By Jen O’Rourke
Walking the talk of being people-based and providing simple banking solutions is what ensures the success of two of B.C.’s largest credit unions, according to their respective CEOs.
Launi Skinner, CEO of First West Credit Union and Tracy Redies, president and CEO of Coast Capital Savings Credit Union agree that when it comes to doing good business, the key is in offering people what they need in a way that they want.
“I think credit unions offer a different financial-services model at a time when Canadians, and indeed perhaps a lot of people around the globe, are looking for something more from the companies that they do business with,” said Redies.
“It’s not just about maximizing the bottom line of the company; it’s about the way they treat the people they employ, how they serve the customers that do business with them and how they work and live in the communities they serve.”
Both Coast Capital and First West reported record growth last year and have landed in at numbers 31 and 32 on BIV’s Top 100 private companies in B.C. list.
First West, formed in January 2010 from the merger of Penticton-based Valley First Credit Union and Langley-based Envision Financial, reported an annual profit rise of 17.3% to $46.3 million.
Skinner told BIV that through having a larger balance sheet and employee base from the merger, First West has been able to make some important business decisions that increase and diversify several of its portfolios while still keeping things local.
“We’ve seen a number of opportunities over the past year that have presented themselves that we were able to be the financial provider for, and make the difference in the lives of our members because we had a stronger balance sheet that enabled, for example Valley First, to participate where they wouldn’t have been able to in the past,” said Skinner.
Coast Capital reported an annual jump in profits of 20.4% to $65.4 million, with a large increase in the retail deposits and mortgages in part due the launch of its “you’re the boss” mortgage.
Redies describes Coast’s approach to banking as being simple and fun while offering innovative, competitive products aimed at meeting the needs of the average Canadian.
“If we didn’t provide those simple, innovative products that British Columbians really like, I don’t think we’d have experienced the growth that we have,” said Redies.
“We’re all about trying to make banking easy and fun. All of this is about differentiating ourselves from the big banks. If you speak of fun and easy in banking, it’s almost an oxymoron.”
In a competitive, over-banked Canadian financial market, credit unions in B.C. are showing their strength and place in the market by taking up the first- (VanCity), third- (Coast Capital) and fifth-largest (First West) credit unions in Canada slots (excluding Quebec) in a report released in March by Credit Union Central of Canada.
In B.C., the credit union industry is comprised of 45 individual institutions that employ 8,000 people and have combined total assets under management of $49 billion.
According to Skinner, being a local entity is key for credit union business. Members have the ability to walk in the door and receive help on the spot for virtually all of their financial needs.
Unlike a bank, which typically requires processing through sending requests such as loan applications to a head office for a decision, credit unions have the ability to make most decisions in-branch.
Skinner describes the difference this makes in real-world terms.
“If you walked into a local credit union, your ability to get a retail mortgage or even a small-business loan would be made by the local team in that branch versus having to go up to different levels for approval,” said Skinner.
According to Central 1, the central financial facility and trade association for the B.C. and Ontario credit union systems, approximately one-third of British Columbians do business with a credit union and a further one-third who have changed their financial institutions have made the switch to a credit union.
Redies uses a unique analogy to exemplify how credit unions such as Coast Capital differ by offering their members help rather than just advice.
“You can think about the concept of help and advice by the example of someone drowning in a lake,” she said. “Advice you get from someone on the shore who’s basically advising that person who’s drowning what the quickest way to get to shore is; help is about throwing them a life preserver.”
Another quality that sets credit unions apart in the financial industry is that while still competing with one another, they will come together to make decisions that work towards making the credit union system in Canada and B.C. stronger.
“We also work together co-operatively behind the scenes so that we know that even together as credit unions we’re stronger,” said Redies.