Centra Blog

Increasing your Financial IQ

May 2023: A letter from the President

Centra HQ at sunrise

Dear Members,

The last week of April was a time of celebration for Centra. Early in the week, we held our first in-person Annual Meeting since 2019. We all enjoyed seeing some of our Members at Centra Corporate Headquarters, and we were honored to offer a tour of the building to those in attendance. Copies of our Annual Report were made available, and you can read the report online here. Our new Charlestown location then opened at the end of the week, bringing the credit union difference to a new community. We’ll be planning a grand opening in the coming months, and our new location in Corydon will be opening later this summer as well.

In addition, Centra recently welcomed a new Chief Experience Officer, Swami Seetharaman. Swami was selected based on his extensive executive leadership experience in the credit union industry, most recently as Senior Vice President/Chief Marketing & Payments Officer at Credit Union ONE. We look forward to the value Swami will create for our Members, Team Members, and Communities we serve. His experience and expertise, particularly in data analytics, technology, and Member experience, will support Centra’s continued growth.

While the last few months have included several celebrations at Centra, recent events in the financial services industry have been more challenging. I’d like to take a few moments to speak to the financial security of our Credit Union. Centra’s vision of creating value is rooted in our philosophy of protecting the assets of the Credit Union as they are truly the assets of our Member-owners. Because we have a responsibility to our Members, we don’t take excessive risks that would place our Members’ assets in jeopardy.

Due to this philosophy and responsibility, Centra maintains a very strong capital position through effective risk management, prudent balance sheet management, and careful monitoring of our liquidity. In fact, our financial security has been consistently recognized with a five-star rating from Bauer Financial. Bauer regularly analyzes financial data and historical trends from financial institutions to assign an unbiased, independent star rating. A five-star rating indicates that Bauer considers the financial institution “superior” and is the highest rating that Bauer utilizes.

Our Members are our priority, and we want you to know that you are safe and sound with Centra. If you ever have any questions, please feel free to contact us or make an appointment at your nearest Centra location.

Sincerely,
Rick A. Silvers
President and CEO

Ricks signature

Rick A. Silvers