Canada has significant per-capita membership in credit unions, representing more than a third of the working-age population. [1] Credit union membership is largest in Quebec, where they are known as caisses populaires (people's banks), and in western Canada. [2]
Responsibility for the incorporation and regulation of credit unions resides primarily at the provincial and territorial level in Canada. Credit union legislation exists in every province of Canada but does not currently exist in the three northern territories. Credit unions and caisses populaires operate in every province of Canada. In Quebec, caisses populaires are required to be formally federated with the Caisses Populaires Desjardins.
Legislation was adopted under the federal Bank Act in 2012 to allow for the creation of federal credit unions. On July 1, 2016, the Caisse populaire acadienne ltée (later rebranded as UNI Financial Cooperation), with its 155,000 members, became the first federal credit union in Canada. [3] Coast Capital Savings announced the approval from OSFI to become the second federally regulated credit union in Canada beginning on November 1, 2018, the first federal credit union based in British Columbia. [4]
| Credit Union | Founded | Federally Expanded |
|---|---|---|
| UNI Financial Cooperation | 1946 | 2016 |
| Coast Capital Savings | 1940 | 2018 |
As of September 30, 2014, there were 696 credit unions or caisses populaires operating in Canada. [5]
As of December 31, 2017, there were 286 independently operated credit unions and caisses populaires operating in the nine provinces outside of Quebec holding combined consolidated assets of $223.7 billion CAD. [6]
The largest of these include Vancity, Coast Capital Savings, Meridian Credit Union, Servus Credit Union, First West Credit Union, Alterna Savings and Credit Union Limited, Conexus Credit Union, Affinity Credit Union, Steinbach Credit Union, and Assiniboine Credit Union.
272 of these credit unions and caisses populaires were affiliated through a provincial or regional credit union central to Canadian Credit Union Association, the national trade association. These credit unions operated 1,746 branches across the country with 5.3 million members and $216.3 billion in assets. [7]
Within Quebec there are 344 caisses that are formally federated with the Caisses Populaires Desjardins as of September 30, 2014. [8]
In 2012, Desjardins served nearly 5.6 million members from 897 locations, with $196.7 billion in assets. [9]
Most credit unions in Canada are incorporated provincially and are insured by provincially established institutions.
Federally-incorporated credit unions are insured by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation. [11]
Credit unions have a history of innovation in Canadian financial services. Here are some of the products and services that credit unions were first to market: [12]
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is a United States government corporation supplying deposit insurance to depositors in American commercial banks and savings banks. The FDIC was created by the Banking Act of 1933, enacted during the Great Depression to restore trust in the American banking system. More than one-third of banks failed in the years before the FDIC's creation, and bank runs were common. The insurance limit was initially US$2,500 per ownership category, and this has been increased several times over the years. Since the enactment of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2010, the FDIC insures deposits in member banks up to $250,000 per ownership category. FDIC insurance is backed by the full faith and credit of the government of the United States, and according to the FDIC, "since its start in 1933 no depositor has ever lost a penny of FDIC-insured funds".
A credit union is a member-owned nonprofit cooperative financial institution.
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.
The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is a government-backed insurer of credit unions in the United States, one of two agencies that provide deposit insurance to depositors in U.S. depository institutions, the other being the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which insures commercial banks and savings institutions. The NCUA is an independent federal agency created by the United States Congress to regulate, charter, and supervise federal credit unions. With the backing of the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, the NCUA operates and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, insuring the deposits of more than 124 million account holders in all federal credit unions and the overwhelming majority of state-chartered credit unions. Besides the Share Insurance Fund, the NCUA operates three other funds: the NCUA Operating Fund, the Central Liquidity Facility (CLF), and the Community Development Revolving Loan Fund (CDRLF). The NCUA Operating Fund, with the Share Insurance Fund, finances the agency's operations.
Gabriel-Alphonse Desjardins, born in Levis, Canada East was the co-founder of the Caisses Populaires Desjardins, a forerunner of North American credit unions and community banks. For his contribution to the advancement of agriculture in the province of Quebec, he was posthumously inducted to the Agricultural Hall of Fame of Quebec in 1994.
The Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation is a Canadian federal Crown Corporation created by Parliament in 1967 to provide deposit insurance to depositors in Canadian commercial banks and savings institutions. CDIC insures Canadians' deposits held at Canadian banks up to C$100,000 in case of a bank failure. CDIC automatically insures many types of savings against the failure of a financial institution. However, the bank must be a CDIC member and not all savings are insured. CDIC is also Canada's resolution authority for banks, federally regulated credit unions, trust and loan companies as well as associations governed by the Cooperative Credit Associations Act that take deposits.
Deposit insurance or deposit protection is a measure implemented in many countries to protect bank depositors, in full or in part, from losses caused by a bank's inability to pay its debts when due. Deposit insurance systems are one component of a financial system safety net that promotes financial stability.
Canadian Tire Services Ltd. (CTSL), doing business as Canadian Tire Bank, is the financial services subsidiary of the Canadian Tire retail chain. The bank is based in Oakville, Ontario, and has additional business operations in St. Catharines and Welland, Ontario. Between 1968 and 2016, Canadian Tire Services Ltd. was known as Canadian Tire Financial Services Ltd..
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.
CS Alterna Bank, operating as Alterna Bank, is a Canadian direct bank and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Ontario-based credit union Alterna Savings. The bank offers chequing and high-interest savings accounts and mortgages.
Caisse populaire acadienne ltée, operating as UNI Financial Cooperation, is a Francophone credit union based in New Brunswick, Canada whose members are primarily Acadians. UNI's administrative headquarters are in Caraquet on the Acadian Peninsula.
Cooperative banking is retail and commercial banking organized on a cooperative basis. Cooperative banking institutions take deposits and lend money in most parts of the world.
Servus Credit Union is a member-owned, community-based financial institution based in Edmonton, Alberta, and in 2015 became the second-largest credit union in Canada and the largest credit union in Alberta. Servus has around 380,000 members, who are served by nearly 2,400 employees from 100 locations in 59 communities across Alberta and as of 2021 has $17.2 billion in assets under its administration.
The Canadian Credit Union Association is the national trade association for credit unions in Canada. Founded in 1953, it rebranded to its current name in January 2016 to reflect its "evolving role as an association that is focused on growing a stronger... credit union industry."
The Province of Ontario Savings Office (POSO) was a financial institution established by the Government of Ontario, Canada in 1922 to provide a government-owned alternative to banks. The POSO was closed in 2003 when its assets were sold to the Quebec-based Desjardins Group cooperative of caisses populaires to form Desjardins Credit Union. In 2011, Desjardins Credit Unions in Ontario were transferred to Meridian Credit Union.
Desjardins Financial Security (DFS) is the life and health insurance arm of Desjardins Group, the leading financial institution in Quebec and the largest cooperative financial group in Canada. DFS registered a record-breaking revenue data in 2016, with a year-over-year increase of 12.5%. In terms of written premium, the industry ranks second in Quebec, and fifth in Canada.
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario is a self-funding Crown agency which acts as the financial regulator for the Canadian province of Ontario. Established in 2016, FSRA officially succeeded its predecessor agencies – the Financial Services Commission of Ontario and the Deposit Insurance Corporation of Ontario – on June 8, 2019. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario operates at arms-length from the Government of Ontario, and reports to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario through the Minister of Finance.
Innovation Federal Credit Union is a Canadian credit union. It was formed on January 1, 2007, through the merger of Southwest Credit Union and BCU Financial. Innovation is the third largest credit union in Saskatchewan and the 21st largest credit union in Canada. Deposits are insured by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC).
The Desjardins Ontario Credit Union was formed 1 January 2020 with the merger of 11 Ontario Desjardins-affiliated credit unions, along with its federation, into one credit union insured by the FRSAO. The credit union has 50 branches and 130,000 members. Billy Boucher is the credit union's first CEO.
Once continued federally, FCUs become members of CDIC. As such, eligible deposits placed with an FCU enjoy CDIC deposit protection.