A YEAR TO REMEMBER

The year 2020 is officially in the books, and rather than “hindsight being 2020”, 2020 is now officially hindsight. It was a year that no one could have planned for, where time seemed to both fly by and stand still. It was a year where, for many, the “highs” seemed hard to find, and the “lows” just seemed to keep on coming.

Though 2020 provided a lot of forgettable moments, for CSE, it also provided numerous opportunities to make a significant impact in our community. Here’s a look at some notable achievements that we wanted to make sure our members didn’t miss!

1. Named Ohio’s #1 Credit Union by Forbes.
2. Received the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) certification.  CDFIs are mission-driven financial institutions that are dedicated to providing financial services to meet the needs of economically disadvantaged individuals within underserved communities.
3. Awarded $10,000 in our inaugural video scholarship contest. Four CSE members who are attending post-secondary education schools received $2,500 scholarships.
4. Adopted new Mission and Vision Statements to align with CSE’s goals for helping our community.

Mission Statement

CSE Federal Credit Union is committed to helping all people within our community achieve financial strength by providing sound financial products, outstanding service, and financial education.

Vision Statement 

Member-owned, member-focused – in an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect – CSE Federal Credit Union will always exceed our member’s expectations and be their first choice for financial service needs. CSE will empower our employees to build lasting relationships with members in an inclusive environment that values and respects all employees and the members of our community.

5. Introduced a new Member Financial Counseling Program and named Reggie Lowe, former manager of the Canton Office, as its Certified Financial Counselor.
6. Continued financial education efforts by shifting to virtual learning modules utilizing video conferencing, Banzai! e-learning, educational blog posts and more.

Response to COVID-19

While there were many reasons for excitement in 2020, our proudest moments came in response to the global pandemic which impacted everyone. Back in March of 2020, things started to get dicey for many of us. Our members faced uncertainty in the eyes of layoffs or cut hours. Ohio’s shutdown forced even more cards to fall, including CSE closing branch lobbies for just over a month. In an effort to curb the financial strain our members were facing, we acted quickly. Here is a rundown of how we served members in a time of need:

• Waived over 50,000 ATM fees, keeping over $25,000 in members’ accounts.
• Skipped over 9,100 loan and credit card payments resulting in members having an estimated $4 million available to use on other expenses.
• Refunded over 2,600 NSF fees giving back nearly $66,000 to members.
• Recorded 5-year highs in lending volume, as members’ needs for financing increased dramatically during the pandemic.  Also of note, loan quality has remained very high in spite of current economic conditions.
• Enhanced online and digital banking services available to members.  As a result, over half of all loans were signed for electronically in 2020.  CSE also accepted over 13,000 mobile deposits and home banking users were at a record high.

2020 won’t go down in the record books as a great year for many of us. However, the commitment that CSE has for our Stark County community proved greater than ever before. We have learned a lot through the past year and look forward to continuing to provide a better banking alternative in the years to come. Thank you to all of our members who made 2020 a great year by Banking Local and supporting our credit union.