Hello and welcome to 2022.

As we begin a new year, I like to look back to see what we as a credit union have accomplished over the last year. Of course, we measure our success financially, but we also focus on how well we’ve served our members. After all, that is the reason that we exist.

While 2021 was a difficult year for many, financially, Members Trust FCU had a good year. We saw growth of over 11% and ended the year with assets over $191 million. We had a good net income of more than $1.7 million. Membership growth was also good at almost 5%; however, this is an area we’d like to improve. There is strength in numbers, both financial numbers and member growth because it allows us to spread out costs over more units and gain improved efficiencies.

While I like looking at the numbers and sharing these results, the health of the credit union is important because we know the world is changing at a rapid pace. If we do not adapt, grow, and stay ahead of the curve, we won’t be able to provide the services that our members require and deserve. Growth in itself is not necessarily the right thing, but strategic growth allows us to provide more services to our members and prosper well into the future.

Speaking of strategic growth, we are excited to roll out several new products in 2022. In February, we are launching our new contactless debit cards with the MasterCard Brand. Later this year, we will launch a student loan option and a mortgage loan program that gives us the option to sell into the secondary market. In addition, we are in the process of enhancing our data processing and cyber security systems along with upgrading accounting software and commercial lending software. These are expensive investments, but we feel these are necessary to serve our members.

Equally important are the loyal and hardworking staff that we have here at Members Trust. We are blessed with a group of people that understand the importance of member service. We’ve added several key positions over the last several years to enhance our leadership team. We now have key individuals in Financial, Information and Technology, Lending and Operations. With this leadership team, we can specialize and strengthen each area to ensure we are offering the best services to our members.

Finally, thank you to our members for trusting us with your business. We know that you have many choices when it comes to your banking needs, and we appreciate it when you think of us first.

Best wishes to you for a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2022.

Brian C. Gilbert
President/CEO