Vancouver City Savings Credit Union, commonly referred to as Vancity, is a member-owned
financial
Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of f ...
co-operative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
headquartered in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...
, British Columbia, Canada. By asset size, Vancity is the largest community
credit union
A credit union, a type of financial institution similar to a commercial bank, is a member-owned nonprofit financial cooperative. Credit unions generally provide services to members similar to retail banks, including deposit accounts, provis ...
in Canada , with in assets plus assets under administration, 60 branches and more than 543,000 members.
History
Vancity began operations in 1946 as an open-bond credit union in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Initially a financial co-operative consisting of 14 Vancouver residents, Vancity has grown to serve British Columbia's
Lower Mainland
The Lower Mainland is a geographic and cultural region of the mainland coast of British Columbia that generally comprises the regional districts of Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley. Home to approximately 3.05million people as of the 2021 Cana ...
and the
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
region of
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...
.
On September 28, 1946, 14 Vancouver residents signed a charter to establish an open-bond credit union that would be open to any resident of the city, regardless of social affiliation. On October 11, 1946, Vancouver City Savings Credit Union opened to the public. By the end of 1946, total assets were $2,966.
Vancity first operated out of a former machine shop on the corner of Broadway and Quebec streets in Vancouver. By the end of 1951, membership had reached 2,000. Assets grew rapidly after the introduction of
personal chequing accounts in the same year, reaching $5million in 1962, $10million in 1965, $100million in 1973, and $1billion by 1980. , current assets are $22.9billion.
Milestones
Vancity has a history of innovation in the North American financial services market:
* 1946: the first financial institution to provide mortgages for properties in Vancouver's working class east end.
[Hardin, Hershel (1996). ''Working Dollars.'' Douglas & MacIntyre, Vancouver. ]
* 1959: the first financial institution in Canada to offer open mortgages.
* 1961: the first financial institution in British Columbia to provide mortgages to women without a male co-signer.
* 1967: the first financial institution in Canada to offer a daily interest savings account, calculating interest earnings on a daily basis.
* 1980: the first financial institution in Canada to offer an all-in-one banking statement.
* 1986: offers Canada's first socially responsible mutual fund, the Ethical Growth Fund.
* 1988: the first financial institution in Canada to offer a Registered Education Savings Plan.
* 1991: the first credit union in Canada to acquire a trust company, Citizens Trust Company.
* 1997: the first financial institution in Canada to establish a branchless bank, Citizens Bank of Canada.
* 2002: the first financial institution in Canada to market to the gay and lesbian community through mainstream advertising.
*2008: the first financial institution in North America to become carbon neutral.
*2010: the first financial institution in Canada to join th
Global Alliance for Banking on Values
*2011: the largest organization in Canada (at the time) to adopt a Living Wage policy.
*2014: one of the first mainstream financial institutions to launch an alternative to payday loans for its members, the Vancity Fair & Fast Loan™.
* 2017: Citizens Bank of Canada renamed Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB).
* 2019: VCIB acquired CoPower, a sustainable investment platform that issues green bonds and funds loans for clean energy and energy efficiency projects.
* 2022: Vancity becomes the first Canadian financial institution to set real estate emissions reduction targets.
List of directors
*
Robert Arthur Williams
Robert Arthur Williams (born January 20, 1933) is a consultant and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Vancouver East in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1966 to 1976 and from 1984 to 1991 as a New Democratic ...
(1983–1995, 2007–2016)
Services
Vancity's primary lines of business include
retail
Retail is the sale of goods and Service (economics), services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturing, manufacturers, dire ...
and
business
Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit."
Having a business name does not separ ...
banking (deposit-taking and lending) and
mortgage lending. Through wholly owned subsidiaries, Vancity also operates
foreign exchange,
life insurance
Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the dea ...
,
Visa credit cards
A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder's accrued debt (i.e., promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts plus the ...
,
real estate development
Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re- lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to other ...
, and
investment advisor
A financial adviser or financial advisor is a professional who provides financial services to clients based on their financial situation. In many countries, financial advisors must complete specific training and be registered with a regulatory ...
y services
Membership
Vancity is a member of Central 1 Credit Union and is registered with the
. In December 2010, Vancity joined the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV).
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Financial services companies established in 1946
1946 establishments in British Columbia
Credit unions of British Columbia
Global Alliance for Banking on Values
Companies based in Vancouver