News

As we begin 2021, my letter to the membership is more personal than usual. I have served as the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Maine Savings for over thirty years. At the end of 2020, I will relinquish my title of President and maintain the position of CEO. I’m extremely pleased to announce the promotion of Vanessa Madore, our current Chief Operations Officer, to President. I will remain the CEO until January of 2023, and at that time Vanessa will assume the role of President and CEO. I will continue to operate in an advisory capacity to Vanessa for an extended period of time.

THE REED REPORT

As I write this letter, COVID-19 is still very much a part of our lives, continuing to create uncertainty as we move into the latter part of the year. Here at Maine Savings, we’ve been responsive to the needs of our members by continuing to offer full-service at our drive-throughs, even after our lobbies reopened in early July. Members have also been able to conduct all of their business through online and mobile banking, as well as via telephone.

Here For You

As I write this letter in early June, the effects of COVID-19 are still with us and I expect they will be for quite some time. It is a difficult time for most, with events being canceled, many businesses remain shut down, and many people are still out of work. On the bright side, some state restrictions have been relaxed and select businesses have been allowed to re-open, albeit at somewhat less than full capacity. Unfortunately, many businesses are still either prohibited from opening, or the restrictions are so onerous that it is currently impractical to open.

The Reed Report

As I write this letter, our state has begun to feel the effects of COVID-19, or the Coronavirus, with events being canceled, businesses temporarily shutting down and employees being out of work. As of now, the numbers of Mainers diagnosed with the virus are low, but we are seeing them rise daily. We’ve all experienced the empty shelves at the grocery store as people prepare for a great deal of time spent at home.

THE REED REPORT 

For some time now, each letter I’ve written to our membership has had a similar theme—solid growth in assets, deposits, loans and capital. And I’m happy to report that as we close out 2019, this year-end letter is no different. Your credit union continues to be the fastest growing credit union in Maine, and we feel that trend of record growth should continue, barring any unforeseen economic, or national/world catastrophe. We look forward with excitement and anticipation to 2020 and the opportunities a new year will present.

Economic and Community Impact Study

UMaine alumni throughout the U.S. will be asked to participate in an in-depth study designed to examine their economic and societal impact on their communities, state, and nation... 

THE REED REPORT - Greetings and Happy Fall! What a wonderful time of year – if only it could last about six months more… 

This quarter, I intend to focus on credit union trends, both nationally and within our great state of Maine. I will touch on items such as the financial condition of your credit union, the economic and interest rate environment, growth, and last but not least, mergers, and my opinion of what’s happening within our own state.

Annual Report - On June 5, 2019, Maine Savings held its annual meeting. At that meeting, I reported on the financial condition of your credit union and the history-making year that was 2018, as well as reviewed the accomplishments so far in 2019 and looked ahead at the remainder of this year. 

Growth Continues to Soar - As I reported in my last letter to our membership, as a result of phenomenal growth, your credit union was ranked the largest in the state by asset size at the end of October last year. Currently, there is a merger underway that will combine two fairly large credit unions in southern Maine. This merged entity will assume the top spot in the next couple of months. I take great pride in knowing that Maine Savings’ growth has been purely organic due to our membership utilizing our products and services to such a high extent.

I'm pleased to report that as of the end of October, 2018, Maine Savings had become the largest credit union in Maine. Our annualized asset growth was well over 20% for 2018. Loan growth also exceeded 20%. These numbers far exceed any other credit union in the state. We take great pride in knowing that our members utilize our services to such a high extent.

As CEO, my job is to make sure I do what is within my power to protect our members' interests and those of their credit union. Bruce Poliquin has a very strong understanding of finance and the needs of community-based financial institutions, specifically credit unions.

This summer, I am celebrating 28 years as your credit union CEO! A short time after I was hired, I realized the need for a better way to deliver top-level mortgage lending services to our members.

2017 was a year filled with progress and accomplishments for Maine Savings. As President/CEO of Maine Savings, it is my pleasure to provide you as a member and owner with the following update: