Alliant Reports Record Growth in 2021 Results

02/24/2022 • Alliant News • Press Releases

Alliant, a nationwide digital credit union and one of the largest “challenger banks,” today reported its 2021 results in its annual report. It was a record-setting year in membership growth, deposit balances, loan originations, non-interest income and return on assets.

In his letter to members, Alliant CEO Dennis Devine credited the financial institution’s digital-first strategy as its distinct competitive advantage.

“Without having to sustain a costly and underused branch network, Alliant has one of the best cost structures in the industry,” Devine said. “This is powerful for our members: Alliant can keep deposit rates high and lending rates low. In 2021, we focused on investments to offer best-in-class digital solutions while further improving our cost advantage, which is better than 96% of our peers.”

2021 had the following highlights:

Record membership growth

Alliant was an industry leader in membership growth in 2021. The credit union finished the year with more than 620,000 members. With this membership growth also came significant employee growth to 700 employees, a commitment to improving digital and phone banking channels, and new leadership.

Overdraft fee removal

Overdraft fees put an additional financial burden on people who are already dealing with a financial worry or accident, and therefore were not consistent with Alliant’s member-first mission. To correct this dissonance, Alliant decided to eliminate overdraft fees and non-sufficient funds (NSF) item fees on all checking and savings accounts. At that time, Alliant was one of the largest financial institutions to make such a bold move.

Suze Orman partnership

Alliant partnered with personal finance expert Suze Orman to offer The Ultimate Opportunity Savings Account. The partnership came as a result of a nationwide need for strong emergency savings accounts. More than 22,000 new members took advantage of the account, depositing nearly $300 million, and Alliant extended the offer through 2022.

Digital inclusion initiative

With its digital inclusion non-profit partners – National Digital Inclusion Alliance, EveryoneOn, PCs for People, Digitunity and Connected Nation – Alliant worked to bring technology devices, affordable internet and digital literacy to people in need. Alliant collected eight tons of digital devices, which were distributed to over 900 families in need.

Awards

Alliant received many accolades, including Business Insider’s Best Banks 2021, CNBC’s Best Credit Unions for 2021, Bankrate’s Best Banks and Credit Unions for Mobile Banking, NerdWallet’s Best Savings and Checking accounts, Great Place to Work’s 2021 Best Workplace, and Built In Chicago’s Best Places to Work in Chicago.

Read Alliant's full annual report.