Strong credit union growth. Source: Shutterstock
The Raleigh, N.C.-based Coastal Credit Union's experience through the pandemic resulted in a record swell in deposits, assets and mortgage volume, sending the credit union past the $4 billion asset mark.
"We're coming off a year where assets surged, fueled by an influx of deposits," Chuck Purvis, president/CEO, said. "The pandemic certainly affected member behavior, and many members who could, chose to stash away stimulus money and extra income."
Coastal made the announcement this week, adding that they went from $3 billion to $4.2 billion in assets in just two and a half years.
"Our assets grew by nearly 17% in 2020, with deposits trending up significantly, at nearly 19% annual growth. We also saw a second straight year of record mortgage volume, up 32% over 2019, and remained a top 3 lender in our market for auto and home equity loans," Purvis said.
The amount of money coming into Costal continues to grow, as its more than 280,000 members are receiving tax refunds and stimulus money from the latest round of COVID-19 relief money passed by Congress.
"What's interesting," Purvis added, "is that for nearly a full year, we grew while having our branch lobbies closed due to COVID-19 precautions. Service remained uninterrupted, though, as Coastal's tellers remained available seven days a week via our interactive teller machines, and members quickly shifted to our other digital services. In fact, by the fall, we were seeing more check deposits coming through our mobile app than through our tellers."
According to the announcement, the credit union will spend 2021 helping members and the community overcome the residual negative financial impact of the pandemic, while enhancing its digital service capabilities.
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Michael Ogden
Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.
