Assiniboine Credit Union (ACU) is a

credit union A credit union is a member-owned nonprofit organization, nonprofit cooperative financial institution. They may offer financial services equivalent to those of commercial banks, such as share accounts (savings accounts), share draft accounts (che ...

based in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

. ACU was formed in 1943 by 15 employees of the Winnipeg Electric Company who got together to form the credit union. They named the new credit union after the street their company headquarters was on—Assiniboine Avenue. ACU now has 18 branches in Winnipeg and

northern Manitoba Northern Manitoba (also known as NorMan or Nor-Man) is a geographic and cultural region of the Canadian province of Manitoba. Manitoba originally encompassed only a small square around the Red River Colony, but it was extended north to the 60th ...

. ACU merged with Astra and Vantis credit unions in 2007.

Branches

, Assiniboine Credit Union has 17 branches: 16 in

and one in

— Thompson. , ACU has two

community economic development Community economic development (CED) is a field of study that actively elicits community involvement when working with government and private sectors to build strong communities, industries, and markets. It includes collaborative and participatory ...

branches - in the

West Broadway West Broadway is a north-south street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, separated into two parts by Tribeca Park. The northern part begins at Tribeca Park, near the intersection of Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue), Walker Street ...

and North End neighborhoods of Winnipeg.ACU 2020 annual report
/ref> These branches are deliberately placed in

low-income Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse

areas in order to provide financial services to those ignored by the large commercial banks. The North End location was opened in 2012, on McGregor Street at College Avenue.

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. Camilla was raised in East Sussex and South Kensington i ...

toured the facility during her visit to Winnipeg to learn more about Manitoba Credit Unions.

History

In 1943, under the backdrop of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and its impact on the world's economies, Ed McCaffrey and 8 co-workers from the Winnipeg Electric Company formed Assiniboine Credit Union, naming it after the street its headquarters was on—Assiniboine Avenue. Many Manitobans at the time were subjected to high

interest rates An interest rate is the amount of interest due per period, as a proportion of the amount lent, deposited, or borrowed (called the principal sum). The total interest on an amount lent or borrowed depends on the principal sum, the interest rate, ...

charged by

money lenders In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the debt ( ...

. McCaffrey and his colleagues thereby established ACU as an open

bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Fidelity bond, a type of insurance policy for employers * Chemical bond, t ...

that welcomed everyone in the community to join. In 2020, Assiniboine Credit Union received its B Corporation certification, after received an assessment score of 166.4, the highest in Canada and 6th highest in the world among over 3,500 certified B Corps.

Mergers

Mergers have been a large part of the history and success of credit unions over the years. ACU's history of mergers began in 1948, when Winnipeg Postal District Employees and Federal Employees of Manitoba merged with Keystone Credit Union, which ultimately merged with Assiniboine Credit Union in 1979. On 24 June 2021, Assiniboine Credit Union signed a formal agreement to

merge Merge, merging, or merger may refer to: Concepts * Merge (traffic), the reduction of the number of lanes on a road * Merge (linguistics), a basic syntactic operation in generative syntax in the Minimalist Program * Merger (politics), the comb ...

with Entegra Credit Union, followed by a public announcement 5 days later. Formally taking effect on 1 January 2022, the new entity will retain the Assiniboine Credit Union name; likewise, the current President and CEO of ACU, Kevin Sitka, will head the new credit union, while the CEO of Entegra, Brent Turman, will become Chief Operations and Strategic Initiatives Officer.

References

External links

* {{Canadian banks, credit unions B Lab-certified corporations Companies based in Winnipeg Credit unions of Manitoba

Branches

History

Mergers

See also

References

External links