Norlarco’s geographic expansion keeps it atop list of credit unions

With $105.3 million in shares and deposits at the end of 1996, Norlarco Credit Union in Fort Collins ranked highest in total shares and deposits among 28 credit unions in the Northern Colorado and Southern Wyoming area.Norlarco˜s shares and deposits rose from $93.9 million the previous year.
The membership of Norlarco represents residents of Northern Larimer County. In March 1996, the credit union expanded its membership from Fort Collins to the nearby communities of Estes Park, Masonville and Laporte, said President Ray Swanson.
Norlarco opened an office in Estes Park a year ago and now has five offices in its market area, he said.
In the last year, the credit union also added cash services to its noncash office at Colorado State University, he said. It has 75 employees.
Norlarco˜s return on average assets was 1.22 in 1996, compared with 1.33 a year earlier. It had 710 delinquent loans last year, up from 266 delinquent loans the previous year. That represented a 166 percent increase in delinquent loans in 1996.
Total loans for Norlarco amounted to $88.3 million, compared with $73.3 million at the end of 1995. The credit union earned $1.4 million in 1996, up from $1.3 million the previous year.
As the entire credit-union industry moves toward more automated service delivery, Norlarco has introduced online banking services and now has 2,200 users of that service.
"We˜re launching it on the World Wide Web, and that will increase usage," Swanson said.
By calling up the Web site, users will be able to print out their credit-union history, transfer funds and conduct other transactions.
"The price of technology has come down, so the cost (of the overall service) is surprisingly little," he said.
Norlarco also has introduced a bill-paying feature on its online service. After direct dialing in from the home computer, the user can set up a system for vendors and payments and then key in payments regularly for services.
Swanson said he has been using the service since the first of the year.
Norlarco also has partnered recently with CSU on a new student ID card, making it one of only five or six credit unions in the country to provide ID services to a major university, he said.
"We assisted the university in setting up a campuswide ID program," Swanson said.
The new student IDs contain a photograph of the student, two magnetic stripes for identification, and a bar code for library service. The card can also be used for a Norlarco credit-union account and swiped through automated teller machines.
Already, some 900 students have signed up for new Norlarco accounts this year through the ID service, he said.
One of the magnetic stripes on the card is a "junk stripe" that permits the user to place up to $50 cash in a value-added machine on campus, transfer those funds to his account, and then debit from it by using the card in copy machines, vending machines, and laundry services, he said.
"You don˜t need cash, but the down side is you might lose the card," Swanson said.
He said the ID card project will take about five years before the credit union breaks even on its investment.
Ranking second on the list was the Warren Federal Credit Union in Cheyenne with $65.8 million in shares and deposits, an 11 percent gain over the $58.9 million a year ago.
Warren had $40 million in total loans at the end of 1996, up from $31.7 million in loans the previous year. The credit union earned $1.15 million in 1996, an increase from $962,000 the prior year.
Its return on average assets was 1.55, compared with 1.36 the year before. Delinquent loans totaled 699, increasing from 329 the previous year.
Next in size was Norbel Credit Union in Greeley, with $55.5 million in shares and deposits during 1996, compared with $53.2 million the previous year.
Total loans jumped to almost $50 million from $45.5 million in 1995, while net income dropped to $740,000 from $786,000. Norbel˜s return on average assets fell to 1.15 from 1.35 in 1995.
Ranking fourth in size on the list of area credit unions was Hewlett-Packard Rocky Mountain Federal Credit Union in Loveland. It had $55.2 million in shares and deposits at year-end 1996, an increase of about 6 percent from its $52.3 million in deposits the previous year.
The HP Rocky Mountain Credit Union had loans of $44 million at the end of 1996, compared with loans of $39.7 million the previous year. The credit union earned $1.1 million in 1996, up from $919,000 the previous year.
HP Rocky Mountain Credit Union had 1.85 return on average assets, compared with 1.73 the year earlier. It had 387 delinquent loans, compared with 274 the previous year. That marked a 41 percent increase in delinquent loans.
WyHy Federal Credit Union in Cheyenne reported shares and deposits of $50 million in 1996, up from the $42.7 million reported in 1995.
Total loans reached $49.9 million, compared with $40 million the previous year. Net income jumped to $966,000, up from $763,000 in 1995.
ROA for WyHy climbed to 1.80, compared with 1.66 in 1995.
Wyoming Employees Federal Credit Union in Cheyenne reported $43.3 million in shares and deposits in 1996, up 11 percent from 1995˜s shares and deposits of $38.8 million.
Total loans for the credit union amounted to $39.5 million, up from $29.2 million the previous year. It earned $889,000 on loans last year, compared with $705,000 in 1995.
The credit union earned $26 million last year, and its return on average assets totaled 1.98. In 1995, the Wyoming Employees credit union had a 1.75 return on average assets.
Delinquent loans amounted to 166 in 1996, compared with 135 in 1995.