Company type | Credit Union |
---|---|
Industry | Financial services |
Founded | Penticton & District Credit Union: 1947 Valley First Credit Union: 1983 Valley First Credit Union and Envision Financial (1946) merged as First West Credit Union (2010) |
Headquarters | , Canada |
Key people | Paulo Araujo, President |
Website | www |
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. [1]
In 2008, Valley First entered into discussions with Langley-based Envision Financial to merge with one another and develop a new financial services organization for Western Canada. In September 2009, members at both credit unions voted in favour of the merger proposal, and on Jan. 1, 2010, Envision Financial and Valley First merged to become First West Credit Union. In 2013, Enderby & District Credit Union joined First West Credit Union, followed by Island Savings Credit Union in 2015.
First West Credit Union has $14 billion in total assets and assets under management, approximately 1,250 employees and more than 250,000 members. The credit union is the third largest in B.C. and the fifth largest in Canada. [2] Its divisions—Envision Financial, Valley First, Island Savings and Enderby & District Financial—operate under their existing brand names in their respective markets.
Valley First has a network of 14 branches throughout the Okanagan, Similkameen and Thompson valleys. Its regional administration center is located in Penticton.[ citation needed ]
In 2010, Valley First launched its signature cause, Feed the Valley. Feed the Valley is a unique hunger fighting initiative that aims to raise food, funds and awareness for food banks in the Valley First trade area. [3] With the ultimate goal of eliminating hunger in the Okanagan, Similkameen and Thompson valleys, Feed the Valley has collected more than 96,000 pounds of food and raised the equivalent of 7,146,000 meals and more than $2,380,000, all supporting local food banks.
In 2008, Valley First entered into discussions with Langley-based Envision Credit Union to merge with one another and develop a new financial services organization for Western Canada.
In September 2009, members at both credit unions voted in favour of the merger proposal, and on Jan. 1, 2010, Valley First and Envision merged to become First West Credit Union. [4] [5]
Valley First is a division of First West Credit Union, which is a member of Central 1 Credit Union and is registered with the Credit Union Deposit Insurance Corporation of BC.
Penticton is a city in the Okanagan Valley of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, situated between Okanagan and Skaha lakes. In the 2016 Canadian Census, its population was 33,761, while its census agglomeration population was 43,432.
The Okanagan, also called the Okanagan Valley and sometimes the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part of the Okanagan Country, extending into the United States as Okanogan County in north-central Washington. According to the 2016 Canadian census, the region's population is 362,258. The largest populated cities are Kelowna, Penticton, Vernon, and West Kelowna.
The Okanogan River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately 115 mi (185 km) long, in southern British Columbia and north central Washington. It drains a scenic plateau region called the Okanagan Country east of the Cascade Range and north and west of the Columbia, and also the Okanagan region of British Columbia. The Canadian portion of the river has been channelized since the mid-1950s.
Coast Capital Savings Federal Credit Union is a member-owned financial co-operative headquartered in Surrey, British Columbia. It has nearly 600,000 members through its 45-location branch network. In 2023, Coast Capital's net income was at $58.5 million. and has branches located in British Columbia, including Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Okanagan and Vancouver Island regions.
Boundary-Similkameen is a provincial electoral district in British Columbia. It was formed in 2008 out of parts of Penticton-Okanagan Valley, West Kootenay-Boundary and Yale-Lillooet. The riding's name corresponds to that of a former riding in the same area, with similar but not identical boundaries.
Keremeos is a village in the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. The name originated from the Similkameen dialect of the Okanagan language word "Keremeyeus" meaning "creek which cuts its way through the flats" referring to Keremeos Creek which flows down from the Upper Benchlands to the Similkameen River that flows past the village.
The Okanagan Nation Alliance is a First Nations Tribal Council in the Canadian province of British Columbia, spanning the Nicola, Okanagan and Similkameen Districts of the Canadian province of British Columbia and also the Colville Indian Reservation in Washington state of the United States of America. Their territory covers roughly 69,000 km2 in the Canadian Province of British Columbia and also some area of Washington state in the United States of America. The diverse landscape covers deserts, lakes, forests, and grasslands.
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.
An electoral redistribution was undertaken in 2008 in British Columbia in a process that began in late 2005 and was completed with the passage of the Electoral Districts Act, 2008 on April 10, 2008. The redistribution modified most electoral boundaries in the province and increased the number of MLAs from 79 to 85. The electoral boundaries created by the redistribution were first used in the 2009 provincial election.
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South Okanagan-Similkameen Transit provides local public, regional, and interregional transportation services in the City of Penticton in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada, and outlying communities, with a fleet of fully accessible low floor transit buses. The system consists of six scheduled routes serving the city, and routes to outlying communities including Summerland, Naramata, Princeton, and Osoyoos.
First West Credit Union is British Columbia's third largest credit union with nearly $18.6 billion in total assets and assets under administration and more than 253,000 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.
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Launi Skinner is a Canadian business woman, with 20 years of experience leading several high-profile companies within Canada and internationally, including Starbucks US, 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, and First West Credit Union. Skinner is currently chief executive officer of First West Credit Union, one of Canada's largest credit unions.
Tracy Gray is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the riding of Kelowna—Lake Country in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2019 and 2021 Canadian federal elections. She served in both the 43rd and 44th Canadian Parliaments as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. As a Member of Parliament she introduced one bill, Bill C-283 An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Corrections and Conditional Release Act , which sought to utilize penitentiaries as addiction treatment facilities but it was defeated at second reading. Prior to her election in the House of Commons, she was a city councillor for Kelowna City Council.
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