Chairman Report – Q1 2018
Changing Jobs/Knowing Your Options
Beehive Credit Union – President/Chief Executive Officer
Annual CEO Report
Shane Berger, President/CEO
First, I want all Beehive members to know that your credit union is strong and stable. We have been in business now for almost 58 years. Our capital (reserves) continues to grow each year providing a safety net sufficient to protect us from any financial storm. We continue to grow in number of members, and dollars in assets. Beehive is large enough to be independent and continue serving you indefinitely.
Beehive is different from other financial institutions. Rather than seeking high profits at the expense of customers or members, we continue to provide the most affordable, yet high-quality, services when compared with all other competitors. You may notice that local advertisements entice you to open a checking account and in return you will receive cash. Where do you think that cash comes from? Think about it. The answer is: The customer or the member. The customer or member will be paying for the incentive in the form of higher fees or less favorable rates. How do you feel about the practice of extracting money from you in order to pay someone else to be a member? While in the short term, you will have a few dollars in your pocket; in the long term, you will more than pay for that enticing cash incentive. Additionally, there are usually strings attached to the incentive with consequences that may cost or frustrate you in the future.
Beehive is different in another important way. Let me explain. Traditionally, banks have no restrictions about who can become a customer. In the past, credit unions were created to serve a defined group of people called a “field of membership”. Times and regulations have changed allowing many credit unions to serve very broad or loosely-defined fields of membership and geographic populations. One credit union doing business in Idaho once told a prospective member that they could join as long as they or one of their family members had ever purchased an appliance, such as a toaster. There is little unique or special about that credit union; almost like a bank. Beehive began serving LDS Church members and their families employed at Ricks College in 1960. Fifty-eight years later we still serve LDS Church members and their families who reside in Idaho and surrounding states. There is something special about serving a unique and defined group of people. We share and understand the values, beliefs, lifestyles, and sometimes unique needs of LDS Church members and find ways to satisfy those needs. For example, our Missionary Savings Account provides the opportunity to save for the costs of future missionary service. You will experience a different and special feeling when you enter our buildings and realize our employees really do want to help and serve your financial needs.
Finally, we know that it is important for you to access your accounts and transact business through many different methods, at anytime of the day or night and in any place in the world. For several years, Beehive has worked to implement financial services that allow members to access credit union services via smart phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop. And sometimes you also need to call or come in to our branches to ask questions or perform transactions. We are now able to do all of the above. The cost of doing business with Beehive is the lowest among our competitors. We want you to be a member for the rest of your life and conduct all of your financial business with Beehive. A local couple recently came home from their mission in Europe. Here is what they told me about their experience with Beehive: “You will be happy to know that we had absolutely no problems doing all of our banking, bill paying, etc. online through Beehive while on our mission here in France. We had our regular deposits and bills set up in advance on automatic payment, and just went to the online service for other things we needed to take care of from here. For all practical purposes, it wasn’t much different taking care of our financial matters from France as it would have been from Rexburg.”
I thank all of our nearly 28,000 Beehive members for the strength you provide to our member-owned financial cooperative. I wish for you prosperity and financial success in the upcoming year.