January New Business Formation
Up 7.7% over Prior Year

MADISON – The number of new business entities formed in Wisconsin in January was 3,076, an increase of 7.7% compared to January 2011 and up 7.4% over December 2011. The business formation data is compiled by the Department of Financial Institutions' Division of Corporate and Consumer Services, which is the filing office for the creation of business entities in the state. The division tracks new business creation on a monthly basis and posts it on the DFI website. The full report may be found by clicking on the "Corporations" link at the top of this page, then clicking on "Historical Statistics."

Income, other key metrics are up
for state Credit Unions in 2011

MADISON – Wisconsin credit unions grew net income, total assets, total loans and return on assets in 2011 compared to 2010, according to data compiled by the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI).

Compared to the prior year, Wisconsin’s 203 state-chartered credit unions in 2011:

• Grew net income by 31.3%, from $95 million to $124.7 million.
• Increased total assets by 5.9%, from $20.7 billion to $21.9 billion.
• Grew totals loans by 4.3%, from $15.7 billion to $16.4 billion.
• Improved their return on average assets ratio from 0.47% to 0.59%.

"This kind of healthy growth is good for state credit unions and is a positive sign for the Wisconsin economy," DFI Secretary Peter Bildsten said.

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Governor honors recipients of Financial Literacy Award,
issues Money Smart Week proclamation

MADISON – Governor Scott Walker hosted a ceremony at the Capitol on Thursday, Feb. 2, to honor the 17 winners of the 2011 Wisconsin Financial Literacy Award. As part of the ceremony, Governor Walker also issued a proclamation declaring April 21-28 as Money Smart Week in Wisconsin. Money Smart Week is a statewide collaborative effort that includes hundreds of business and civic partners and touches the lives of thousands of Wisconsin citizens. Thirteen members of the Governor’s Council on Financial Literacy attended the awards ceremony.

Joining the Governor for the proclamation were, first row from left to right: Rita O'Brien, Career and Technical Education Program Leader, Appleton Area School District; Wendy Baumann, President, Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corp.; Commissioner Ted Nickel, Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Co-Vice Chair, Governor’s Council on Financial Literacy; Governor Walker; Sheila Briggs, Assistant State Superintendent, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction; Georgia Maxwell, Executive Assistant, Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development; Mary Ann McCoshen, Executive Assitant, Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority; Jennifer Block, Community Relations Manager, Royal Credit Union, Eau Claire.

Second row, left to right: Amy Kerwin, Chief Guaranty Officer, Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corp.; Dr. Scott Niederjohn, Director, Lakeland College Center on Economic Education, EconomicsWisconsin; Jaimes Johnson, Director of Community and Campus Relations, UW Credit Union; Rep. Jason Fields, Wisconsin Assembly; David Mancl, Executive Director, Governor’s Council on Financial Literacy and Director of the Office of Financial Literacy; Peter Bildsten, Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions and Co-Vice Chair of the Governor’s Council on Financial Literacy.

To learn more about the 2011 winners of the Wisconsin Financial Literacy Award, visit www.walker.wi.gov and click on the “What’s Happening” link,
then go to “Press Releases” (posted 12/21/11).

Let's do more with Financial Literacy

Wisconsin is fortunate to have many fine K-12 schools educating our young people. The quality of this state’s educational system is among the best in the United States, and the same can be said for Wisconsin teachers.

Those accolades notwithstanding, there is one area in which Wisconsin schools should consider focusing some of their educational muscle: personal financial literacy. More than ever before, our children — by the time they graduate from high school — need to be able to cope in the increasingly fast-paced world of financial services.