Credit Union South reported an operating profit of $927,000 for the year ended March compared with a profit of $1 million for the previous corresponding period (pcp).
Mr Leys said in an interview before last night's annual meeting in Dunedin that the profit was lower than he would have liked in normal business conditions.
Unsettled finance market conditions had not helped profit growth, as business had quietened down quickly.
"People are sitting on their hands and waiting. Our biggest task is getting in front of people.
"They have had 10 years of being debt crazy - debt money flowing out the doors - and they might want to look at us to help them sort out the next 10 years.
"It's times like these that credit unions come into their own."
While the present environment was challenging for credit unions, Credit Union South was confident its strong capital, low fees and strong member support would allow it to thrive, he said.
Credit Union Otago was at the centre of a move to bring together all five community-based credit unions in the South Island, including those in Nelson, Southland, Westland and Canterbury.
Behind the scenes, the Otago and Southland credit unions had the strongest growth in the industry and the boards were confident they could bring all five together and provide growth opportunities throughout the South Island, Mr Leys said.
So far, the new credit union had delivered cost reductions to members with overall fee reductions amounting to several hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.
Among his goals this year was to focus on the rebranding of Credit Union South to ensure that it was widely recognised.
Also, the credit union would push to expand operations in Christchurch, where it was underrepresented, he said.
Mortgage finance had been one of the disappointing areas for the credit union where the demands of members were not always met.
"The state of the market meant members generally had other demands, more in our core products of personal lending.
"Ten years ago, we would not have done a mortgage. We now want to take that up a stage," Mr Leys said.
Credit Union South was working with other partners to ensure it could expand its range of mortgage lending products in the coming 12 months, he said.
The annual report shows the delinquency ratio at balance date was 2.43%.
Although there were pressures on household finances among members because of rising fuel and food costs, the credit union had not seen a significant rise in the level of delinquency.
"We believe this is due to our responsible-lending policy. We lend only when it is in the best interest of our members and this goes a long way to ensuring our loans will be paid back."
The accounts show that net interest revenue for the combined credit unions rose to $6.2 million in March from $3.9 million in the pcp.
Total income rose to $8.6 million from $5.3 million.
Net assets were $16.2 million at balance date.
