The BC regulated credit union sector is suddenly 30% smaller. Sector total balance sheet assets in December were @$84B, with modest growth over the year. But in the last two months it is shrinking dramatically. On April 1/26 Tru Cooperative Bank (formerly First West CU) went federal (@$15B). And on May 6/26 Prospera (@$9B) and Sunshine Coast (@$1B) also went federal, as part of the merger of these two with Coast Capital (a federal credit union). The BC system is now @$60B.
Vancity now occupies the truly dominant role. With @$32B in assets Vancity comprises over 50% of the BC system.
In addition, the merger of Innovation Credit Union (a Saskatchewan-based federal credit union) with ABCU Credit Union of Alberta broke new ground – the new credit union is the first credit union with a branch network in more than one province. The prospect of further consolidation is clear.
In the near term,this leaves small credit unions scrambling. Shared ‘central’ supports are withering. And market realities, along with social trends, have undermined member loyalty. There are fewer and fewer ‘local’ credit unions left: Nelson, Ladysmith, Bulkley Valley…
This past Monday Vancity held it’s 80th annual general meeting. I attended the Vancity meeting in the hope of gaining some new insights into what the future might bring. I was surprised that there was no mention of the big changes occurring in the BC system. And I was amused by the CEO’s frequent use of the term “community banking” proudly. He seemed to imply that a large Vancouver-based credit union’s branch in Powell River was equivalent to Powell River having it’s own credit union. How the political movement that created local credit unions has been turned on it’s head.
Vancity pioneered the ‘large geographic bond credit union’ – a ‘near bank’. And Vancity once again claimed to be the nation’s largest credit union (Servus in Alberta briefly claimed that title in 2025). This past year Vancity acquired First Credit Union – formerly Powell River Credit Union (and once boasted that it was the ‘first’ credit union in BC).
I believe the BC regulated system now has 20 independent credit unions. Two, Vancity and Beem, have assets totaling @$45B, or 75% of the system. This is exceptional concentration. These two are going to continue down the path of ‘acquisitions’. Coast Capital and Tru Cooperative Bank will prospectively make competing offers.
Has anyone compiled a list of things we want these large credit unions to do, and possibly more importantly, what not to do? And how to monitor and pressure compliance to good practices? A non-profit, non-government consumers association specifically targeting credit unions?