SANTA ROSA, Calif. –– Community First Credit Union, a financial cooperative owned by its 60,515 local-area members, posted double-digit gains for the second consecutive year in assets, deposits, loan portfolio and income.

It also originated more loans than in any previous year, $356.2 million.

“It was the best of times financially and yet, in some ways, it was the worst of times because COVID made everything so difficult,” said Scott Johnson, CEO of Community First Credit Union.

To help people through the pandemic, Community First waived fees for, among others, late payments and last-minute payments over the phone, helping members by more than $52,000 a month.

It wasn’t until July 1, at mid-year, and with the COVID vaccine finally widely available, that Community First reinstated such fees.

It also wound down the deferral of monthly payments for more than 4,000 consumer loans throughout 2021.

“Additionally, despite a near zero-interest-rate environment on the deposit side, we kept our rates higher than nearly all other local competitors so that Members could continue to earn more,” added Scott.

Members rewarded the cooperative with a nearly $104 million gain in deposits, $89 million jump in loans owned by the credit union, and a $110.4 million rise in assets.

With $761.23 million in assets, Community First now ranks among the top 10% of credit unions by size nationally.