Proposed credit unions merger goes to membership vote
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/04/2024 (528 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
It’s now left to members to agree to the latest local credit union mergers, after the boards of directors of three institutions which announced their intention to merge in December have all endorsed the move.
Members of Assiniboine Credit Union, Caisse Financial Group and Westoba Credit Union will all hold votes on the merger in June.
The three boards have unanimously recommended ACU president Kevin Sitka assume the top job in the newly merged entity that might not complete all regulatory work to finalize the deal until early next year.
ACU is a certified B Corp, a global program that includes a rigorous audited verification process that measures a company’s entire social and environmental impact.
There are about 6,000 B Corps around the world who must meet high standards of performance, accountability and transparency on issues such as employee benefits and charitable giving, supply chain practices and input materials.
“We intend to continue the designation. We all share the same values,” Sitka said.
If membership votes are in favour, the merged entity will be called Assiniboine Credit Union/Caisse Assiniboine and will become the only financial co-operative in the province to carry a French and English name.
Sitka said French language services will continue at all the old Caisse branches
Réal Déquier, chairman of Caisse Financial Group, said: “All three partners are dedicated to ensuring our francophone members have continued access to services in French, whether through digital channels or in-person in designated areas.”
If approved, the merger will create a financial institution with $10 billion in assets, making it the second-largest credit union in the province (as of the latest data from the end of March) and eighth largest in the country, slightly ahead of Steinbach Credit Union.
Only Access Credit Union, with $12.4 billion in assets would be larger.
Access has bulked up over the past three years, merging with Crosstown, Noventis, Sunova, Amaranth, Carpathia and Casera credit unions.
Consolidation in the industry, which has been going on for at least a decade, is driven by economies of scale, with increased investments required for digital banking technologies, growing regulatory requirements, increased competitive pressures from outside the market and the need to spend more on increasingly complex cybersecurity measures to protect members.
The industry broadly acknowledges such investments — necessary for the delivery of the kind of banking services members have come to expect — are unsustainable for single credit unions to do on their own.
martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
