Darren Williams President/CEO

To Our Members
Navigating the Economic Downturn

Our nation continues to navigate the current economic downturn, and we can see that its effects have touched almost everyone — including credit unions. We've told you about the efforts Wescom has made to overcome the challenges we face. We have a long road ahead of us, but the good news is that the strategic initiatives we launched late last year are producing results. We implemented cost-reduction measures, revamped our collections efforts, and are working with members experiencing financial difficulties. Without these measures, we would likely have seen our own road to recovery grow even longer.

Each day we think about you, our members, and we are always mindful of our mission: to help members build better lives. No matter where you are on the financial spectrum, you took a big step toward a better life by becoming a member of your credit union. We know that you look to us as your trusted financial partner, and in times like these, it is important that we remember the basic concepts of the credit union movement. As member/owners of Wescom, you know that credit unions provide a distinct advantage in the financial marketplace, and we want you to know that we stay focused on preserving that very special credit union advantage. We remain committed to meeting your borrowing needs with quality loans that preserve our financial strength. Making the dream of homeownership come true for our members has always been a key part of our mission — and our approach to lending continues to be based on sound business practices that mitigate risk to the credit union and don't compromise your financial future. That's why Wescom has never made subprime home loans.

For many Americans, and likewise for many Wescom members, the financial climate in which we find ourselves is unprecedented. It's almost certain that every one of us has taken stock of how good a job we are doing at keeping our financial house in order, and have perhaps made some changes to better utilize our resources. We've certainly done that at the credit union. As a result, last month we announced some changes to our fee structure. We've had feedback from some of you who wondered about the rationale for, and the timing of, the changes.

First, let me say that it is always a difficult decision to increase any fee we charge you, our members. But in reality, it has been a number of years since we had a comprehensive review of fees, and we learned that while we have changed loan rates and deposit rates very regularly, our fee structure was simply out of date. We made the recent changes with the intent of continuing to provide value and to ensure that the costs of the services we offer are extended to the specific users of those services. If you don't use a service, you aren't charged a fee. Seems reasonable, doesn't it? But if, over time, the fee we charge users is inadequate, contributions from members who don't use the service subsidize the cost of offering it. When we use income from members who don't use a service to help pay for offering the service to members who do, we reduce our ability to offer better rates on loans and savings. We think our new structure does both; it represents value in the financial marketplace, and it preserves equity in the benefits received by all of our members.

We want your credit union membership to be your financial lifeline as we navigate current times. We are here to serve you. Like all economic downturns, this one too will end in recovery, though maybe not as soon as we'd like. Economists disagree on how long this cycle will last, and even whether current conditions constitute a recession. But what is clear is that Wescom remains one of the nation's strongest and most secure Credit Unions. What's also clear is whether we are navigating clear seas or rough water, we'll be here for you whenever you need us.