Gulf and Fraser Credit Union becomes fourth Lower Mainland credit union to expand into the B.C. Interior | General financial discussion | Discussion forum

Over the past twenty years, several Lower Mainland- and Vancouver Island-focused B.C. credit unions have expanded their geographic reach by entering the B.C. Interior market, whether through merger or by organic growth. Prospera Credit Union was first out of the gate, opening branches organically in Kelowna, Vernon, and Penticton, and building their brand by sponsoring the City of Kelowna's sports complex, then known as Skyreach Place and renamed Prospera Place. Next came Envision Credit Union, which was the first to grow by merger. Partially out of regulatory necessity in that Stabilization Credit Union and the B.C. Financial Institutions Commission had Valley First Credit Union under regulatory watch with respect to capital adequacy at the time (the Stabilization annual reports note this), Envision formed a two-way merger to create First West Credit Union with Valley First Credit Union. They also had a technology partnership with First Calgary Savings Credit Union and had early plans to eventually merge, when cross-border mergers were allowed. That partnership has since been called off, and First Calgary (now Connect First Credit Union) has ditched the multi-brand model. Finally, Coast Capital Savings Credit Union came to Kelowna organically by opening a single branch. Initially, there were plans to open multiple branches, including a branch in nearby West Kelowna, but those plans seem to have been abandoned.

Now, though, Gulf and Fraser Credit Union (operating as G+F Financial Group) has reached an agreement with Grand Forks and District Credit Union (which brands itself more recently as GFCU) and members have overwhelming ratified it. The merger is to take legal effect January 1, 2023. Interestingly, they both share common branding, so I think this merger makes sense. By amalgamating with a small credit union in a single location, it's unlikely they are amalgamating with it to close a rural branch, as First West did with the Lumby branch of Valley First some years later. So I think this is a good deal. 🙂

Interestingly, AltaRed just mentioned Grand Forks & District Credit Union in his recent citation of the quarterly CCUA largest credit unions report. As I've previously noted, as more and more credit unions merge, the barriers to entry to that report become increasingly lower in that the asset size metric gets lower and lower. Whereas there were previously hundreds of non-Desjardins-affiliated credit unions in Canada, there are now barely more than 200. At some point in the not too distant future, the top 100 credit unions report will have to be renamed the Complete List of Credit Unions in Canada (Up to 100).

Cheers,
Doug