North Peace Savings and Credit Union Members Vote in Favour of Joining with Interior Savings
May 15, 2023
During the week of May 8-12, 2023, the members of North Peace Savings and Credit Union voted 82.7% in favour of merging with Interior Savings Credit Union. A minimum 67% of the votes cast, must be in favour, thus the proposal received the necessary approval to move ahead.
The merger, which will come into effect on July 1, 2023, will combine over 150 years of experience to create a stronger credit union with the resources and scale needed to better serve members within an increasingly competitive landscape.
“By bringing our two well-established and values-based credit unions together, we can provide more affordable, competitive and innovative banking options to members, greater access to training and career development opportunities for employees, and increase our investment in our communities,” said Ted Pahl, CEO of North Peace Savings and Credit Union. “I’m particularly excited about the new $1 Million North Peace Savings Community Legacy Fund which will benefit important community programs and initiatives in the North Peace and Northern Rockies regions for years to come.”
While the combined credit union will operate under the legal name of Interior Savings Credit Union, there is not expected to be an immediate rebranding of NPSCU branches which will continue to operate under the name ‘North Peace Savings’. The combined credit union will provide a network of 25 branches and 16 insurance locations to approximately 90,000 members from Fort Nelson to communities across the Thompson Okanagan. Combined total assets under administration will be approximately $4.15 billion.
Noting their common values and shared commitment to preserving the human connection in banking, merger talks between the two credit unions began in 2021. With approval from both boards of directors, a business case was filed in December 2022 with BC’s Financial Services Authority (BCFSA). In April, BCFSA gave consent to take the proposal to a member vote.
According to Brian Harris, CEO of Interior Savings, “We are thrilled that North Peace Savings members have voted in favour of this merger. We look forward to becoming a part of the scenic and energetic communities of the North Peace and Northern Rockies and to welcoming North Peace Savings employees to our team as we work together to take all that is great about our credit unions and make it even better.”
While integration planning is underway, members will notice very few immediate changes to their banking. North Peace Savings members can continue to bank as they normally would. As the credit unions work to integrate operations, they will keep members informed and work to minimize disruption as much as possible.
For more information on the merged credit union, go to www.together-strong.ca.
About Interior Savings
Interior Savings is a financial service cooperative spanning the BC interior from the Thompson Okanagan in the south and up through the Cariboo with branches from Oliver to Prince George. We provide a full range of personal and business banking, investment, and insurance solutions to approximately 80,000 members. With a passion for educating and empowering others to achieve their financial goals, we focus on providing advice tailored uniquely for each one of our members and have supported our collective membership and invested in our local communities for over 80 years. Learn more at interiorsavings.com or visit Interior Savings on Facebook or Do Some Good.
About North Peace Savings
North Peace Savings is a financial services cooperative that is owned by its membership. We continually strive to provide proactive service and creative financial solutions for our members – all while investing in and supporting our communities across the Peace and Northern Rockies regions with branches in Fort St. John, Fort Nelson, and Hudson’s Hope. We have been serving and helping our retail, business and wealth management members, and our community to reach their financial goals for more than 75 years. Learn more at www.npscu.ca, or visit North Peace Savings and Credit Union on Facebook.
To learn more
Visit www.together-strong.ca, email North Peace Savings at strongertogether@npscu.ca or reach Interior Savings at strongertogether@interiorsavings.com
Learn More About the Merger Transaction
In addition to the Members Guide to the Proposed Merger, we encourage you to review our Supplemental Information Package. Download it here or pick up a copy at your local North Peace Savings and Credit Union Branch. It includes a copy of the full Asset Transfer Agreement, the BCFSA letter of consent, alternatives considered, Interior Savings’ rules and profiles of the directors and CEO of the proposed combined credit union.
Attend a member information session
We welcome and encourage you to attend one of our upcoming member information sessions where you’ll have the opportunity to learn more from our leadership and board about the Proposed Merger and to ask questions.
We will host one virtual session as well as an open house in each of our branches.
Thank you for being a part of our credit union and for lending your voice to help guide our future direction. If you have any questions or feedback on the Proposed Merger, please contact us at strongertogether@npscu.ca
BENEFITS OF THE MERGER
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
The proposed merger is about taking all that is great about our credit unions and making it even better. By combining our teams, our expertise and our assets, we expect we will be stronger, better able to respond to increasing member needs, innovation in technology, regulatory requirements and heightened competition, and we’ll have increased lending capacity to serve the growing needs of our economy and business community.
- As members, your financial needs and expectations of your financial institution are changing. We want to continue to be your trusted source of financial advice and be part of this community for many years to come, offering you the benefits of local, knowledgeable, and expert staff to help you reach your unique financial goals.
- The regulatory environment, as you would expect, financial institutions must comply with regulations of multiple regulatory bodies. Instances of money laundering, cybercrime and fraud on the rise and we foresee regulatory bodies requiring heightened oversight and therefore increased regulatory costs having to be borne by financial institutions as they continue to meet the regulators requirements as we all fight financial crime. These imposed expectations and rules create additional burden for a small credit union and will require skilled labour or technological resources that are difficult or costly to implement in smaller communities. The safety and security of our member assets and personal information is of utmost importance as we continue to strive to meet regulatory requirements.
- Innovation in technology is rapid and costly, and small credit unions like ours can find it difficult to keep up with competitors’ product and service offerings — we always feel like we are trying to play catch up with our Credit Union peers never mind the major Canadian banks who have made the transition to digital their priority and therefore setting the stage for all financial institutions as we compete to meet the needs of British Columbians.
- The economic and competitive landscape is changing for financial institutions. The competition is vast and consumer expectations are being redefined as digital giants such as Apple, Google and Amazon challenge the status quo with innovative digital offerings that consumers are readily being drawn to – this includes banking.
- Attracting and retaining skilled staff has become, and we expect will continue to be, very challenging. Many businesses are facing staffing shortages and are finding it challenging to find the more specialized skills that are needed to meet new and more complex demands. The Proposed Merger with Interior Savings brings with it greater scale and therefore we expect it will bring with it greater access to shared expert resources, and more opportunities for staff to expand their knowledge and develop their careers as part of a larger entity.
Should the North Peace Savings and Credit Union membership vote in favour of the Proposed Merger, the two Credit Unions would officially merge on July 1, 2023.
Our credit unions are committed to providing you with same high-quality, personal service that exists today. At the time of the initial merger, you will notice little change to your banking and you can continue to bank as you normally would.
Over time, we will integrate our systems and operations so that you will have more products and services available to you, as well as more ways and more places within BC’s Interior to connect with us, including an expanded network of 25 branches. Our goal is to minimize disruption as much as possible throughout this transition.