Retired Vantage West CEO takes over at We Florida Financial

We Florida Financial Credit Union in Margate, Fla., has named Robert D. Ramirez its new president and CEO.

Robert D. Ramirez, the new CEO of We Florida Financial
Robert D. Ramirez, the new CEO of We Florida Financial

Ramirez replaces Lloyd Gill, who joined the credit union as an executive vice president in 2001 and was appointed CEO in 2010. We Florida representatives said Gill “elected to take an early retirement this year,” though his LinkedIn profile indicates he is seeking executive-level positions.

An industry veteran with more than 34 years of experience in the credit union movement, Ramirez comes to We Florida after having retired from Tucson, Ariz.-based Vantage West Credit Union last year. During his time at Vantage West, Ramirez oversaw growth from $507 million to more than $2 billion in assets.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to join the We Florida Financial team and continue to grow its mission of community service and financial inclusion,” Ramirez said in a press release. “Our name says it all; unity, shared purpose and mutual trust as a community credit union that values our members as neighbors.”

The $565 million-asset We Florida posted earnings of just under $453,000 during the first half of the year, compared with more than $2 million during the same period in 2019. Charge-offs have risen nearly 200%, to almost $6.5 million, driven primarily by an increase in nonmember commercial loans not secured by real estate, according to call report data from the National Credit Union Administration. Noninterest income dropped by about 16% while interest income fell by about 2%.

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