Could the Great Recession be over in Utah? It’s starting to appear that way as growth is slowly but surely trending in a positive direction.

For Goldenwest Credit Union, 2011 showed signs of improvement over recent years. We continued to work through a handful of troubled loans, increase the loan loss allowance, and operate in an exceptionally low interest rate environment. In fact, the Fed has projected overnight interest rates will remain at near or at zero percent into 2013.

However, even in a stale economy, Goldenwest was fortunate to conclude the year with net income increasing to $6.2 million and a strong return on assets of 0.81%. Furthermore, delinquency declined from 3.05% to 0.68%. Our net charge-off percentage dropped to 1.77%.

We are very pleased to announce our loan portfolio grew by $5.6 million, resulting in an overall 1.26% annual increase. Goldenwest added $13.2 million in assets, capping 2011 with $778,700,479 million in total assets. Of even greater importance, we maintained a healthy capital ratio to weather a turbulent economy with 11.31% of our assets in reserves.

Although it appears we will keep on dealing with a challenging economy in 2012, we are poised to take advantage of growth opportunities as they present themselves. We readily look forward to continue serving our members with financial services they can utilize for a brighter future.

I welcome your comments and suggestions at president@gwcu.org and 801-337-8331. I invite you to follow me on Twitter @GoldenwestCUCEO.

Thanks for your continued support,

Kerry H. Wahlen
President/CEO