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For a more micro view of Rogue Credit Union’s torrid growth rate in recent years, consider its auto loan portfolio. The Medford-based financial institution, which serves six Southern Oregon counties, is expanding by virtually every measure. But it’s hard to overlook Rogue Credit Union’s $600 million auto loan portfolio, accounting for roughly half of organization’s lending. At the end of September, the value of new vehicle loans jumped 19.7 percent year-over-year, while used auto loans rose 6.2 percent. Showroom cars have a higher price tag, Rogue CEO Gene Pelham said, giving more weight to new vehicles, but there are times — such as recessions — when the used market takes the lead. “The majority of those loans are within our footprint,” Pelham said. “However, our members are everywhere, and they buy cars everywhere.” Rogue Credit Union now employs 480 people, and staffing has expanded to keep pace with new lending. “Our portfolio churns every 30 months or so,” Pelham said. “That keeps our team working very hard to produce auto loans and keep up those numbers.” One way the credit union keeps up is in its relationships with dealerships. “It’s about making the process as easy and simple as possible for dealers and our members,” Pelham said. “For high-volume dealers, the easier it is to finance, the easier it is to sell cars.” With interest rates on a upward trend, that’s created a good return on Rogue’s loans. “Shorter-term loans like auto loans reprice faster than others, so we’re able to see a positive impact on our income,” Pelham said. During the third quarter, Rogue saw its overall loan portfolio grow by $59 million, 14.8 percent, to more than $1.2 billion. Deposits rose 9.9 percent to nearly $1.4 billion. Year-over-year, the institution tacked on 12,695 new members, pushing the total to 132,146. The credit union’s assets grew 10.4 percent year-over-year to more than $1.5 billion. “People are looking for the safety of location institutions,” Pelham said. “There’s still a lot of movement in financial services ... . It’s events like that cause people to look at local institutions.” While deposits are up nearly 10 percent, Pelham said, the danger is in becoming too attractive. “The continued growth in market puts increasing pressure on rates,” he said. “The hard part is to help people understand what a slight rate increase in rates can mean. So we have to be careful we don’t grow deposits too quickly.” Rogue expects to open a second Klamath Falls location in late 2019 and has pushed back plans for a new office in Coos Bay until 2020. “We’re getting a lot of business in Klamath Falls,” Pelham said. “On Saturdays, I’m told, the branch is so busy that people are sitting on the floor because there aren’t enough chairs. When we built the branch in 2005, I thought we overbuilt, but our team likes to prove me wrong.” Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 541-776-4463 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @GregMTBusiness or www.facebook.com/greg.stiles.31.