Coast Capital achieves record net income and half million membership milestone

SURREY, BC, March 5, 2013 /CNW/ - Coast Capital Savings today announced record financial results for 2012, with net income increasing by nearly 17 per cent from $62 million to an all-time high of $72.4 million, while membership rose to top the half million member mark.

The results show total loans grew by 9.8 per cent from $9.8 billion at the end of 2011 to $10.8 billion on December 31, 2012. Coast Capital's commercial business contributed significantly to the organization's financial health. Commercial loans grew by 18.5 per cent from $2.1 billion in 2011 to $2.5 billion in 2012, mainly in commercial mortgages and equipment financing.

President and CEO Tracy Redies attributes the financial institution's results and membership growth to an ongoing commitment to help customers manage, save, grow and protect their money. She said the growth in Coast Capital's commercial operations in 2012 has benefited local economies and strengthened communities in which the credit union operates.

"We've worked hard to provide consumers with real financial help and opportunities to save money," Redies said. "For example, through our popular free chequing account, we saved our customers an estimated $38 million in banking fees last year, based on how much they would have paid with other financial institutions. This is especially important in difficult economic times and our value-based brand has truly resonated with consumers who are looking for an alternative to traditional banks, and also want to do business with organizations that give back to their community."

Redies said Coast Capital's community investment increased by nearly five per cent from $5 million in 2011 to $5.2 million in 2012 (the credit union allocates seven per cent of its pre-tax profits annually to the community). The 2012 investments included a $1 million contribution to establish the Coast Capital Savings Innovation Hub, a partnership with UBC's Sauder School of Business to support early stage ventures devoted to solving social and environmental problems.

Don Coulter, Coast Capital's chief financial officer, said given the challenging economic and interest rate environment, fiscal prudence and a commitment to new business development were critical to the credit union's 2012 results.

"Our 2012 financial performance is the result of an increased focus on growing all our lines of business and this generated other income to offset the revenue reductions stemming from the challenging interest rate environment," Coulter said. "While we saw good performance from all our business lines, unprecedented growth particularly in our commercial portfolio played an important part in buoying our financial results."

According to Coulter, retained earnings increased by 11.6 per cent from $616.6 million in 2011 to $688 million in 2012 and total deposits increased by 8.5 per cent from $10.3 billion to $11.2 billion. Coast Capital also saw a 7.1 per cent increase in total assets from $11.7 billion to $12.6 billion.

Below are additional highlights of Coast Capital's 2012 performance:

• Residential mortgage growth was 7.9 per cent, an increase of $587.6 million
• Revenue was $323.3 million in 2012, compared to $311.4 million the previous year, an increase of 3.8 per cent
• Coast Capital members opened more than 28,000 Free Chequing Free Debit and More™ accounts last year
• Membership grew from 486,000 at the end of 2011 to 504,000 as at December 31, 2012
• Total assets under administration grew from $13.5 billion to $14.6 billion between 2011 and 2012, an increase of 7.7 per cent.

Despite Coast Capital's positive results, Redies cautioned that financial institutions will be faced with a tough market in 2013 and that to meet this, Coast Capital will focus its efforts on ensuring its competitive value proposition remains top-of-mind among consumers.

"2013 will continue to be a challenging economy for everyone, but I'm confident that if we continue to provide Canadians with innovative products, exceptional service and simple financial help, they will continue to turn to us to help them reach their financial goals."

Coast Capital Savings Credit Union is Canada's second largest credit union with total assets under administration of $14.6 billion, 504,000 members and 50 branches in the Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, and Vancouver Island regions of British Columbia. Product innovations include Canada's first free chequing account from a full-service financial institution and the country's most flexible mortgage product, the You're the Boss™ Mortgage, which was named 2010 Mortgage of the Year by canadianmortgagetrends.com. Coast Capital offers one of Canada's 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures™. It is a member of Canada's Best Managed Companies Platinum Club and an Imagine Canada Caring Company. To learn more, visit www.coastcapitalsavings.com.

SOURCE: Coast Capital Savings Credit Union

Divine Agodzo, Manager, Media Relations, Coast Capital Savings
Phone: [phone]
Email: [email protected]