WCCU 2022 Annual Meeting
Tuesday, April 25, 2023
The Westerly Community Credit Union held their 2022 Annual Meeting on Monday, March 27th, 2023 at Evie’s Restaurant in Westerly, Rhode Island.
A brief review of the highlights from the year-end 2022 financial statements shows the following: assets increased 9.84% to $452.76 million, member deposit balances increased 7.47% to $401.53 million, and outstanding loan balances at year end were $359.11 million an increase of 20.26%. Net income for the year was a solid $3.47 million generating a Return on Average Assets of 0.80% and a Return on Average Equity of 10.48%. Membership increased by 11.6% to 22,436.
The Credit Union’s solid performance in 2022 was driven by record loan demand resulting in the origination of $162.53 million in gross loans and lines of credit for the benefit of the members of which $90.70 million was in consumer loans, $58.19 million was in real estate loans and $13.64 million in member business loans. As a result of this activity, the Credit Union finished the year with a regulatory net worth ratio, a measure of safety and soundness, of 8.85% maintaining its “Well Capitalized” status.
Stephen J. White, Westerly Community Credit Union President and CEO, announced that the Credit Union’s newest branch office located at 2405 Nooseneck Hill Rd in Coventry RI enjoyed a successful first year of operations. As of year-end 2022 the office had 260 members with $7.18 million of member funds on deposits and outstanding member loans balances totaling $6.46 million.
Mr. White also reported that as part of their “WCCU Cares” initiatives during 2022 the Credit Union helped over 111 organizations through donations, fundraising, and sponsorships, as well as the Board, Supervisory Committee members, and staff volunteering their time with 50 different organizations over the year. As part of the community support efforts in 2022 the Credit Union made significant capital campaign commitments to Westerly Hospital, South County Health, and Wood River Health Services.
During the past year WCCU continued their efforts to promote financial literacy in the communities they serve through multiple programs such as the Everfi Financial Literacy program sponsored by WCCU and being taught to over 780 students at the Westerly, Chariho, Exeter West Greenwich, Narragansett, and South Kingstown High Schools. Additionally, WCCU is proud to sponsor Money Basics by URI which currently has over 450 users. WCCU also conducted real-life scenario based “CU4 Reality Financial Literacy Fair” for 320 students from the Chariho, Narragansett and Westerly high schools.
Pete Stefanski, Chairperson of the Board, presented his third annual report since his election as Chairperson of the Board of Directors. He also acknowledged despite challenges of high inflation and rising interest rates, the Credit Union ended 2022 stronger than ever. He recognized the Credit Union for remaining flexible and adapting to the ever-changing world we live in.
The Credit Union achieved other important milestones in the community as well. This past year, the Credit Union continued to promote financial literacy within local schools by offering educational programs, such as The Money Mammals® Kids Club, EverFi online Financial Education program, Cemark. and Adolescent$. Additionally, the Credit Union awarded 19 Teacher Grants, totaling over $9,000 to teachers from Coventry, Exeter-West Greenwich, Narragansett, South Kingstown, Stonington, and Westerly school districts. The Credit Union also awarded five scholarships, totaling $5,500 to students from Chariho, Coventry, Westerly and Stonington High Schools. Finally, the Credit Union partnered with the University of Rhode Island to offer a co-branded financial education program, Money Basics by URI.
In tradition, the Annual Holiday Basketball Tournament was held in December. The Credit Union was pleased to donate $2,114 to each of the four participating high schools’ (Chariho, South Kingstown, Stonington, and Westerly) sports boosters’ organizations. This raises the total amount donated to participating high schools since 1984 to $267,033.
Stefanski reported that in addition to the many donations to local charitable organizations, the Credit Union donated $75,000 to Wood River Health Services to help develop a new addition to the Hope Valley campus to meet increased demand for high-quality, broad-based services. The Credit Union also made a commitment to donate $150,000 to South County Health. This investment will allow the heath system to expand services, including improvements to the Radiation Therapy facility and the purchase of a new linear accelerator that emits specific doses of radiation with pinpoint accuracy directly to the tumor site.
The meeting concluded with Mr. White thanking everyone for all their hard work and recognizing Senior Staff, Board of Directors, and Supervisory Committee members for their professionalism, unwavering support, and commitment to our members and to the communities we serve. He also thanked our members for their continued support and understanding, stating their loyalty and patronage are the reasons we strive to achieve our goals and make this the best Credit Union possible.
About Westerly Community Credit Union: About Westerly Community Credit Union:
The WCCU mantra, #WCCUCares, emphasizes their focus on caring about their members, their members’ financial success, and their community. Established in 1948, Westerly Community Credit Union is a local, full–service financial institution that currently serves over 22,000 members with lending and deposit products through convenient locations in Westerly, Richmond, Wakefield, Coventry, and online at www.westerlyccu.com. Recent WCCU awards: Westerly Sun’s 2022 Readers’ Choice for Best Credit Union and top 3 for Best Mortgage Company and Best Financial Advisor; Southern RI 2022 Reader’s Choice Awards for Best Financial Institution and Best Financial Advisor; as well as PBN’s Best Places to Work (2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022).
A brief review of the highlights from the year-end 2022 financial statements shows the following: assets increased 9.84% to $452.76 million, member deposit balances increased 7.47% to $401.53 million, and outstanding loan balances at year end were $359.11 million an increase of 20.26%. Net income for the year was a solid $3.47 million generating a Return on Average Assets of 0.80% and a Return on Average Equity of 10.48%. Membership increased by 11.6% to 22,436.
The Credit Union’s solid performance in 2022 was driven by record loan demand resulting in the origination of $162.53 million in gross loans and lines of credit for the benefit of the members of which $90.70 million was in consumer loans, $58.19 million was in real estate loans and $13.64 million in member business loans. As a result of this activity, the Credit Union finished the year with a regulatory net worth ratio, a measure of safety and soundness, of 8.85% maintaining its “Well Capitalized” status.
Stephen J. White, Westerly Community Credit Union President and CEO, announced that the Credit Union’s newest branch office located at 2405 Nooseneck Hill Rd in Coventry RI enjoyed a successful first year of operations. As of year-end 2022 the office had 260 members with $7.18 million of member funds on deposits and outstanding member loans balances totaling $6.46 million.
Mr. White also reported that as part of their “WCCU Cares” initiatives during 2022 the Credit Union helped over 111 organizations through donations, fundraising, and sponsorships, as well as the Board, Supervisory Committee members, and staff volunteering their time with 50 different organizations over the year. As part of the community support efforts in 2022 the Credit Union made significant capital campaign commitments to Westerly Hospital, South County Health, and Wood River Health Services.
During the past year WCCU continued their efforts to promote financial literacy in the communities they serve through multiple programs such as the Everfi Financial Literacy program sponsored by WCCU and being taught to over 780 students at the Westerly, Chariho, Exeter West Greenwich, Narragansett, and South Kingstown High Schools. Additionally, WCCU is proud to sponsor Money Basics by URI which currently has over 450 users. WCCU also conducted real-life scenario based “CU4 Reality Financial Literacy Fair” for 320 students from the Chariho, Narragansett and Westerly high schools.
Pete Stefanski, Chairperson of the Board, presented his third annual report since his election as Chairperson of the Board of Directors. He also acknowledged despite challenges of high inflation and rising interest rates, the Credit Union ended 2022 stronger than ever. He recognized the Credit Union for remaining flexible and adapting to the ever-changing world we live in.
The Credit Union achieved other important milestones in the community as well. This past year, the Credit Union continued to promote financial literacy within local schools by offering educational programs, such as The Money Mammals® Kids Club, EverFi online Financial Education program, Cemark. and Adolescent$. Additionally, the Credit Union awarded 19 Teacher Grants, totaling over $9,000 to teachers from Coventry, Exeter-West Greenwich, Narragansett, South Kingstown, Stonington, and Westerly school districts. The Credit Union also awarded five scholarships, totaling $5,500 to students from Chariho, Coventry, Westerly and Stonington High Schools. Finally, the Credit Union partnered with the University of Rhode Island to offer a co-branded financial education program, Money Basics by URI.
In tradition, the Annual Holiday Basketball Tournament was held in December. The Credit Union was pleased to donate $2,114 to each of the four participating high schools’ (Chariho, South Kingstown, Stonington, and Westerly) sports boosters’ organizations. This raises the total amount donated to participating high schools since 1984 to $267,033.
Stefanski reported that in addition to the many donations to local charitable organizations, the Credit Union donated $75,000 to Wood River Health Services to help develop a new addition to the Hope Valley campus to meet increased demand for high-quality, broad-based services. The Credit Union also made a commitment to donate $150,000 to South County Health. This investment will allow the heath system to expand services, including improvements to the Radiation Therapy facility and the purchase of a new linear accelerator that emits specific doses of radiation with pinpoint accuracy directly to the tumor site.
The meeting concluded with Mr. White thanking everyone for all their hard work and recognizing Senior Staff, Board of Directors, and Supervisory Committee members for their professionalism, unwavering support, and commitment to our members and to the communities we serve. He also thanked our members for their continued support and understanding, stating their loyalty and patronage are the reasons we strive to achieve our goals and make this the best Credit Union possible.
About Westerly Community Credit Union: About Westerly Community Credit Union:
The WCCU mantra, #WCCUCares, emphasizes their focus on caring about their members, their members’ financial success, and their community. Established in 1948, Westerly Community Credit Union is a local, full–service financial institution that currently serves over 22,000 members with lending and deposit products through convenient locations in Westerly, Richmond, Wakefield, Coventry, and online at www.westerlyccu.com. Recent WCCU awards: Westerly Sun’s 2022 Readers’ Choice for Best Credit Union and top 3 for Best Mortgage Company and Best Financial Advisor; Southern RI 2022 Reader’s Choice Awards for Best Financial Institution and Best Financial Advisor; as well as PBN’s Best Places to Work (2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022).