Annual Reports

In our first full post-pandemic year, VacationLand Federal Credit Union’s management and staff were diligent in successfully maneuvering through our business plan while making significant accomplishments in 2023. At the top of the list is the completion of our new Huron County branch located at 26 Executive Drive in Norwalk. The new branch is the culmination of a six-year journey to expand our field of membership into Huron County and surrounding areas. We are thrilled to be part of the Norwalk and Huron County communities and look forward to many years of mutual success within our expanded footprint. Also in 2023, we implemented processes to apply and become a member electronically through secure online portals. Plus, we now have the ability to instantly issue new, lost or compromised debit cards on site. Both of these will greatly enhance our overall member experience for years to come.

I am pleased to report that the credit union remained financially strong and healthy in 2023 as we weathered the storm imposed over the past several years. Our 2023 financial statements convey a strong and manageable asset growth of 1.81% and a very healthy return on asset (ROA) of .83%. Our capital ratio increased slightly to 12.52%, well above the NCUA mandated floor limit. The remainder of our core ratios were well within peer comparisons. However, membership growth remained relatively flat showing a slight gain of .64%.

Financially in 2022, the credit union experienced new record-setting trends which created the opposite effect of the prior two years. Excess member deposits started to run off as inflation, consumer prices, and interest rates rose to new record highs creating the highest and fastest rate increase in recent history. All three of these events once again changed the overall structure of the credit union’s balance sheet. Given these challenges, I am pleased to report that our 2022 year-end financial ratios remained strong with a very stable and manageable asset size of $294.0M, a very healthy .83% ROA and a strong Capital to Asset ratio of 11.86%, all well within or better than our credit union peers.

As much as the last three years have been a challenge operationally for the credit union, I want to thank our staff for all their hard work and dedication to our members, along with our volunteer Board and Supervisory Committee for their guidance throughout the pandemic. I also want to thank our membership for your continued support and patience as we move into 2023. We feel privileged to serve you and thank you for giving us the opportunity to help you meet all of your financial goals.

We are happy and proud to say that 2021 was a record year for generating income and building capital for the credit union. We accomplished a lot financially while managing the lingering issues resulting from the COVID Pandemic.

One contributing factor to our financial success came from a Federal Grant to support lending to low-income and minority members. We have identified property in Norwalk to prepare to serve our expanded field of membership in Huron County as well as portions of Seneca and Sandusky counties and look forward to announcing that in the very near future as we finalize the purchase.

One ongoing challenge that we faced in 2021 and anticipate a continuing challenge in 2022 is employment. Like many businesses and organizations in our country, staffing our branches has been difficult. We have experienced absenteeism and turnover. We have been blessed with the quality of employees we have retained and hired. We offer competitive wages and benefits in an effort to sustain the quality of our employees with the goal of providing the best service to our members.

At VacationLand, we take on the challenges and look for opportunities. We have learned from our experiences and are prepared for alternative ways to help our members.

From modest roots to a thriving community credit union, VacationLand Federal Credit Union embraces what it takes to provide products and services that benefit our members now, and well into the future. Our members give us the strength and motivation to move forward.

We are happy to report that our capital position remains strong and our financial ratios remain in line with industry standards. While facing down the year’s fiscal challenges, we were still able to assist our members dealing with financial difficulties resulting from job cutbacks or loss by offering loan forbearances, fee waivers, and low-interest short-term loans among many other accommodations.

We thank our employees, Board and Supervisory Committees for their hard work and dedication to VacationLand. We thank you, our members, for your continued support and look forward to a safe and prosperous 2021.

We’re happy to report that 2019 was a healthy financial year for us. Our 2019 financial statement shows:

• Asset growth of 6.97%
• Loan growth of 3.83%
• ROA of .92%
• Capital ratio of 10.98%
• Membership increase of 1.92%

VLFCU remains in the upper tier of our credit union tier group, in all ratio categories.

Some of our plans for 2020 include streamlining loan and deposit processes for improved member service, including IT-related processes; developing a formal succession plan for pending key retirements; and continuing to identify and implement non-interest revenue streams to support our long-term success.