Our members and communities endured different challenges in 2022. While we continued to experience the ongoing economic and social impacts of the pandemic, there was the addition of rising inflation, historic rate increases and more recently, the repercussions of California and New York bank failures. To us, these challenges only reinforce our deeply held belief that it’s more important than ever to do business with people and companies you know and trust. Your credit union is the place you own.
There are many ways to measure the performance of a financial institution. Industry analysts rely on quantitative signs of strength, safety and growth. Others look at metrics and ratios that measure net income, capital, and market share. While all of these measurements are important, and Community First is a top performer, we think that the most important measurement is how we serve our members, locally, right here in Northeastern WI.
Community First’s consistent growth and strong financial performance are reflected in the numbers in this report. We were proud to welcome 11,034 new member-owners in 2022. Solid loan, deposit and asset growth, low delinquency and charge-offs, along with one of the lowest expense ratios in the industry, all resulted in an ROA of 1.40 and record net income of more than $70.4 million. We grew our capital 12.9%, making us one of the strongest financial institutions in the U.S. We take our responsibility as the safe keeper of your money seriously and work diligently to protect and maintain our financial strength.
But those numbers alone don’t show the thousands of lives that have been made better because of the shared value delivered by your financial cooperative.