Mike Strickland
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
However, the efforts of Team Spero were unrelenting, propelling us to finish the year strong with significant growth in loans (9.35%), deposits (16.79%), and assets (8.69%). In fact, Spero Financial is now the 13th largest financial institution in the Upstate and well on our way to becoming top 10 by 2024. We are well positioned as we move into 2021! Our focus always has been and will continue to be on you, our members — providing intuitive financial solutions to help you soar financially. We look forward to deepening our roots in both the Anderson and Five Forks communities; executing upon our digital transformation road map and building a solid infrastructure to enhance our digital member experience; and continuing to provide the personalized service you have come to love and expect. It is both a privilege and an honor to serve you! I appreciate you.
A S T H E L I O N silently and stealthily stalks its prey and then attacks, our world fell victim to an unexpected and unforeseen enemy in early 2020. By mid-March the COVID-19 pandemic would change the way we conducted business, educated ourselves and interacted with one another. Healthcare delivery moved close to a breaking point. Commerce and financial services suffered through massive layoffs and business closures.
It became evident that business operations as usual would not work in this challenging new environment. Your credit union’s executive leadership and management team in concert with the board of directors quickly implemented several steps to ensure we continued to provide excellent service to our members. Although social distancing protocols sometimes required temporary branch closures, we scheduled branch appointments and extended our drive-thru hours. We implemented ninety-day loan payment deferrals and initiated emergency member loans for those struggling through job layoffs. Our team members were assisted with childcare and provided work-at-home arrangements. Meanwhile, progress on several strategic initiatives continued unabated. After much planning, in June 2020, we successfully opened a new branch in the Five Forks area of Simpsonville, SC. This location serves a very vibrant area in the Greenville market and will assist in reaching our goal of becoming a Top Ten depository in Upstate South Carolina. After many years in the planning stage, we implemented a rebranding initiative to better reflect who our members are. No longer just a “telecommunications” credit union, we needed an identity more inclusive of all our membership. Spero Financial, launched in November 2020, will move us forward collectively into a bright new future. Our new name, derived from the South Carolina State Motto, is the Latin word Spero meaning “hope”. Finally, in December 2020 we announced the impending merger of Anderson Federal Credit Union (AFCU) into the Spero family. Management and board philosophies matched. Employee jobs were protected and members from both organizations gained in expanded services. We look forward to AFCU members joining Spero in February 2021. In Spero Financial we have a solid hope for overcoming the current challenges and realizing an even brighter future.
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