SECU Financial Year-End In Review: 'Da Numbers!

   How did 2025 go?

 SECU "closes out the books" on June 30 of each year and "counts the beans"!For those of you who missed it; Ms. Leigh Brady, SECU CEO, emailed her review of 2025 performance today. There were many good things to report; here take a look in case you missed it [link] .

'Course as you might suspect, I have a few "observations". While our CEO's praise of favorable rates can still be challenged, the outflow of member funds has reversed and of equal importance that "iffy" $5 billion Fed loan has been repaid. Member borrowing is steady; but the continuing, elevated levels of delinquency and charge-offs are not mentioned at all - and bear continued scrutiny as the national economy wavers. Expenses "...lower than budget" also passes over the much higher than historical cost percentages.

Several periodic refreshes in mortgage systems, ATMs and voice response technology are positive, but the oft-touted digital platform is now scheduled for 2026 and that much-hyped "core replacement" remains an unscheduled promise! 

Wanted to mention "the core upgrade" in particular, because so many SECU tech employees were unfairly and falsely maligned over "1983 technology" while the Board twiddled [link] [link] [link] .  Hope it's beyond obvious that SECU continues to excel (according to Ms. Brady!), using that "decrepit" technology; and, evidently will need to do so for several more years. Shame always on "the leadership" for this striking employee injustice.

No specifics on the success of the rewards card program; and no details on the upcoming selling and risk/race rating of mortgage loans, which ... well believe we've discussed those issues before, haven't we! The work of the SECU Foundation always a plus!

This was a wow!: "But even more impressive was the number of new members we welcomed to SECU over the last fiscal year – 174,878! " That truly is impressive as the usual number is @75,000 annually. What would you suspect triggered that... great management, social media, Super Bowl ad?? [Nah... hint, (spelled backwards): C-I-V-I-C ... keep your eye on that situation!]  

✅ But most important given the rapidly evolving national "merger/conversion/ bank-wannabee"  push among credit unions was this quote:

"We don’t seek to merge with or acquire other financial institutions, but instead we focus on relationships and organic growth. It’s what our organization has done best for the past 88 years! "   

😎 How do we as member-owners of SECU assure that statement holds true in the future?

 

  Or is that statement just another ... "no formal proposal proposal" from you know who?!?

SECU 2025 Annual Meeting Member Resolutions: Transparency - The Cat's Meow?

    ... Here we go again!

✅ Need to keep talking about credit union mergers, the confiscation of member equity, and other signs of member misanthropy on the national scene. Credit union members need to be aware of where the credit union movement is sliding -   downhill on a slippery slope toward a "new/new", for-profit "industry standard"? [check out these questions - link]  

😎 ... but don't want SECU members to lose sight of the "What's next?" for the upcoming 2025 Annual Membership Meeting. So far, as SECU members, the Board of Directors as unilaterally eliminated our ability to speak at the annual meeting, to ask questions, or to introduce resolutions. [link]

The next round will begin this week with a request to the SECU Board for the ability of members to submit - in advance - resolutions - dealing only with governance issues - for consideration by the entire SECU membership.

As a refresher on where we stand on this question, take a re-look at SECU Board Chair Mona Moon's previous response to a member request for guidance [link].

Will be asking later this week for those Board approved protocols and procedures to enable all member, open discussion on the democratic governance of SECU... stay tuned! 

  A little fresh air can't hurt... can it?