SCU touts stability amid pandemic turmoil

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This article was published 18/03/2021 (1565 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Despite the “endless amount of change” caused by COVID-19, Steinbach Credit Union is entering its 80th year on a firm footing and establishing a $15 million community fund, members heard Tuesday at an annual general meeting.

The 40-minute meeting proceeded virtually with pre-recorded and live addresses from CEO Glenn Friesen and board chair Reg Penner.

“The world is a different place than it was a year ago,” Penner remarked.

Last year’s SCU general meeting occurred just days before the detection of COVID-19 in Manitoba and remains one of the last large indoor gatherings held in Steinbach.

“2020 was the year of the unexpected,” Friesen said. “Our stability as an organization was an immense contributor to our success in a year of constant change.”

Penner announced the creation of a new SCU community fund through the Winnipeg Foundation, seeded with a $15 million donation from the credit union.

“This fund will live on to support the values of our organization and help us to continue to promote the growth and health of our communities,” he said.

Despite the pandemic, Penner said SCU added over 5,000 net new members in 2020. Assets grew by 7.44 percent and deposit accounts by 8.18 percent. Loan growth was 10.25 percent.

A $10 million cash-back bonus will be distributed proportionately to lending and deposit account holders by Friday. In a release, SCU said a member who paid $3,000 in mortgage interest in 2020 can expect about $79, while members who received $1,000 in interest on savings last year will see about $49.

Friesen said he was pleased to return cash to members after a year in which “some businesses struggled, and some didn’t survive, while others flourished.”

Friesen said over 5,500 members accessed a credit payment relief program SCU developed to help individuals and businesses weather the economic downturn. In addition, SCU saw nearly 1,300 business members receive a total of $54 million in financial support through a federal relief program.

SCU also launched new youth and student accounts in 2020 and expanded the number of products and services available online. Friesen said a new digital banking platform is in the works.

“Throughout this pandemic, we have been fortunate to keep our doors open, and to keep all of our employees actively employed at full pay,” he said.

Branches temporarily reduced hours but continued serving members. At times, SCU deployed more resources to its contact centre, which Penner said saw an influx of calls.

“Unlike many of our industry peers, we have been very fortunate not to have been forced to close any of our branches throughout this pandemic,” he said.

Members voted electronically to re-elect Doris Martens, Bruce Penner, Maria Reimer to SCU’s nine-member board of directors.