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Local credit unions have felt the push of the pandemic in much the same way that banks have. These professionals have also issued CARES Act funding and helped sustain their customers over the past year.
Here is what they had to say:
Question: How is business going a little more than one year into the pandemic?
Answers:
Kevin Cole, President, Mid Oregon Credit Union — Mid Oregon Credit Union has grown significantly with stimulus funds, SBA Paycheck Protection Program loans, new accounts, auto, RV and mortgage lending. We kept our branches open throughout the pandemic and have seen a positive response from our members and the community. Remote work for our non-retail staff was a challenge. We are happy to be moving people back to their normal work locations. We continue to see robust demand for mortgages and commercial construction loans. We are also starting to see indicators that consumers are spending some of the savings they have accumulated over the past year through our debit card activity.
Stephen Wymer, Central Oregon Area Manager, OnPoint Community Credit Union — Since last year at this time, we have grown our service area, adding 15 counties to our charter and opening several new branches. By the end of 2021, OnPoint will have 55 branches across Oregon and Southwest Washington to better serve our members. We have also increased our membership from 395,000 to 432,000 and our assets from $6.5 billion to $8.1 billion. We have seen growth across our full breadth of services for both business and individual members, including an increase in residential mortgage loans across Central Oregon. Our growth means greater access and convenience to our full suite of services as we continue to hear from our members that they value the in-person experience at our branches. Our growth has also enabled us to invest more in the local community by creating jobs and support local nonprofits like the Bend Food Project and Sisters Kiwanis Food Pantry.
Question: What has changed since this time last year in terms of business?
Answers:
Cole — The biggest change is the labor market. A year ago, people who still had a job were not willing to risk making a change. Now we are finding it challenging to fill our open positions. We have also seen a 50 percent increase in usage of our digital banking options and higher volume in our contact center. Uncertainty is another big challenge. We do not know what COVID-19-related regulations are coming next or when the emergency regulations will end.
Wymer — In March 2021, we began the largest branch and service area expansion in our credit union’s history, opening the first four of 20 new branches in Fred Meyer stores across the region this year. As of now, we have opened eight of these new in-store branches and will open 12 more in the coming months.
We announced our historic expansion in December 2020 after adding 15 counties to our charter in June 2020, increasing our total to 28 across Oregon and two in Southwest Washington. With this charter expansion, more than four million Oregonians are now eligible for OnPoint membership.
Our growth has allowed us to invest more deeply in our region, creating up to 200 new jobs this year and increasing our philanthropic giving to record-breaking levels in the last year. In 2020 alone, we donated $1.65 million to 318 nonprofits focused on everything from Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and education to youth services, pandemic support and wildfire relief. This year is on track to be even bigger.
We also recently launched our Green Horizons initiative, making sustainable technology more affordable for people in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Specifically, our Green Auto Discount offers 0.25 percent APR off auto loan rates for new or used electric or hybrid vehicles financed through OnPoint. For every electric or hybrid vehicle loan approved, OnPoint will make a $250 or $125 donation to The Nature Conservancy in Oregon. Our Home Equity Solar Panel Discount allows homeowners to fix a portion of their line of credit for the purchase of solar panels and receive a 0.25 percent discount off the EquityFlex Fixed Portion APR. (For specifics and requirements about these Green Horizons programs, please visit onpointcu.com/green-horizons.)
Question: How has the disaster loan process gone? Are you still issuing loans, or has it slowed down now?
Answers:
Cole — Mid Oregon was one of the first lenders in Oregon to actually fund a Paycheck Protection Program Loan on April 13, 2020. We were able to help our members and other businesses that could not receive funding through their existing bank. Our team has done an amazing job, and we will continue to process PPP loans until the program ends. It was a very successful government support program, despite its challenges. Mid Oregon also made emergency loans to consumers, granted payment forbearance, waived fees and did as much as we could to help our members weather the crisis. I believe our efforts to support people during the crisis are one of the factors driving our continued growth as we come out of the crisis. Plus, our branches are open to serve people, which is not the case with some of our competitors.
Wymer — We have been thrilled to work with our members to get these critically needed funds into small-business owners’ accounts. We have seen these loans become a lifeline for some business members in communities across the region who have faced the pandemic’s financial impacts. We look forward to working with the Small Business Administration and our small-business members on current and future loan dollars that may become available.
Question: What have been your biggest challenges?
Answers:
Cole — Our biggest challenges involve staff. Initially, we had to implement a safety protocol that was changing daily. We had to address their fears. In April of 2020, our staff saw their friends, family and spouses furloughed or laid off. One of the things we did very early in the pandemic was to communicate openly with our staff about our financial position. We told them that no one was getting laid off because we needed everyone to make it through the pandemic. The team at Mid Oregon performed at an exceptionally high level, and we owe our success more to their effort than anything else.
Wymer — The biggest challenge is also our biggest opportunity, which is the growing need in our community. As a financial partner to our members and our community, we see firsthand the economic downturn’s impacts, whether it’s job loss or business slowdowns. OnPoint is meeting these challenges head-on by opening more branches, creating jobs, expanding services, pursuing innovation and developing meaningful partnerships that will improve the financial health of our members and region.
Question: What have been your greatest triumphs/silver linings in the past year?
Answers:
Cole — We did not allow COVID-19 to prevent us from achieving our key objectives. The ability to persevere despite the uncertainty and dire predictions is a testament to the resilience of our team. We also built a new senior leadership team to guide the organization through its next phase of growth. We added nearly 5,000 new members and reached the $500 million assets milestone (ahead of projections).
Wymer — Supporting the businesses and entrepreneurs in our community who employ thousands of people, spark growth and innovation and make Central Oregon such a special place to live. Investing in the financial wellbeing of our members through the most challenging times, offering customized services to address specific needs, including emergency loans, mortgage forbearance, the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program loans and more.
Question: What are your goals moving forward?
Answers:
Cole — We currently serve about one in ten households in Central Oregon. Our goal is to serve the other nine. Of course, that is a moving target with the influx of people moving to the area. If we continue to provide a strong value proposition backed by great service and convenient ways to do business, our potential is nearly unlimited. For now, we are staying focused on providing credit to Central Oregon households and businesses to support our local economy, providing tools to help people improve their financial resiliency, and making sure we have the best team to serve our members.
Wymer — Our goals are to continue expanding our service area, welcoming new members, investing more deeply in our region and providing more jobs across our communities.
As we grow our geographic footprint and membership, we will continue to increase our philanthropic giving to various organizations supporting the communities we call home. When we look ahead, we will also grow our efforts to protect our members and community from a spike in cyber-related crimes, and build on our commitment to education and financial literacy in our region.
Question: If you could impart one thing to the readership, what would that be?
Answers:
Cole — Mid Oregon is a cooperative financial institution that exists to provide financial services for our members to help them meet their needs and achieve their dreams. We are the only financial institution headquartered in Central Oregon. Anyone who lives or works in Central Oregon can be a member. When you do business with us, you are supporting the local economy and your community. Nearly all of Mid Oregon’s loans are in Central Oregon. One hundred percent of our staff lives and works here. We are your neighbors and friends. Our kids go to school with your kids and grandkids. Where you save and borrow makes a difference. We work hard to make the communities in Central Oregon better for everyone. We are proud of our story and look forward to sharing it with you.
Wymer — Now is the time to partner with your financial institution in planning for a future of financial wellness. At OnPoint, we work closely with our individual and business members to support them in starting, managing and growing their businesses. This includes working one on one to set goals, create roadmaps and determine the perfect financing solution for their unique needs. If you’re interested in learning more, we encourage you to contact one of our three branches in Central Oregon to discuss how we can help you and your business achieve your goals.
Question: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Answers:
Cole — Mid Oregon is a Community Development Financial Institution. This means we have a proven history of serving people of modest means. Over 60 percent of Mid Oregon Credit Union’s loan originations in 2019 and 2020 were loans made to low- and moderate-income households. Mid Oregon provides specialty programs to support workforce housing, programs to help consumers establish or re-establish credit and programs to provide almost any person a no-fee checking account to establish access to the financial system. Many people think they are not eligible to join Mid Oregon, but the truth is, most anyone who lives or works in Central Oregon is eligible to join.
