Altura CU Reports 'Exceptional' Income Growth in Q1

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Altura Credit Union reported net income of $3.2 million on assets of $1.2 billion for the quarter ended March 31.

The CU said income for the quarter was budgeted at $840,000 due to ongoing costs related to Altura's 2015 merger with Visterra Credit Union. According to management, that projection was "exceeded by a wide margin" as overall performance in the first quarter was "substantially better than expected."

Altura's net worth ratio was 10.37% at the end of the first quarter ("well capitalized").

"We are very pleased with our performance in the first quarter. Things are going very, very well," Mark Hawkins, president and CEO of Altura CU, said in a statement. "The benefits derived from our recent merger, combined with the continued strengthening of the Inland Empire's economy, has had a direct and positive impact on our bottom line. Member support has been especially strong with increased loan production and heightened new member activity. This has really brightened our outlook for the balance of 2016."

The unemployment rate in the Inland Empire – a region east of Los Angeles and Altura's main service area – dropped to 5.8% in February, according to the State of California's Employment Development Department in its April announcement. That figure is down from a high of nearly 15% in mid-2010, and marks the region's lowest rate of unemployment since June 2007.

Altura said its lending is stronger in all areas, which is adding to its revenue growth. The CU also experienced a "significant" boost in new members, adding nearly 3,300 in the first quarter.

Altura -- along with almost every other financial institution in the Inland Empire -- suffered terrible losses during the recession due to widespread unemployment and plummeting home values. At the end of 2007 it had more than $1 billion in assets, but then lost $13.7 million in 2008, $20.1 million in 2009 and $5.8 million in 2010.

The turnaround began in 2011, when it reported net income of $8.4 million after $1.5 million in assessments. In 2012 Altura had net income of $17.4 million after paying $589,000 in assessments.

Altura said it had net income of $11.18 million in 2013 — making 2011-2013 the best three-year period in the credit union's history.

It had $11.6 million in net income for full year 2014, then net income of $5.95 million for 2015. Altura's net worth ratio was 8.13% at the end of 2007, but dipped to as low as 5.61% ("undercapitalized") in December 2009 before rebounding.

Based in the Inland Empire for 58 years, Altura Credit Union serves 116,000 members via 13 branch offices in Riverside County.