MEDFORD, Ore. – Rogue Credit Union said it has received almost three times the amount of deposit they planned for this year. The CEO said the pandemic has lots of consumers spending carefully.
“Deposits are way up at Rogue Credit Union,” said Gene Pelham, president and CEO of Rogue Credit Union. He said both credit unions and banks have seen big deposit growths this year.
“With the relief funds, with the not being able to be out and spend money and so on… Consumers are being very conservative. Actually, I’m proud of the way a lot of people are managing their finances,” he said.
While it is great that people are saving money locally, he said, the lack of spending has hurt small businesses. “Consumers are saying, ‘until I really know how long this is going to last and so on, I’m going to keep a little extra in my rainy day fund,'” said Pelham. As for Rogue Credit Union, he said deposits are great for the institution, but when deposit rates grow, the credit union must put more money aside for its members.
“Another good thing that consumers are doing right now is paying down debt, which is really good for everybody…except for us,” he said. Pelham said Rogue Credit makes income off loans and its seeing record low loan growth. But he thinks once people see an end in sight for the pandemic, they’ll start to spend money locally again.
If you’re wondering just how much people have deposited, as of July 31st, $325 million has been put away with Rogue Credit Union. Its budget for the full year was $125 million.
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