Community First Credit Union reaches key milestone

13 November 2017

Community First Credit Union has achieved a remarkable milestone, passing the $1 billion mark for assets under management (AUM) and celebrating 12 consecutive years of growth in NPAT.

In 2005 Community First Credit Union’s AUM were valued at $397 million. Today that figure has reached $1 billion. It was also inducted into the Palladium Group’s Hall of Fame in 2016 for Executing Strategy. In a short list of six companies worldwide, Community First was the only Australian company.

Mr John Tancevski, CEO of Community First Credit Union, said, “Our sustainable expansion demonstrates confident support from our members. We have backed this up with consistent annual growth across a range of products and services, and this growth is expected to continue rapidly in the current financial year. These achievements are all the more remarkable because Community First does not use mortgage brokers, preferring instead to develop a direct relationship with our customers”.

An innovative suite of products

Community First Credit Union’s ongoing success can be attributed in part to an award-winning suite of innovative products including:

• The Matrimoney wedding account – allowing engaged couples to request the gift of money electronically instead of presents for their wedding day,
• “Green” loans – low rate loans that can be used for eco-friendly home improvements, and
• McGrath Pink Visa Credit Card – which sees half the $40 annual card fee donated to the McGrath Foundation to help fund McGrath breast care nurses in communities across Australia.

Mr Tancevski said, “Innovation has remained one of our core strengths as we recognise our customers’ changing needs. Community First Credit Union was the first credit union in Australia to launch a smartphone app and we pioneered the use of “concept stores” as a more customer-centric alternative to the traditional bank branch in 2006. We are continuing this leadership today.”

One-on-one service

Sustainable growth has also been underpinned by a focus on customer service. This is reflected in Community First Credit Union’s net promoter score of +39.

Mr Tancevski said, “We are extremely competitive on rates and fees, and we are regulated like a bank, so we offer the same level of security. However, we offer a far more intimate interaction with our members, and our service has to be outstanding because we are customer-owned.”

“Community First Credit Union gives its members a highly personalised experience, and this is evidenced by our net promoter score of 39+ compared to an average score of -10 among the big banks.”

“Our smaller scale gives us the capacity to provide customers with one-on-one service. We maintain a domestic call centre for instance, so our members know they are dealing with a locally-based representative, who readily understands their needs,” added Mr Tancevski.

Having passed the $1 billion in assets milestone – and backed by 12 successive years of profit growth, Community First Credit Union has a solid foundation on which to build further growth for its customers.