Gulf and Fraser Fishermen's Credit Union, operating as Gulf & Fraser, is a member-owned financial institution in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, and is the sixth largest credit union in British Columbia by asset size.[2] With a history dating back to 1940, Gulf & Fraser provides banking and a variety of financial services including borrowing, investments and financial planning. It is insured by the Credit Union Deposit Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, a crown corporation that insures the deposits of credit union members.[3]
Gulf & Fraser's history extends back to 1940, when a group of BC fishermen incorporated the North Arm Fisherman's Credit Union. Since that time, the credit union has gone through over 30 mergers and many name changes. One of the most significant mergers occurred in 2004 when United Savings Credit Union merged with Gulf and Fraser Fishermen's Credit Union. Another notable merger was with Pioneer Credit Union — the third credit union to be chartered in British Columbia. Pioneer Credit Union was granted charter number 003, which G&F retained for the merged entity.[citation needed]
In August 2021, G&F Financial Group merged with Aldergrove Credit Union and on January 1, 2022, G&F Financial Group merged with V.P. Credit Union and Mount Lehman Credit Union. The combined organization has 26 branches located in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley and a membership of over 61,000. In November 2023, the credit union announced that a vote to merge with Interior Savings was successful, with a newly branded Beem Credit Union to have combined assets under administration exceeding $10 billion, effective January 1, 2024.[4]
Gulf & Fraser's administration office is located at Suite 401 - 7300 Edmonds Street, Burnaby, British Columbia, V3N 0G8, Canada.[citation needed]
Predecessors
The following is a partial list of credit unions that form part of Gulf & Fraser's history either through name changes, mergers or acquisitions:
On February 25, 2021, G&F Financial Group announced their exclusive sponsorship of the Personal Finance program for high school students, run by Junior Achievement British Columbia. The credit union also donated $20,000 into the program.[5]
In 2020, G&F Financial Group, the Board of Directors, employees, partners and sponsors gave $575,000 to local community groups, scholarship and bursary programs, charities, and cultural and sports organizations. This included three major charitable fundraisers where employees, partners and sponsors raised $170,000.[6]
On December 30, 2020, G&F Financial Group announced a donation of $80,000 to local charities and groups impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Of that, $60,000 went to local food banks, shelters, and hospitals, which were among some of the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
On September 28, 2020, G&F Financial Group announced a donation of $132,000 to The Centre for Child Development in Surrey, BC. This was the second year of their three-year fundraising commitment for the Centre, which helps children with special needs reach their potential. The Centre provides physiotherapy, family services, childcare, communication and occupational therapy, and recreation services to thousands of children in Metro Vancouver.[7]
On January 7, 2020, G&F Financial Group announced they had reached a milestone of $1 million in donations to the United Way of the Lower Mainland[8] since they started fundraising in 2001.
On September 9, 2019, G&F Financial Group donated $124,680 to The Centre for Child Development. The Centre helps children with special needs reach their potential; it provides physiotherapy, family services, childcare, communication and occupational therapy, and recreation services to thousands of children in Metro Vancouver. Funds were raised through G&F's annual golf tournament and matched by an anonymous foundation.[9]
On June 2, 2019, G&F Financial Group presented a cheque for $26,000 to BC Children's Hospital Foundation during their Miracle Weekend event. G&F employees raised funds for the Foundation through a variety of events, including 50/50 draws, Jeans Day, music trivia, sports jersey draws, Bingo games, and by selling Purdy’s chocolates.[10]
On January 8, 2019, G&F Financial Group announced they had donated $54,000 to the United Way of the Lower Mainland. Funds will go towards the welfare of children and breaking the cycle of poverty. Over the lifetime of G&F's campaign, the credit union has donated close to $880,000 to the United Way of the Lower Mainland.[11]
In 2018, G&F Financial Group, the Board of Directors, employees, partners and sponsors gave $532,000 to the communities that they serve, distributed in the form of donations, sponsorships, educational bursaries, scholarships and through the G&F Financial Group Foundation. [12]
On September 20, 2018, G&F Financial Group announced they had donated $100,000 to the Richmond Hospital Foundation. The funds will support the foundation's ACT NOW campaign to build a much-needed acute care tower. The funds were raised through two events held by the credit union: a special retirement dinner and their annual charity golf tournament.[13]
On November 2, 2011, the South Burnaby Branch of G&F Financial Group was the winner of the Burnaby Board of Trade's Business Excellence Community Spirit Award. The award recognizes local organizations for demonstrating outstanding corporate social responsibility and for the strong support of local non-profit organizations and agencies.[14]
Related Research Articles
Telus Communications Inc. (TCI) is the wholly owned principal subsidiary of Telus Corporation, a Canadian national telecommunications company that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services including internet access, voice, entertainment, healthcare, video, smart home automation and IPTV television. The company is based in the Vancouver, British Columbia, area; it was originally based in Edmonton, Alberta, before its merger with BC Tel in 1999. Telus' wireless division, Telus Mobility, offers UMTS, and LTE-based mobile phone networks. Telus is the incumbent local exchange carrier in British Columbia and Alberta. Its primary competitors are Rogers Communications and Bell Canada. Telus is a member of the British Columbia Technology Industry Association.
The history of British Columbia covers the period from the arrival of Paleo-Indians thousands of years ago to the present day. Prior to European colonization, the lands encompassing present-day British Columbia were inhabited for millennia by a number of First Nations.
The Desjardins Group is a Canadian financial service cooperative and the largest federation of credit unions in North America. It was founded in 1900 in Lévis, Quebec by Alphonse Desjardins. While its legal headquarters remains in Lévis, most of the executive management, including the CEO, is based in Montreal.
Coast Capital Savings Federal Credit Union is a member-owned financial co-operative headquartered in Surrey, British Columbia. It has 600,000 members through its 45-location branch network. In 2022, Coast Capital's net income was at $94.1 million. Coast Capital Savings operates nationally and has branches located in British Columbia, including Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Okanagan and Vancouver Island regions.
Science World is a science centre run by a not-for-profit organization called ASTC Science World Society in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is located at the end of False Creek and features many permanent interactive exhibits and displays, as well as areas with varying topics throughout the years.
Alterna Savings and Credit Union Limited, commonly called Alterna Savings, is a credit union based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. In addition to its credit union branches in Ontario, it also operates across Canada through its direct banking subsidiary Alterna Bank.
The Pacific Junior Hockey League (PJHL), is a Junior A Tier 2 ice hockey league which operates in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. Although the PJHL has included American teams in the past, the league's fifteen franchises all currently reside in the districts of Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, and the Sunshine Coast. Several National Hockey League stars began their junior hockey careers in the PJHL, but the main focus of the league is player development and education with strong ties to the local hockey community. The PJHL Championship is awarded annually to the league playoff champion and the winner moves on to compete against the champions of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League and the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League for the provincial title, the Cyclone Taylor Cup. From 1983 to 2017, the winner of the Cyclone Taylor Cup moves on to compete for the Western Canada Junior "B" Crown, the Keystone Cup.
Aldergrove is a community in the Township of Langley within British Columbia, Canada, approximately 59 km (37 mi) east of Vancouver. The community is urban in nature and, although not incorporated as a town, is often referred to as one. Aldergrove is located at the southeastern edge of both the Township of Langley and the Greater Vancouver metropolitan area, near the western edge of the Abbotsford metropolitan area. It is home to the Lynden–Aldergrove Border Crossing, one of the Lower Mainland's five land border crossings, connecting it with Lynden, Washington.
Burnaby Lake Rugby Club is a rugby club based in Burnaby, British Columbia.
The Aldergrove Credit Union was a credit union in Aldergrove, British Columbia, Canada with approximately 20,000 members and assets around $807m CAD.
Envision Financial, a division of First West Credit Union, is based in British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1946, Envision Financial was established in 2001 through a merger between Lower Mainland-based Delta Credit Union, whose roots were in the fishing industry, and Fraser Valley-based First Heritage Savings Credit Union, which had historic ties to the farming and agriculture industries. First Heritage Savings Credit Union was the product of a merger between East Chilliwack Credit Union and Clearbrook District Mennonite Savings Credit Union in 1983. It is insured by the Credit Union Deposit Insurance Corporation of British Columbia.
Pentagon Federal Credit Union, widely known by its abbreviated name PenFed, is a United States federal credit union headquartered in McLean, Virginia, chartered and regulated under the authority of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). PenFed is the nation's third largest federal credit union, with assets of $34.8 billion and more than 2.8 million members as of December 2023.
Island Savings, a division of First West Credit Union, is based in British Columbia, Canada. Since 1951, Island Savings has served communities on Vancouver Island and Gulf Islands.
Meridian Credit Union Ltd. is a Canadian credit union. It was formed on 1 April 2005 through the merger of Niagara Credit Union and HEPCOE Credit Union. It is insured by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario.
Wings Credit Union is a not-for-profit, member-owned credit union headquartered in Apple Valley, Minnesota. With assets of $8.4 billion, the credit union serves eligible Minnesota and Wisconsin counties, the metro areas of Seattle/Tacoma, Detroit, Orlando, Atlanta and employees in the air transportation industry nationwide. Wings was chartered in 1938 and is regulated by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA).
First West Credit Union is British Columbia’s third largest credit union with nearly $16.9 billion in total assets and assets under administration and more than 250,000 members. Its core business is traditional banking, the provision of personal and business daily banking services. First West has the largest geographic reach of any credit union in the province with 45 branches throughout B.C. The credit union is headquartered in the Vancouver suburb of Langley and has regional administration centres in Duncan on Vancouver Island and in Penticton in B.C.’s Southern Interior.
Valley First, a division of First West Credit Union, is based in British Columbia, Canada. Founded in Penticton in 1947 as the Penticton and District Credit Union, Valley First was established in 1983 following a period of expansion through the Okanagan and Similkameen valleys. Valley First continued its growth into the Kelowna market throughout the 1990s, before amalgamating with the Armstrong Spallumcheen Savings and Credit Union and buying the KCP Credit Union in Kamloops in 2001.
Community First Bank is an Australian member or customer-owned community-focused bank established in Sydney in 1959 as Sydney Water Board Officers Credit Union with branches in Sydney and the central coast region
PBC Health Benefits Society, operating as Pacific Blue Cross, is a not-for-profit health insurance provider headquartered in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.
Interior Savings Credit Union operated as a member-owned financial co-operative headquartered in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1939, the branch network expanded by multiple mergers and became one of the larger BC credit unions. The 2024 merger with Gulf & Fraser created the Beem Credit Union.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
