Numerica Credit Union, of Spokane, hurt by investment losses and a special deposit insurance assessment, reported sharply lower earnings for 2009, but its deposits jumped, and its loans, membership, and assets all grew during the year.

Numerica's net income fell to $3.2 million in 2009, from $5.5 million the year earlier. Dennis Cutter, Numerica's president and CEO, says the lower earnings were due to $3.7 million in write-offs for investment losses and a $1 million charge to help replenish a national credit union deposit insurance fund.

"We far exceeded our goals for deposit growth and underperformed slightly on loan growth," he says. "With people unemployed, they weren't out buying as many cars, but we had a huge refinance boom the first four months of the year."

As of Dec. 31, Numerica's net loans stood at $690 million, up from $650 million at the end of 2008, but Cutter says the credit union had been projecting 16.8 percent loan growth, to about $760 million. He says Numerica would have met its projection had it not decided to sell on the secondary market a lot of low-interest loans, which it will continue to service. Loan charge-offs, meanwhile, jumped to $6.7 million, from about $3 million in 2008, the credit union says.

Numerica listed deposits of $825 million as of Dec. 31, up 23 percent from $670.8 million a year earlier. Its total assets at year-end were $997 million, up 21 percent from $825.2 million a year earlier.

Cutter says he's fairly optimistic about 2010 and sees opportunity for growth, particularly in the areas of small-business lending, both in U.S. Small Business Administration loans and other commercial loans, as well as in mortgage lending and credit-card services.

"We are trying to provide more services to our members and grow the organization. I expect to move forward in those areas, and that should help stimulate our growth," he says.

The credit union reported a 0.34 percent return on average assets in 2009, down from 0.71 percent in 2008. Membership rose to about 80,200 members, from 75,800 the year before. The credit union has 47,600 members in Spokane County.

The credit union didn't open any new branches in 2009, but is eyeing one possible new branch this year, though it hasn't selected a site, Cutter says.