.352 billion in total assets and operates 13 branch offices in Riverside County. Membership is open to anyone who lives, works, worships or attends school in Riverside and San Diego counties; selected cities in San Bernardino and Orange counties; as well as U.S. Military, U.S. Government and Civilian employees working at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County; and retirees of the United States Armed Forces. For more information on Altura, visit www.alturacu.com, or call 1-888-883-7228.
