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FAIRHAVEN, MA - March 30, 2012 – First Citizens’ Federal Credit Union is proud to announce that the U.S. Small Business Administration has officially granted the credit union approval as an authorized SBA Lender to underwrite commercial loan products utilizing the SBA Express and SBA Patriot Express Loan Programs.

The loan products streamline small business loan requests, start-up business operations, working capital, account receivable funding and small business expansions. The SBAExpress program gives small businesses a faster turnaround time for review. In addition, lower interest rates can be available when applying through an Express program. The SBA Patriot program is designed for veterans and members of the military community wanting to establish or expand their small businesses. These new programs will accompany the full complement of SBA loan opportunities currently offered, including:
 
· SBA 7A Loan Program - for working capital and business acquisition

· SBA 504 Loan Program - for real estate acquisition, expansion and construction

· SBA Rural Lender’s Advantage Program - for refinancing and lines of credit
 
“The ability to work with the SBA for commercial lending has been a valued part of our commercial lending program.” said Peter Muise, President and CEO. “The enhanced ability to expedite the approval and funding process to provide the needed capital to our local business community will provide the additional resources and support our local businesses need now more than ever.” added the CEO.

The Champion Accounts

We have had an extremely successful year especially considering the economic environment we have been operating in since late 2008. Our assets have grown by over 7%, our loans have grown by almost 12% and our deposits have increased by over 6%.

We achieved a significant milestone in the middle of the year when we crossed the $500 million dollar asset threshold. Although I do not measure our success and value to you solely on our size this is a testament that we are continuing to meet the growing demands and needs of our members by providing the quality products and services that you have come to expect from us for almost 75 years.

We certainly were on the move in 2010 taking advantage of market opportunities to expand our footprint and bringing our brand of banking to more of the communities we serve.  We relocated our Taunton branch in May to provide a full service branch experience as we had simply outgrown the space in Shaw’s Supermarket. We opened our 9th branch office in September in Mattapoisett, establishing the only local community institution in the Tri-Town area. We purchased a parcel of land in Mashpee in November and have begun the construction of our new Mashpee branch planned for spring of 2011 further strengthening our presence and commitment on Cape Cod.

While we have grown in both asset size and branch locations, I am pleased to report to you that we have done this while growing our capital to 9.53% which is well above the “well capitalized” classification set by NCUA. You can continue to be confident in knowing that your credit union is strong and growing and that your hard earned savings continue to be safe and secure.

We all heard throughout the year about financial institutions making credit nearly impossible to obtain as the financial industry recovered from its reckless ways. Well that was not here at First Citizens’. I told you we were in a strong financial position at the start of 2010 and I pledged to you that we would continue to meet the needs of our communities and be here for you when you need us and we certainly were.  Despite economic conditions, we took in and underwrote over 882 mortgage applications and closed over $59 million dollars in residential first and second mortgages. In addition we made almost 11,000 Consumer Loans totaling more than $180 million dollars. 
In 2010 we took our sociability to the web and launched our Facebook page. This is not your typical business Facebook page. It is truly a space for our “friends”. We have dedicated this space to communicating with members and friends, a place to interact, engage, find useful information and certainly have some fun with our many events and activities. Have you become a “friend” yet? Are you spreading the word? Although this remains in its early stages we recognize the need to have a viable social communications program to help us better serve and communicate with our members and friends.

We made enhancements to our systems on many levels last year to ensure we are providing the best solutions possible. We upgraded our Retail Internet Banking platform to provide for a better user experience. We installed a state of the art Fraud Manager software program which enables us to improve monitoring transactions across all applications to have even greater capability to detect and protect members from fraud. We have started many new initiatives already that are planned for 2011 to provide even greater access, communication and management of your financial matters. We are committed to these goals and we will continue to look to offer effective solutions to allow you the best banking experience possible, whether in your local branch, online or on your phone.

As I mentioned earlier, since late 2008 we have experienced the worst economic environment ever and yet First Citizens’ has continued to grow and be a top performing institution.  And it is with the backdrop of this environment that I sometimes find myself so conflicted. Why us? More importantly how do we continue with this success?

Why us? Well, I can answer this with absolute certainty. The most important factor in any company’s success is the commitment and dedication of its employees, and at First Citizens’ we are no different. We offer great products and services, but what I am most proud of is the team of employees that we have. They truly set us apart and have made us the successful company we are today. It is their passion and joy for what they do that is the special ingredient in our recipe for success. It continues to be my honor to lead such a talented and committed team.

How do we continue to be successful? Well, I believe, the answer lies in our history. We must remain fiscally strong and consumer relevant never forgetting the privilege and responsibility we have in helping you achieve your financial goals. We will continue to manage the interests of this credit union in the most fiscally responsible manner possible ensuring our continued financial strength. We will remain focused on how we can continue to assist and service the members that seek our help – whether it’s to buy a new home or refinance their existing mortgage, buying a dependable car, getting a loan to send a child to college, saving for retirement or setting up an automatic savings plan to safely put money away for a daughter’s wedding.  We are and will continue to be here for you as we work to be the best financial institution we can be.

I thank our Board of Directors, our Supervisory Committee Members, my Management Team, our Staff and of course you our Members for the success we have achieved this year and for the continued brightness of our future.

Thank you….

Sincerely,

Peter J. Muise
President  & CEO
First Citizens’ Federal Credit Union

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