As Head Coach at Libro Credit Union, I think about the future a lot. That’s pretty standard for a CEO, especially for a financial institution, where we’re always talking about how we can grow over the next few years. But for me, it’s about more than just financial growth.
Libro, the largest credit union in southwestern Ontario, is more than a financial institution. As a credit union, our strength is in our membership – I like to point out our customers are our shareholders, so serving customers well is the same as looking after the shareholders. We call our customers Owners because they own the company.
It’s a company that’s growing fast. We want it to keep growing, so we’ve launched Libro 20.0. It’s the strategy that will take us from our current size as a $5 billion company to a $20 billion company within 10 years — and to continue growing beyond that. We’re already building momentum: we opened new locations in four communities in 2019, making it a record year for growth and profitability at Libro.
And we’re growing for a reason. We’re growing with a purpose. Our depositors’ money stays invested in southwestern Ontario’s economy by helping neighbours buy homes, run businesses, produce food, and more. And every dollar we make is a dollar we can put to work by returning it to Owners or by putting it into programs from the four focus areas that drive our decision-making:
- Employment – that’s decent work for all.
- Financial resilience – for people, businesses, and other organizations.
- Housing – that’s adequate, safe, affordable.
- Local food accessibility – this issue goes straight to the heart of Libro and our background in agricultural communities.
It’s about more than just growth. It’s about growing in order to make an impact in southwestern Ontario.
To help us to make more of an impact, we’ve launched our Business Plan for 2020-2022. It talks about our purpose beyond profit and our plans to strengthen southwestern Ontario and its communities.
I invite you to take a look at our plans and to consider joining Libro or, if you’re already an Owner, increasing your business with us. One of our financial coaches can tell you more and you can get in touch with one here.
Just think about what we could do when we work together and grow prosperity together. Imagine what we can do with more resources invested — in the right ways — right here in southwestern Ontario.
Learn more about Steve and Libro’s Executive Leadership Team.
