TORONTO, March 24, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- New Brunswick's Fédération des Caisses populaires acadiennes marked an important milestone in its effort to become the first credit union in the country to obtain a federal charter by publishing a notice of the potential move in the Canada Gazette.
"New federal regulations allow us to better align our capital and liquidity requirements with our risk," explained Camille Theriault, CEO, Caisse populaire acadienne. "Being a co-op, these efficiencies will benefit all our members and our communities in New Brunswick."
By law, applicants for a federal charter must publish a notice in the Canada Gazette at least four weeks before a member vote on whether to authorize a federal application. The vote is scheduled to take place over three days from April 13 to April 15. The Gazette notice also indicates that a vote in favour of federal incorporation would cause deposit insurance coverage to switch from the provincial to the federal deposit insurer.
"By reaching beyond provincial boundaries and pursing business strategies that are not constrained by provincial incorporation, the Fédération des Caisses populaires acadiennes can better seek growth opportunities and enhance member service," said Martha Durdin, president and CEO, Credit Union Central of Canada. "We will continue to follow their progress closely."
Credit Union Central of Canada (CUCC) represented credit union interests in working with the federal government over a two-year period to create a federal credit union framework that was consistent with cooperative principles and relevant to credit unions. The federal government announced the coming into force of the legislative framework – a historic announcement for the Canadian credit union system – on December 21, 2012.
About Credit Union Central of Canada (CUCC)
Credit Union Central of Canada is the national trade association for the Canadian credit union system. Canada's credit union system is a vital competitor in the financial services industry. CUCC represents five provincial/regional Centrals and one Federation representing 313 credit unions with more than $170.96 billion in assets and serving over 5.3 million members, outside of Quebec. For more information about Canada's credit union system visit www.cucentral.ca.
For the 10th consecutive year, Canadians ranked credit unions first overall in Customer Service Excellence, among all financial institutions, surpassing all Canadian banks in Ipsos 2014 Best Banking Awards. Credit Unions also took sole honours in: Customer Service Excellence; Values my Business; and Branch Service Excellence. Credit unions tied for first among all financial institutions for Financial Planning and Advice; Automated Telephone Banking Excellence; and Live Agent Telephone Banking Excellence.
About the Mouvement
Founded in 1946, the Mouvement des caisses populaires acadiennes is the largest Acadian financial institution in New Brunswick. With global assets totaling more than $3.35 billion, this network of 15 caisses is represented by 51 business locations across New Brunswick. More than 1,000 employees and 200 elected representatives make up the backbone of the organization. For more details, visit our website at http://www.acadie.com.
For more information
Veronica Feldcamp,
Director, Member Services and Communications
Tel: 416-232-3417
Email: feldcampv@cucentral.ca
Mario Griffin
Communications and Public Relations advisor
Fédération des caisses populaires acadiennes
Direct: 506-726-4785
Mobile: 506-724-0078
mario.griffin@acadie.com