What happened: The province’s Financial Institutions Commission has given regulatory consent to a proposed merger between Prospera Credit Union and Westminster Savings Credit Union
Why it matters: The two financial institutions had previously called off merger talks in 2015
A union between two B.C. financial institutions is one step closer to reality.
B.C.’s Financial Institutions Commission has given regulatory consent to a proposed merger between Prospera Credit Union and Westminster Savings Credit Union.
A successful merger would create the province’s sixth-largest credit union with $9.5 billion in assets, more than 120,000 members, 900 employees and 29 branches.
The September 19 approval marks a change in direction for the two credit unions, which had been in the midst of merger talks throughout much of 2014 before calling off those plans in January 2015.
“Ultimately I think both organizations were at a different place,” Gavin Toy, president and CEO of Westminster Savings, told Business in Vancouver.
“But we did conclude on a good note and we did keep dialogue, and discussions and certainly relationships going.”
Talks resumed again in early 2018 and Toy said the organizations have been developing a day-one readiness plan in the event the voting membership of each credit union gives the merger the green light.
Two-thirds of members from both organizations will need to vote in favour of the merger before it can be approved.
Voting among members will take place from October 30 to November 15, while the results will be revealed at a special annual general meeting on November 21.
If approved, Toy said the plan is to have the newly merged organization officially launch on January 1, 2020, under the Prospera Credit Union banner.
Toy said the goal would be to further carve out a niche on serving B.C. small businesses and have more resources to pour into building a “digital-first mindset” offering new technologies and products to members.
“Our members have been asking us for quite some time to certainly expand our geographic footprint,” he said.
“The combination of the two organizations with now a … physical infrastructure that runs west from Granville Street [in] Vancouver through to the Lower Mainland, the Fraser Valley and into the Interior, I think is very, very attractive.”
