MANCHESTER, N.H.– St. Mary’s Bank hosted its 110th Annual Shareholders Meeting to review 2018, an occasion it said is made more special given its status as the nation’s first credit union.
“We are still, at heart, the very same credit union we were in 1908,” said Dan Healy, chairman of the board. “With every step forward, we go back to where it all began to remind ourselves that members are the reason we are here.”
This philosophy resulted in strong results in 2018, as St. Mary’s Bank said it generated $149 million in residential mortgage loans, nearly $24 million in commercial loans and $215 million in new consumer loans.
In 2018, St. Mary’s Bank ended the year with $1.003 billion in assets and $897 million in total deposits. The credit union’s loan portfolio ended the year at $854 million.
Acknowledging the numbers were strong in 2018, including an 89% increase in net income over 2017, Ron Covey, president and CEO of St. Mary’s Bank, said it is also focused on several member satisfaction initiatives.
“We upgraded our online banking services, enhanced mobile banking, introduced new products to help members and remodeled and modernized facilities,” he said.
One key technology upgrade in 2018 was the introduction of Wallet Pay, including Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay. The credit union also replaced its online and mobile banking services with Alkami.
“It’s a much more robust and intuitive system that allows members to manage their finances seamlessly across all devices,” said Covey.
New product highlight included the Rainy Day Savings account, which pays 5% interest on the first $499 in savings and 3% on the next $500.
According to a 2017 Federal Reserve report, 44% of adults nationally would not be able to cover an unexpected expense of $400 without borrowing or selling something to do so. “This tiered deposit account is designed to help our members save,” he said.
In addition to remodeling its Elm Street branch, Covey said another key initiative in 2018 was further developing their Volunteering program, which included its 110th Anniversary Volunteer Challenge.
Under the Volunteering program, employees collectively volunteered a total of 5,093 hours in 2018. In addition to significantly increasing the number of volunteer hours over 2017, Covey said 151 employees logged volunteer hours.
“While we always informally supported volunteer time off during the work day, we made Volunteer Time Off with pay a formal program in 2018,” said Covey.
Covey also discussed its Scholarship Program, which provides scholarships to St. Mary's Bank members, employees and their families.
At the meeting, past recipient Alexandra Lominy spoke about the opportunities provided to her through the scholarship, which helped her through nursing school.
“Alexandra is the embodiment of all we try to accomplish at St. Mary’s Bank,” said Covey, who noted St. Mary’s Bank increased its investment in the program for the upcoming academic year to twelve $1,000 scholarships, eight of which will be awarded to members and four will be designated for family members of employees.
“From member service initiatives to community stewardship, 2018 was a year of great progress and growth,” remarked Healy. “This year’s 110th Annual Shareholders Meeting was a way to not just celebrate our successes as the nation’s first credit union, but our members who have put their trust in us over the years.”
After the Annual Shareholders Meeting, St. Mary’s Bank held an Organizational Meeting at which Guy Chapdelaine CPA was elected chairman of the board and Steve Grzywacz as vice chairman.
Serving as SMB’s Chairman for the past three years, Healy will remain on the board as a director.