During the recent recession we have observed members have taken a more conservative attitude regarding debt and have increased their savings. As a result, our assets have grown tremendously and our loan-to-share ratio has decreased. In turn, we have had to adjust our products and strategies to reflect these changes and uncertainty in the current economic environment.
In order to create demand, increase our loan to share percentage and manage our cost of funds we've found ourselves consistently lowering our loan rates over time. We currently offer a 10-year mortgage refinancing product at 2.99% annual percentage rate to attract new loans from current and potential members.
We have also changed our investment strategies somewhat and have increased purchases of adjustable rate federal agency securities to hedge against future rising rates.
While personnel policies haven't changed significantly, we have cut back on staff through attrition and have relied heavily on technology for increased productivity. We've also put more pressure on our business development officers with their work in the community to attract more members. We have focused on attracting younger members by increasing our interaction with today's youth and incorporating new programs such as Youth Councils, student groups composed of high school juniors and seniors, in our markets.
Jim Mitchell, CEO
Army Aviation Center FCU
Daleville, Ala.
