As a local, member-owned, not-for-profit credit union, we are not immune to the financial challenges that plagued the global economy in 2023. From higher borrowing costs to inflation’s impact in nearly every area of our lives, most of us experienced financial setbacks that we’re still working to overcome. However, where there is challenge, there is opportunity. We were able to offer some incredible rates on our Certificates of Deposit and our Unitus Rewards savings shares. That means more of you could take advantage and build your rainy day savings, your emergency fund, or your generational wealth. These opportunities put a silver lining on the tough financial storm cloud that was 2023.

While we hope the outlook for 2024 is a little sunnier, Unitus is in a strong position because we have strength in numbers: our membership, our net worth, and our community partnerships. 6,804 new members joined Unitus in 2023, bringing our total membership to 104,934. We ended the year with a net worth of 9.76%, well above what is considered well-capitalized. And we partnered with 60 charitable causes and organizations across Oregon and Southwest Washington, contributing more than $400,000 to these deserving partners.

Our strength goes beyond the bottom line or our community giving. With members at the heart of every decision we make, we center our strategic priorities around Inspiring Service, Inclusion, and Innovation. As the financial and economic landscape changes, we must do more than simply change with it. We need to lead the way. We have the Board leadership and staff in place to stay at the forefront of our industry, positioning us to innovate new ways to serve members, connect with communities, and improve access to our financial products and services.

Throughout this report, you’ll see strong evidence that our strategic priorities help us remain financially strong, committed to community, and member focused. Everything from providing funding for new entrepreneurs to offering market-leading rewards products are possible because of our members. Being a part of a not-for-profit credit union is a gift to your community. You help people access funds for their first home. You help us invest in technology that improves access for everyone. You make a difference in your local and global communities as we fight food insecurity, assist when disaster strikes, and work to provide financial education and resources to anyone who needs them. That is truly what it means to have strength in numbers.

We are committed to serving you and providing you value through your membership. We will continue to make responsibile financial decisions that keep your credit union strong. We’re here to support you today, and we’ll be here to support you tomorrow, because of our strength in numbers. Thank you for being a loyal member of Unitus Community Credit Union.

INSPIRING

SERVICE

2023

IN REVIEW

Whether it’s a car, a home, or an education—Unitus’ inspiring service helped thousands of dreams come true in 2023! Funding loans is about more than the bottom line; each loan means a member is able to achieve one of their financial goals.

161

685

Other consumer loans closed for a total of

$4,203,354

It pays to turn to the home loan experts at Unitus Mortgage—literally. Through our HomeAdvantage® program, members buying or selling their homes earn cash rewards, which totaled $33,218 in 2023. Learn more about how HomeAdvantage® works.

I highly recommend anyone in the area looking for a loan and purchasing a home to use Unitus. Not only did CK make our process as easy as possible but she was able to walk us through every step and they have systems in place for you to learn and gain credit to put toward closing! I will continue to recommend them to anyone who ask! I can not thank CK and the Unitus team enough!

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— Courtney I.

5-Star Google Review

First introduced in 2022, Unitus Rewards is now a signature product for the credit union. Members who enroll in Unitus Rewards earn 5¢ for every debit card purchase of $5.00 or more. They can also choose to “round up” their change to the nearest dollar. The Rewards and round-up cash are automatically deposited into a Unitus Rewards Savings Account, a high-yield savings account.

Members are definitely getting rewarded.

Last year, members earned $636,142

through Unitus Rewards.

In 2023, we also introduced our Unitus Rewards Cash Back Credit Card. That card earns 1.5% cash back, with the cash back automatically deposited into that same Unitus Rewards Savings Account.

We’re thrilled we can help members build up their savings while they simply do what they’re already doing: making purchases and paying the bills!

As part of Unitus’ commitment to serving as an inclusive financial partner, we’ve helped establish the Juntos Avanzamos Northwest Chapter, a group of PNW credit unions and partners who empower and support Hispanic and immigrant communities. This chapter consists of all seven PNW credit unions that have earned the Juntos Avanzamos designation from Inclusiv, an organization whose mission is to help low- and moderate-income people and communities achieve financial independence through credit unions.

Unitus hosted the first Juntos Avanzamos Northwest Chapter roundtable event in 2023, bringing credit union leaders, national practitioners, and lawmakers togther to learn and share best practices.

The formalization of a regional roundtable and permanent working group represents another groundbreaking moment in the evolution of Juntos Avanzamos as the national standard for credit unions serving the Hispanic and Immigrant markets. We recognize and celebrate the leadership, commitment, and support of everyone who came together to reaffirm our goal to position credit unions as the financial institution of choice for the Latino community.

— Pablo DeFilippi

Inclusiv EVP

Learn more about Juntos Avanzamos and what it means within our organization, our community, and for our members.

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In 2023, we continued our $75,000 multi-year partnership with Western Oregon University (WOU) in support of their Bilingual and Diverse Teachers Scholars Program, which aligns resources and opportunities for students to become licensed bilingual teachers. In addition to receiving renewable three-year scholarships, graduates also receive preferred hiring in their home school district and future employment in Oregon schools, allowing them to return and make a difference in their community. As part of our collaboration we had the opportunity to meet and celebrate the eight students selected for these scholarships in person, as well as hear from Beaverton School District Superintendent Gustavo Balderas, a WOU alumnus and President of the National Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents.

As part of the global cooperative movement, Unitus recognizes engaging with credit unions around the world can provide insight to improve financial practices here at home. In 2023, we hosted Ana Braunias and Herb Wulff from New Zealand’s First Credit Union. It’s part of an annual exchange we developed in 2019. The exchange is an opportunity for both credit unions to share insights, learn about a new culture, and exchange best practices to strengthen each credit union.

During their visit, Ana and Herb explored some of the area's best cultural sites, engaging in conversations with some of our community partners, visiting several Unitus branches, and participating in thought-leadership exchange through roundtable conversations with leaders throughout our organization. This year’s exchange coincided with the 75th Annual International Credit Union Day. It's a day to reflect upon the credit union movement's history, promote its achievements, recognize hard work, and share member experiences.

Our support of the global cooperative movement inspired us to recognize global leaders for their service to their members and communities. Our first International Community Heart Award went to Dr. Jaime Chavez Suarez from Colombia.

Dr. Chavez Suarez is the former president of the largest credit union, Financiera Comultrasan, in Bucaramanga, Colombia. It was in the organization's mailroom that he first began his journey into this field, where he went on to serve his credit union for 55 years. His insight and leadership as a member of the Colombia Credit Union Association and the World Council of Credit Unions Board of Directors has been instrumental in their growth and connection to credit unions around the world.

In addition to Dr. Chavez Suarez’s incredible tenure, he has committed countless hours to his community, leading the way on multiple projects and initiatives. These include establishing a foundation for the arts, music, and sports; the Colegio Gimnasio Superior; a Día del Niño (Day of the Child) event; and reforestation programs that offset carbon emissions and have created jobs in a region of Colombia recovering from thirty years of conflict. His contributions to business development and job creation have made an invaluable impact for years to come.

It’s an honor to recognize Jaime for his leadership and dedication to Colombia and its people, and to making the world better as a whole. May we all strive to follow in his footsteps and contribute to our own communities in similarly meaningful and philanthropic ways.

— Steven Stapp

Unitus Community Credit Union President and CEO

INNOVATION

Innovation is crucial for growth and development. At Unitus, we embrace innovation to create long-term value for our membership and our communities. In 2023, we celebrated several accomplishments that put Unitus front-and-center in the credit union industry through innovative product development, improving the member experience, and designing new facilities where our members can feel right at home.

Unitus became the first credit union in the Pacific Northwest to offer a Spanish-language ChatBot to assist members after hours. This technology provides members more options to answer questions about products and services in real-time. With Hispanic member growth reaching 37% in 2023, we are dedicated to reaching this emerging market by offering communications in both English and Spanish.

Members have given the ChatBot high ratings, with several celebrating its convenience and responsiveness. “I give it a 10! It’s so quick and responsive. It understood me and it felt like I was talking to a live agent,” reported one Unitus member. The Virtual Assistant is available 24/7, allowing Unitus to better serve its members when it’s most convenient for them.

We know our members love our digital banking options and that’s why we’re always looking to make them even better! Members completed 1,635,145 digital transactions in 2023 and 84.8% of our registered users are active in digital banking.

35,543

17,505,221

84.8%

136,262

Beaverton

Bridgeport Village

Cascade Station

We're improving the in-branch experience for our members by reimagining the traditional branch setup. In 2023, we opened a new branch at Bridgeport Village and relocated our Mall 205 Branch. These new branches are a blueprint for the future of in-person transactions and support with improved access to staff, digital tools, and community spaces. In 2024, these new concepts are coming to life at our relocated Beaverton Branch and the new Unitus Business Center – Tigard as we transition out of our Downtown Portland Unitus Plaza location.

Our distributed administrative network will allow our staff to collaborate and innovate in ways that haven’t been possible in the past, creating new and improved credit union experiences for all of our members.

Our future members are just as important as our current ones—so we teamed up with Junior Achievement to launch the first credit union storefront at JA BizTown in Northeast Portland. Our first BizTown Unitus Branch CEO was 10-year-old Jalyn who ran the branch effortlessly, even getting some pointers from real-life CEO Steven Stapp.

FINANCIALLY

STRONG

The financial strength of Unitus Community Credit Union is validated every year through an independent audit. The Audit Committee is appointed by the Board of Directors to provide oversight of the financial reporting process.

The independent accounting firm Moss Adams LLP was engaged by the Committee to conduct a financial audit as of and for the year ended December 31, 2023 and perform a verification of member accounts in accordance with federal and state laws. The Committee utilized an internal audit to review, measure, and report on activities that ensure compliance with laws and regulations as well as continued integrity of the internal control environment.

Based on reports and information received, it is the opinion of the Audit Committee that Unitus Community Credit Union’s financial operations and system of internal controls are sound. I would like to thank the Audit Committee for their contributions.

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS

To the Board of Directors and Audit Committee

Unitus Community Credit Union

Portland, Oregon

We have audited the financial statements of Unitus Community Credit Union (the Credit Union), which comprise the statements of financial condition as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, and the related statements of income, comprehensive income (loss), changes in members’ equity, and cash flows for the years then ended, and the related notes to the financial statements.

In our opinion, the accompanying financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Unitus Community Credit Union as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the years then ended in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Basis for Opinion

We conducted our audits in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAS). Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements section of our report. We are required to be independent of Unitus Community Credit Union and to meet our other ethical responsibilities, in accordance with the relevant ethical requirements relating to our audits. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion.

Emphasis of Matter – Change in Accounting Principle

As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, on January 1, 2023, Unitus Community Credit Union adopted Accounting Standards Update 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (ASC 326), as amended, which replaced incurred loss methodology with an expected loss methodology that is referred to as the current expected credit loss (CECL) methodology. Our opinion is not modified with respect to this matter.

Responsibilities of Management for the Financial Statements

Management is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, and for the design, implementation, and maintenance of internal control relevant to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, management is required to evaluate whether there are conditions or events, considered in the aggregate, that raise substantial doubt about Unitus Community Credit Union’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date that the financial statements are issued.

Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not absolute assurance and therefore is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with GAAS will always detect a material misstatement when it exists.

The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control. Misstatements are considered material if there is a substantial likelihood that, individually or in the aggregate, they would influence the judgment made by a reasonable user based on the financial statements.

In performing an audit in accordance with GAAS, we:

• Exercise professional judgment and maintain professional skepticism throughout the audit.
• Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, and design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks. Such procedures include examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements.
• Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of Unitus Community Credit Union’s internal control. Accordingly, no such opinion is expressed.
• Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of significant accounting estimates made by management, as well as evaluate the overall presentation of the financial statements.
• Conclude whether, in our judgment, there are conditions or events, considered in the aggregate, that raise substantial doubt about Unitus Community Credit Union’s ability to continue as a going concern for a reasonable period of time.
  

We are required to communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit, significant audit findings, and certain internal control–related matters that we identified during the audit.

Moss Adams LLP

Portland, Oregon

March 11, 2024