After inviting Albertans to come bank where they belong and promising to find ways to make banking more meaningful, connectFirst Credit Union (connectFirst) celebrates another record-breaking quarter in the credit union’s 83-year history.
After closing the second quarter on April 30, 2022, connectFirst saw an extraordinary expansion in loan portfolios by $150 million, totaling $465 million in loan growth year-to-date.
“We have a lot of momentum coming out of the second quarter and we want to continue to focus on growth. This will allow us to build the financial capacity of this organization to have a bigger impact in the communities we serve,” says Wellington Holbrook, chief executive officer, connectFirst Credit Union. “When we have more resources to put to bear to support our members we can do more good things on behalf of our members, support local businesses and continue to invest in Alberta’s economic future.”
connectFirst continues to invest in technology as part of its digital transformation and enhance member experiences. A recently announced partnership with JUDI.AI, an AI-enabled lending solution platform, will automate loan processes, giving small business and ag members faster and easier access to capital to allow entrepreneurs to invest in and grow their businesses.
Top five performance indicators (all figures compare Q1 2022 to Q2 2022):
- Net income (before taxes) increased by $12.2M to $23.9 million.
- Total assets grew by $81 million to $6.8 billion.
- Member deposits increased by $58 million to $5.8 billion.
- Loans to members expanded by $150 million to $5.9 billion.
- Member equity grew by $24.4 million to $632 million.
“One of the most impressive signals of our success, outside of the significant financial growth, is our record number of member acquisitions last quarter. In four short months, we welcomed over 2 100 new members to the credit union, almost doubling our 2021 result of about 3 800 new members. This tells us that Albertans are really taking notice of who connectFirst is and that our brand is resonating with folks who want be part of something bigger,” adds Holbrook.
connectFirst Credit Union, one of the largest and most successful credit unions in Canada, is a full-service financial institution with over $6 billion in assets under administration. connectFirst employs 750 Albertans who provide a range of financial products and advice in more than 40 communities across central and southern Alberta. It serves over 125,000 members through a community-focused approach to banking.