BC credit unions have declining political leverage. Banks and credit unions are created and nurtured as political accommodations. Banks are rooted in the constituencies they serve and the political clout of those constituencies, for good or bad. This is the core premise of Fragile by Design: The Political Origins of Banking Crises and Scarce Credit, […]
BC credit unions now have ‘two’ regulatory systems; the second one has been implemented using ‘opportunities’ within the Financial Institutions Act (‘FIA’), not envisioned under the FIA.
Co-operatives can value free markets without conflating these with capitalism, and the monopolies that result.
On paper, credit unions are ‘consumer owned’, but the reality is something different. Cooperative ownership is the unique feature of this form of business, each member-owner has one vote in major decisions, but as credit unions grow the ‘owners’ are eased out. Their control over the business is lost. In truth, consolidation means that member-owners, […]
The e-Newsletter from the CCUA came out this week with an unusual entry at the top. This was the text: 100 Largest Credit Unions and Caisses PopulairesThe latest listing of the largest 100 Canadian credit unions and caisses populaires is out. Some of the highlights As of Q2 2018, the largest 100 credit unions and […]
Canada’s housing strategy is rigged to favour those with big homes and wealth. We unfortunately argue about the small amounts that are expended on those who really need help, missing the real point. I applaud those who call the government to account. Today a blog post at policynote.ca details how the most wealthy have benefited […]
The Ministry of Finance released it’s set of proposals for ‘revising’ the Financial Institutions Act and the Credit Union Incorporation Act back in March. Credit unions and others were invited to comment. I took part in some of the credit union system discussions and I think the ‘credit unions of BC’ provided a polite and […]
A month ago Central 1 published a short ‘white paper’ outlining their rationale for a ‘Digital Co-op Bank‘. The publication follows quickly on the Central 1 conference and AGM in May where virtually all the presentations related to a pending digital revolution in the financial services industry. New management at Central 1 is making a […]
A recent item in the Globe and Mail clearly itemizes the unnecessary complexity regulators have introduced into the mortgage marketplace. The OSFI B20 guideline succeeds in making mortgage qualification, rate comparison, and prepayment penalty regimes less borrower friendly. The new guideline may ‘protect consumers’ from themselves and protect banks from excessive risk taking. However, we […]
Will BC credit unions truly get anything out of the current legislative review? The credit union conferences have passed, those who attended have been entertained with the tales of digital disruption and organizational transformation. Many presenters championed the need to ‘think differently’, to pivot, and to look for the new opportunities. More than one McKinsey […]