Some may assume small towns can provide only small opportunities for small credit unions. 

But executives and employees at the $82.7 million North Star Community Credit Union, based in the rural town of Cherokee, Iowa, which has just more than 5,000 residents, have a different perspective.

It's an optimistic perspective, backed by vision and hard work, which helped them launch a lending strategy in 2015 that exceeded expectations and represented the first step in the cooperative's ambitious, long-term growth goals of opening new branches and increasing membership in the remote, rustic corner of Northwest Iowa.

The region stands to reap the broad economic development rewards of the rising popularity of renewable energy, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Energy. Iowa leads the nation in wind power generation as a percentage of total power of 28%. That number is expected to increase to 40% by 2020 and triple by 2030, producing enough electricity for the equivalent of 6.3 million American homes, the DOE reported.

The six-county Northwest Iowa region is one of the most wind-rich areas of the U.S., according to the group Northwest Iowa Development. NSCCU serves these six counties as well as six other counties that are expected to benefit from the economic expansion of wind power – in addition to its staple industries of agriculture, advanced manufacturing, food processing, logistics and distribution – for years to come.

For now, however, the credit union is carving its own path of growth. In the 12 counties it serves, NSCCU operates three branches that serve a membership of nearly 10,000.

At the end of 2015, NSCCU posted loan growth of 20.6%, far surpassing the peer average of about 6.5%.

The credit union approved 3,952 of total new loans that amounted to $31.7 million; $23.8 million represented new dollars with a net total of $7.5 million in loan portfolio growth. The majority of growth was 53% in used cars and 24% in unsecured total dollars through a “get your debt under control” campaign. NSCCU also saw its membership increase by more than 1%.

And while new loans also could mean an increased risk of delinquencies, the credit union's delinquency rate declined to 0.55% in 2015, down from 1.31% in 2014.

The lending campaign was led by NSCCU Vice President Andrew G. Barriger. He was quick to point out, however, that the initiative was successful because of the vision, support and work of President/CEO Jeffrey L. Hayes, the board of directors, Marketing Manager Hayley Heims, loan officers and tellers.

Find out how NSCCU succeeded in generating double-digit loan growth in the Feb. 3, 2016 print edition of Credit Union Times.