IE credit union has strong first quarter

Altura Credit Union enjoyed a solid first quarter, a three-month period highlighted by the reopening of one of its main branch offices.

The Riverside-based financial institution reported net income of $2.3 million and assets of nearly $800 million during the first three months of this year, according to the company’s recent financial report.

In 2014, Altura Credit had a net income of $3.04 million and total assets of close to $731 million.

Both revenue and loans were up during the first quarter, and Altura Credit was helped by the steady rise in employment and the strengthening of the housing industry, said Mark Hawkins, the company’s president and chief executive officer.

Altura Credit funded about $44 million in loans during the first quarter, up more than 70 percent compared with the first quarter of 2014, and the highest loan volume the company has seen in seven years.

“We are really pleased with our first quarter financial results,” Hawkins said in a statement issued with the company’s quarterly report, which was released Friday. “Members are feeling better about the economy, and their growing confidence is good for business. But Inland Empire residents are still quite cautious.”

During the first quarter, Altura Credit reopened its branch office on University Avenue in Riverside. Because of the recession, Altura Credit officials made that an ATM-only location in 2011 to cut costs, so its reopening is especially good news.

“It’s a positive sign about the growing strength of our local economy, our members and Altura,” Hawkins said in the statement.