Ontario Credit Union Earnings Up 20 Per Cent in 2010, Central 1 Announces

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - April 14, 2011) - Central 1 Credit Union announced today that its member credit unions in Ontario posted earnings of $114.9 million before taxes and dividends in 2010, a gain of 20 per cent from a year earlier.

That compares with previous record earnings by member credit unions of $107.8 million in 2007.

Central 1, the wholesale financial facility and trade association for the Ontario and B.C. credit union systems, had 119 active member credit unions in Ontario at year-end 2010. These credit unions saw their total assets grow by 7.8 per cent to reach $23.2 billion at year-end, a gain of $1.6 billion.

Higher financial margin, largely due to robust loan growth of 8.5 per cent and favourable interest rate spreads, was the key factor driving the improvement in earnings.

"Ontario credit unions responded to their members' demand for mortgage and business loans as the economy began to improve," said Don Rolfe, Central 1's president and chief executive officer.

Residential mortgage loans, which form just over half of the total portfolio, were up by 10.3 per cent to $10.5 billion. Loans to small and medium-sized businesses, representing one-third of the portfolio, increased by 9.1 per cent to $6.7 billion. The total portfolio amounted to $19.2 billion at year-end.

The 90-day loan delinquency rate improved, dropping to 0.79 per cent of the total portfolio value at year-end, down from 0.87 per cent in 2009. This is well within manageable levels by historical standards.

"Loan growth was financed mainly by increased deposits," said Rolfe.

Deposits of the credit unions' 1.2 million members grew by a healthy 8.4 per cent to $20.9 billion. Members received a total of $19.4 million in dividends.

Financial information in this release is preliminary and unaudited and is based on reports by Ontario member credit unions to the Deposit Insurance Corporation of Ontario (DICO).

Central 1 also announced today the 2010 financial results of its member credit unions in British Columbia, in a separate release available at www.central1.com.

About Ontario Credit Unions

At year-end 2010, Central 1 had 119 active member credit unions in Ontario, with 470 branches and a network of 497 automated teller machines serving 1.2 million members in more than 190 communities. These credit unions employ nearly 5,000 Ontarians.

About Central 1

Central 1 is the central financial facility and trade association for the B.C. and Ontario credit union systems. Central 1 represents a consumer-oriented, full-service retail financial system that serves 2.9 million members and holds $70 billion in assets and is owned primarily by its member credit unions, 45 in B.C. and 119 in Ontario.

With offices in Vancouver, Mississauga, and Toronto, Central 1 provides a wide range of services such as liquidity management, direct banking, and flexible payment service solutions. For more information, visit www.central1.com.