OLDS - More than 300 people attended the recent fully-online connectFirst Credit Union annual general meeting, with discussions including the pending merger with Servus Credit Union, say officials.
“At the annual general meeting, we talked about the past year’s journey, sharing our wins and acknowledging the challenges we faced,” Beth Kerr, manager of brand and communication, told the Albertan.
“A key highlight was our governance update, where as part of our efforts to ensure governance stability and continuity, we officially acclaimed our four incumbent director candidates for a one-year term, or until the amalgamation with Servus Credit Union, whichever comes first.”
Returning directors are Anne Johnson, Cindy Skrukwa, Karim Teja, and Michel Cantin.
There are connectFirst Credit Union branches in Olds, Didsbury, Carstairs, Cremona and Sundre, with a total of more than 40 branches in central and southern Alberta. Edmonton-based Servus Credit Union has 102 branches, including in Innisfail.
Eight-five per cent of connectFirst Credit Union members who voted at a special general meeting in Calgary on Nov. 9, 2023 have approved a proposed merger with Servus Credit Union.
The vote came following a Sept. 19 vote by Servus members approving the merger. In that vote, 84 per cent of members who voted approved the merger.
Servus and connectFirst are continuing to operate independently pending the completion of the regulatory process, including approval by the Competition Bureau of Canada.
“We don’t have a timeline on that at the moment, so it is still in progress and we are working with them on anything they needs. We do not yet have their decision,” said Kerr.
“We are still completely operating as separate entities. It is certainly our hope that (the merger) will happen soon, but we are working on their timeline.”
If approved, the new entity would have more than $30 billion in assets and would serve approximately 500,000 residents in 80 Alberta communities.
During the recent connectFirst annual general meeting, members were presented with financial reports for 2023.
In a member financial package presented and accepted during the meeting, connectFirst officials said the past year was a time of challenges, including the impact of Bank of Canada interest rate increases.
“In the face of increasing interest rats and higher inflation, connectFirst experienced a decline in profitability compared to the previous year,” officials said. “In a year marked by a challenging financial landscape, our results were notably affected by decreased lending activity and compressed interest margin - the difference between interest earned on loans and paid on deposits.
“The broader economic volatility and risk also necessitated increased allocation for loan losses. Despite these challenges, connectFirst’s strategic expense management and focus on non-interest revenue streams enabled the credit union to achieve a modest profit during the year.
“While overall asset growth and profitability were modest, we are proud to maintain our strong tradition of sharing dividends with our members while continuing to invest in our people, products and technology.”
In 2023, total assets of the credit union increased $65.9 million or 0.9 per cent, while total loans increased $68.8, a 1.1 per cent increase over the previous year.
The loan composition in 2023 was 44.1 per cent residential, 37.2 per cent commercial, 11.2 per cent consumer, and 7.5 per cent agricultural.
The complete 2023 financial report can be found on the connectFirst website.
