Our Vision + Values
We are dedicated to helping our members achieve their financial goals through empowerment. We recognize that not all families look the same and not everyone has the same idea of what financial success looks like. That’s why we’re here to help guide, answer questions, and provide our members with the resources needed to achieve financial prosperity.
FAMILY
First and foremost, we value family. Our Copper State Credit Union family of employees, the member-families we serve and the families in our communities.
EMPOWERMENT
We value empowerment. We strive to empower our members with financial education, knowledge and tools to help them reach their goals. We also strive to empower our employees, giving them the tools they need to reach their career and personal growth goals.
DISCOVERY
We value discovery. We embrace a culture of curiosity and innovation. We encourage our members along with our employees to be courageous and forthcoming with new ideas.
EXCITEMENT
We value excitement. We aspire to make finances a positive and exciting experience for our member-families as well as our employees so everyone has a shared excitement to be part of our credit union.
RESPECT
Finally, we value respect. We prioritize a respectful environment for our staff and an uplifting community for our members where all treat one another as equals. We purposely appreciate the unique value each person brings to our credit union by practicing collaboration, kindness and empathy.
Chair and CEO's Report
Dear Fellow Members,
2023 was another strong year for Copper State Credit Union and our membership.
As a not-for-profit financial cooperative started in 1951, our structure is different. We were created by our members and are owned by our members. This unique structure allows us to put our members’ needs ahead of profits and empowers us to make better member-focused decisions and plans. We reinvest earnings back into the credit union to create value for our members in the form of higher deposit rates, lower loan rates and lower fees. Another priority is ensuring members have access to many financial tools and resources, modern online access, robust payment services, tools to improve & build credit and additional products that help members protect & grow their assets. We are ready and available to fund our members’ lives. Many organizations claim to have “members” and tout “membership” benefits, but very few are truly member-driven and member-owned.
Our credit union holds an annual meeting for its members, and each member is encouraged to vote for who will serve on the Board of Directors. Due to our vibrant and engaged membership, we have been fortunate to have some of the best visionary leaders serve on our Board. Our current Board boasts an average tenure of seven years and our Supervisory Committee’s average tenure is 11 years. This is truly exceptional and indicates the level of commitment our leadership has to our credit unions’ success.
Congratulations and my heartfelt thank you to the following Board members who are retiring this year:
- Tillie Jones, 21 Years
- Melanie Merrill, 13 Years
- Andrew Roberts, 6 Years
Safety and Soundness
As we celebrate our 73rd year as a member-owned financial cooperative, we continue to keep financial security and long-term viability our top priority. Our credit union continues to be considered “Well Capitalized” due to a net worth ratio of 8.31% (net worth/assets) and a risk-based capital ratio of 11.59% as of 12.31.2023. This includes almost $50 million in net worth or reserves which have accumulated over our 73-year history.
In addition to our credit union’s financial strength, we are highly regulated by the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions. Our members’ deposits are insured by the full faith of the United States through the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). The deposit insurance through the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund covers individual member deposits up to at least $250,000. The insurance can cover an even larger deposit amount when additional account owners or beneficiaries are included, or other structuring occurs. Visit https://mycreditunion.gov/insurance-estimator to find out your specific level of coverage. Historically and nationwide, credit union members have never lost even a penny of insured savings at a federally insured credit union.
Growth and Relevance
Copper State CU continues to provide valuable services to our members. We’ve shown consistent growth in membership, growth in balances and increase in the usage of payment systems. Since our merger of Canyon State Credit Union and Deer Valley Credit Union to form Copper State Credit Union in 2019, we have experienced an ideal growth in members, deposits and loans. As shown below, our membership has grown from 37,000 members to almost 46,000 members in five years. Member deposits rose from $376 million to over $517 million and member loans rose from $290 million to over $453 million.
![Chart for member growth Chart for member growth](https://www.copperstatecu.org/hubfs/2023%20Budget%20Pie%20Chart%20(3).png)
![Chart for member deposits Chart for member deposits](https://www.copperstatecu.org/hubfs/2023%20Budget%20Pie%20Chart%20(4).png)
![Chart for member loans Chart for member loans](https://www.copperstatecu.org/hubfs/2023%20Budget%20Pie%20Chart%20(5).png)
In addition to our primary goal of gathering more of our members’ assets and funding their lives, we also prioritize member feedback. Our members continue to be active participants in our credit union and don’t hesitate to provide praise when we do well and encourage us to improve in areas that need attention. Members provide feedback every day through all our channels of service including the branches, ATMs, our solution center, mobile banking, online banking and our website. Overall scores have been excellent and we celebrate the great service we provide our members.
We also pay close attention to member complaints and concerns when we miss the mark. We have a stealth action committee of employees and managers that go through every member comment and quickly act to resolve individual member issues and general service trends that need product or communication changes.
Thank you to our members for their continued support and professional feedback.
Staff and Management
Our staff culture continues to grow stronger based on our cornerstone of respect and care for our members and their financial lives. We have been able to attract and retain an excellent group of employees who enjoy the credit union mission and being part of something great. Our employees average almost eight years of service, and our management team averages nearly 11 years of service. We utilize complex systems and manage a wide variety of products, services, channels of delivery and market variables that require extensive on-the-job experience, as well as training. Our team members spend an average of over six hours per month in training which leads to our ability to provide exceptional service and value to our members. In 2023, we committed to the following statements about our culture, who we are and how we do our jobs daily.
We call them Copper Commitments and they go something like this:
• We are stronger because of our resilience
• We enjoy the journey and celebrate often
• We win with teamwork
• We show gratitude through words and actions
• We embrace our power to change
• We are mindful of our influence
• We strive for excellence over perfection
• I am part of something great and I live it every day
We will continue to grow and enhance our credit union to provide increased value to our member-families, helping them reach financial prosperity.
Thank you for your membership and continued support and participation!
Go Copper!
Andrew Roberts, Chair of the Board
Robb Scott, President/CEO
Credit Manager's Report
Our credit union grew loans in 2023.
Loan balances to members increased 2% in 2023 as compared to 14% in 2022. During 2023, the Federal Reserve continued to increase short term Federal Funds from near zero, leading to slower loan growth for our credit union. Despite the increase in rates, our members continued to borrow for homes, home improvements, vehicles and for additional needs.
We continue to experience a diversified demand for new loans as indicated by the loans mix from loans originated during 2023. Vehicle-related loans accounted for 52% of total loans and real estate-related loans were 40.81% of total loans originated in 2023.
![2023 Budget Pie Chart (6) 2023 Budget Pie Chart (6)](https://www.copperstatecu.org/hs-fs/hubfs/2023%20Budget%20Pie%20Chart%20(6).png?width=1024&height=768&name=2023%20Budget%20Pie%20Chart%20(6).png)
Due to the rapid increase in market rates, Copper State Credit Union’s loan portfolio increased yield on loans from 4.90% at the end of 2022 to over 5.18% at the end of 2023. Our loan rates and terms continue to remain competitive in the market and members value the savings as well as local underwriting.
Copper State Credit Union
In 2023 we completed several loan-related initiatives:
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Centralized lending team.
The loan sales process was centralized within lending operations. All member loan requests and consultations are handled by a small team of highly trained loan professionals. Member feedback about the speed and professionalism of the loan experience has been exceptional. Members' loan requests typically fund in less than one day.
Copper State CU continues to assist our members with their borrowing needs by:
- Providing financial education and advice.
- Working with local auto and RV dealerships to assist with member financing at the dealership.
- Purchasing a home, refinancing an existing loan and providing funding for home improvements.
- Assisting member-owned small businesses with business-purpose vehicles, properties and lines of credit.
- Assisting first-time vehicle buyers with affordable and responsible loan options.
The quality of the loan portfolio is measured by the amount of delinquent loans and loan charge offs or losses. During 2023, Copper State CU saw loan delinquency and charge offs increase to pre-pandemic levels of about 1.07% delinquency. This means that over 98.9% of loans are current and less than 60 days delinquent. Loan losses have increased in 2023 versus record low losses in 2022.
![Loan Delinquency Loan Delinquency](https://www.copperstatecu.org/hubfs/2023%20Budget%20Pie%20Chart%20(1).png)
![Loan Losses Loan Losses](https://www.copperstatecu.org/hubfs/2023%20Budget%20Pie%20Chart%20(2).png)
Copper State CU will continue to explore opportunities to be a strong financial partner and create value in the lives of our member-families along with our next generation of members.
Sincerely,
Greg Reiley
Credit Manager
Supervisory Committee Report
The Supervisory Committee of Copper State Credit Union provides the membership with an independent appraisal of the safety and soundness of Copper State CU’s operations and activities in compliance with credit union bylaws, Arizona law and the Federal Credit Union Act.
The committee is comprised of six credit union members who are appointed by the Board of Directors. The committee meets bi-monthly to review and discuss results of internal audit recommendations and the status of outstanding management’s actions on all prior recommendations. The committee meets with examiners from the National Credit Union Administration and the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions during regularly scheduled examinations to ensure your assets are secure through the implementation of sound financial policies, procedures and controls. The Supervisory Committee employs the independent accounting firm of Nearman Maynard Vallez CPAs to perform a comprehensive audit of the credit union’s year-end financial statements.
In addition, the Supervisory Committee works independently on behalf of Copper State CU members to ensure that questions or issues pertaining to individual member accounts are resolved. We are pleased to report that based on this work, Copper State CU is operating with a system of strong internal controls and is a sound financial institution.
On behalf of the Supervisory Committee, we are proud to be part of the Copper State CU organization and look forward to continuing the long tradition of providing financial security to our members.
Respectfully submitted,
David Matson
Chair, Supervisory Committee
2023 Financials
![2023 Financials 2023 Financials](https://www.copperstatecu.org/hubfs/2023%20Financials%20%20(2).png)
![2023 Financials graph 2023 Financials graph](https://www.copperstatecu.org/hubfs/2023%20Financials%20%20(3).png)