Growth in several areas including loans and assets helped First Tech Federal Credit Union boost its net income in 2012 by 51% over 2011's figure.

The $5.6 billion credit union in Palo Alto, Calif., reported 2012 net income of $62.8 million. Total assets rose 9.3% to $5.6 billion, with total loans rising by 15.6% to $3.3 billion, according to First Tech.

The credit union said it is also well-capitalized with total reserves of $537.2 million, resulting in a prompt corrective action capital ratio of 9.57%, which compares to the NCUA's well-capitalized standard of 7%.

“During 2012, First Tech benefitted from the continuing economic recovery, strong growth within the U.S. technology sector and an improving housing market,” said Gregory Mitchell, president/CEO of First Tech. “Our strong financial performance is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our more than 800 employees who maintain a single-minded focus of delivering an exceptional experience for our members.”

First Tech said its 2012 results rank the credit union in the top tier of all U.S. credit unions based upon loan growth and asset quality and the top quartile based upon total earnings. The credit union said it will reinvest its 2012 earnings into the credit union.

“We expect this reinvestment to provide us with the resources needed to continue delivering competitively priced share and loan products for our members while also making significant technology and process investments that will allow us to better meet the needs of our members and their families,” Mitchell said.