Spokane Valley-based Numerica Credit Union saw noticeable growth last year in several areas, including a nearly 35 percent jump in earnings.

The credit union reported net income of $15.3 million in 2011, up from $11.4 million in 2010—and a significant increase compared with $3.2 million in income in 2009.

Numerica Chief Financial Officer Cindy Leaver says the credit union's return on assets last year increased to 1.4 percent from 1.1 percent.

Leaver says Numerica likely will see a drop in its earnings this year, however, because it's planning to hire more employees.

"We have room in our earnings to do that, and we are hiring more people and looking to grow," she says. "That means more short-term expenses, but that should position us well to serve members better and position us to grow and become more profitable."

Numerica's loans and deposits also built on similar increases seen in 2010. Leaver says the credit union's loan portfolio growth in 2011 was due partly to an increased focus on business lending.

As of Dec. 31, Numerica's loan portfolio totaled $784.8 million, compared with $732.8 million a year earlier.

"In 2011, we had opportunities to be there for small businesses, while some other financial institutions were struggling with capital and regulatory constraints that kept them out of the market," Leaver says. "It's not where it was at two to three years ago, but we worked hard to get our piece of the pie."

She adds that a continued emphasis on auto loans also helped to boost Numerica's loan figures last year. The credit union offers auto loans at its Spokane-area branches as well as at its dealer center, which offers car, truck, RV, and boat loans.

She says Numerica has budgeted for an increase of about 10 percent in its loan portfolio for 2012, building off of last year's 7.1 percent rise.

The credit union's deposits also continued to grow in 2011, climbing 6.5 percent to $975 million from $915.7 million at the end of 2010, due heavily to the opening of new checking and savings accounts, Leaver says.

"There's a lot of continued movement from consumers who want accounts with no fees or paid dividends," Leaver says. "The big bank dump was happening throughout the year, and we saw a continuous flow of people moving away from the big banks."

Numerica's deposits had increased by 11 percent the prior year, but that bigger jump was due largely to the credit union's acquisition of deposits that had been held by now-defunct The Union Credit Union, of Spokane. The Washington state Department of Financial Institutions ordered that institution to close due to extreme loan losses. In 2010, Numerica also acquired the assets of another credit union, Richland, Wash.-based School Employees Credit Union.

Leaver adds that the strong growth last year in new savings accounts and also money market accounts is an indicator of consumers' desire for a safe place to put their money versus the stock market.