Annual Report 2007
- Chairman and President's Message
- Report From The Supervisory Committee
- Statement of Financial Condition
- Liabilities and Members' Equity
- Statement of Income and Expense
Chairman and President's Message
As we enter our 65th year of operation, we are pleased to present this Annual Report to the Membership and to share with all of you our recent accomplishments and future plans. We appreciate the continued opportunity to serve you and we are delighted to report that in spite of the challenging economic climate, your credit union achieved solid financial performance in key areas of our business.
In 2007, E-Central Credit Union's assets grew to $138 million and Dividends Paid to our Members and Business Partners reached another record-breaking level of $3.3 million, a 29% increase from 2006. We are also pleased to report that our Gross Capital increased by 8.90%, Total Shares grew by 5.06%, Total Loans grew by 13.33% and our Return on Assets was very strong at 1.06%. Additionally, Loan Delinquencies and Loan Charge-offs remained low at .20% and .19%, respectively.
Our healthy earnings are the result of our organization's ability to effectively manage operational expenses, and properly evaluate and implement growth strategies, while remaining sensitive to the needs of our Members and Business Partners. On a national level, credit unions have seen their Return on Assets steadily decline to below .70%. Conversely, E-Central's ROA has steadily risen over the past few years. Consequently, we are able to offer above-market-rates on our insured savings accounts while offering more competitive rates on our lending products.
E-Central experienced double digit loan growth in 2007, while maintaining our delinquency and charge-off ratios significantly below industry averages. Unlike many lenders, E-Central was not part of the sub-prime market debacle. On the contrary, we helped a number of Members migrate away from deceptive and unfavorable loans funded by other financial institutions. Our strategy has always been, and will continue to be, focusing on what is in the best interest of our Members and Business Partners. An important part of our mission is to continuously add value to your Membership. We took important steps this past year to expand many of our product offerings. We also streamlined our operations and enhanced our security procedures so that you receive superior and safer services. We continue to reduce our ”carbon“ footprint by migrating more of our processes from paper to ”green“ friendly electronic based systems. Not only does this help the environment, but it helps improve our overall efficiencies and speed of service. Additionally, we enhanced our Internet Banking service, Central@net, by implementing a multi-factor authentication log-on procedure to protect Members' accounts from fraudulent activities.
In today's competitive marketplace, a valuable benefits package can help our Business Partners attract and retain more qualified employees. E-Central offers a no cost package that is committed to improving your employees' financial lives through affordable products and services, financial education and superior service. By continuing to offer E-Central as part of your benefits package, you are ensuring your employee's eligibility to join our exclusive financial institution. From a business management perspective, please consider E-Central for all your business needs. We offer a full line of business banking products that include business loans, business deposit and transactional accounts.
Our strategic initiative to open our field of membership to people who live, work, worship, or attend school in the San Gabriel Valley or the City of Commerce and its surrounding cities has rewarded the Credit Union with many new opportunities for continued growth. To build stronger community ties with our neighbors and local businesses, we established a community relations program. In just a short period of time, we have sponsored community-focused events, hosted educational workshops, awarded scholarships to college-bound students, and forged relationships with the local chambers of commerce. We also maintain leadership positions within various community based organizations.
In the closing months of 2007, Commerce Federal Credit Union, a smaller neighboring credit union in the City of Commerce, selected E-Central to be their merger partner. E-Central was chosen for its financial strength, diverse product offering, and the philosophical beliefs it shared with Commerce Federal Credit union. The financial growth as a result of the merger will be realized this year and will be presented in our 2008 Annual Report.
One of our greatest assets is the people that work here at E-Central. In 2007, we honored another 25-year employee, Thomas Djan, our Pasadena Branch Supervisor, who has been with us since 1982. During his tenure at E-Central, Thomas has worked in virtually every area of our organization and was recognized for his dedication at our annual holiday event. It is important to note that a large portion of our workforce has over 5 years or more of service. We strongly feel that this benefits all of us and we continue to expand our Staff by hiring employees who are diverse in culture, language, and experience so that our Members and Business Partners are assured of the best possible service.
We would also like to express our gratitude to the volunteers who unselfishly serve on our Board of Directors and Supervisory Committee. They represent the interest of each and every member; and, through their governance, create value for all Members and Business Partners.
Our success is directly attributed to the patronage of our Members and Business Partners, the Board of Directors' vision, the Supervisory Committee's watchful eye, the Management Team's execution and the Staff's support. Working together as a team, E-Central will continue to be well positioned to not only weather the predicted turbulent economic times, but to prosper and return exceptional value to all of you.
Respectfully Submitted,
Mark Garmus
Chairman of the Board
Michael Theodore
President/CEO
Report From The Supervisory Committee
Your Supervisory Committee is a group of volunteer Credit Union Members who safeguard the interest and assets of all Members. This committee acts independently of the Board of Directors and the Management Team to ensure the accuracy of records, the protection of Members’ deposits, and the proper administration of policies and procedures.
In conducting its duties, the Supervisory Committee retained the services of McGladrey & Pullen, LLP, Certified Public Accountants & Professional Corporation, to perform the annual audit of financial statements. I am pleased to announce that E-Central was found to meet or exceed regulatory requirements in all operational categories
Jon Oliver
Chairman of the Supervisory Committee