4.00% 33-month Convertible GIC offer | Page 2 | Coast Capital Savings | Discussion forum

Loonie said
i understand what you're saying about Meridian. I had been thinking mostly about their intention to also go national. Not sure where that is at right now.
Meridian's projected niche seems to be mass market we'll-give-you-a-better-deal-than-BigFive rather than top of the heap rates.

Are you positive this is not available to non-residents of BC? I don't see anything about residency on their website app section. Somewhere, I read "wherever you live" or words to that effect, implying anywhere. But perhaps there is an overall restriction in BC which applies to all of them.

It's too bad the CUs have to lose their unlimited provincial insurance when they go national. I suppose this is some gov't regulation, but why can't the national CU organization set something up? CDIC limits are out of date IMO, and I see no good reason for them - unless it's true that CUs are better managed than banks.

Great deal for those in BC! I doubt they will have this offer when they roll out nationally, but there could be some kind of "opening special"!  

The promo itself does not restrict non-residents of B.C. in the sense that if you already have an existing Coast membership, you're eligible. However, if you don't currently have a membership, you can't create one due to B.C. credit union regulations prohibiting sign-ups by non-B.C. residents. B.C. and Alberta have regulations in effect that require provincial residency. Saskatchewan doesn't explicitly prohibit it but, as a matter of practice, only its Innovation Credit Union allows out of province residents to sign up - and they're to go national sometime next year.

As for Meridian, theirs is likely taking longer because they're going the "old fashioned route" of incorporating a chartered bank subsidiary. I wonder if they're re-thinking that, perhaps? Sure, DICO has higher deposit insurance coverage limits that might want to retain but it's not unlimited. Moreover, Coast is forgoing B.C.'s unlimited deposit insurance coverage. Meridian may also be getting "push" from OSFI to go with the federal credit union conversion route, too.

As for customer targeting, Coast targets mass customers, too, just like Meridian but I think the difference is in their funding model (i.e., Coast relies on deposits more than Meridian hence the higher rates).

Cheers,
Doug

Top It Up said
Just spoke with Coast Capital - the woman said you don't need to be a B.C resident BUT you need a B.C. address to open an account ... DUH!  

That's the provincial residency requirement. It's probably open to existing Coast members who live in Ontario but not to non-B.C. residents who aren't yet members. I'd be curious to know who JenE's financial advisor is (i.e., from Coast or other FI). If other FI, it's likely because it's not a broker GIC promo.

Cheers,
Doug

Bill said
Their member T&C seem to indicate no need to reside in BC:

"This agreement is governed by the laws of the Province of British Columbia and the federal laws of Canada applicable in British Columbia, irrespective of where you live or where you when you are located when you apply for membership."

But elsewhere their site says "Who can open an account? We’re happy you’re interested in opening an account at Coast Capital Savings. Anyone living in British Columbia can apply for a membership."  

Exactly. This is proof positive why it is not helpful, often, to rely exclusively on the legalese. You can reside elsewhere in Canada and be a Coast member, currently, but to open a new membership, B.C. residency is required. 🙂

Cheers,
Doug

James said
If anyone proves the above wrong, or has any other ideas, please let me know as I'd like to take advantage of the offer. I'm going to try some brokers and see what they say. I'm not sure why I can open accounts in Manitoba and other provinces in the country but just not in BC - especially when they are expanding nationally in any case. That doesn't seem logical to me.  

I suspect it's not a broker GIC offer, so that's out. Their hands are tied vis-a-vis B.C. residency for new members. It's a B.C. Financial Institutions Commission rule and provincial regulation. B.C. and Alberta prohibit new members from joining who don't maintain residency in those provinces. Saskatchewan doesn't specifically prohibit it but most Saskatchewan credit unions don't allow it or they require a branch visit to finalize the new membership opening. Innovation Credit Union allows out of province membership sign-ups online but they're set to be Canada's 3rd national credit union, sometime in 2019.

You could probably use a family member's address as your residential and mailing addresses for a few months using Coast's new digital account opening tool but that may cause a mismatch based on your current credit file and put it through to a Contact Centre agent for further review, who would likely have to decline the membership opening.

Existing Coast members living elsewhere would likely be eligible for this promo, though.

Cheers,
Doug

GR said
As per telecon with Coast Capital customer service rep:
Resident of Ontario can apply to become a member on-line and buy the 33 month term deposit special, but I did not attempt the application form.
Interest on this product is compounded annually, so interest can not be paid out to the client before maturity.
They do not have electronic funds transfers, so they can mail client a cheque/draft at maturity of the term deposit, with a service charge of $10.  

Or you could have it paid to your Coast savings account and link that account to your external account, like I do, and make the transfer exclusive of Coast, but they can't suggest that nor do most FIs. 🙂

Cheers,
Doug

Yep, you're correct on that, christina. They actually have to manually calculate the number of months when they set it up. 🙂

Loonie, yeah, no non-B.C. residents yet. I see Hubert and Implicity have some 3.25% 4- or 5-year GICs so that gets you pretty close. 🙂

I haven't had a 4%+ rate since I did a 24-month debt consolidation loan for my sister more than 5 years go when I charged her 5%. I don't think that was gouging, do you? It was unsecured and it was better than the 19.99% she was paying and it got her into using debt responsibly because knowing she had to make regular payments really helped. With the "bank of Mom and Dad," she always knows she could just get them to overlook a payment.

Cheers,
Doug