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Email this2:05 pm
February 4, 2017
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Loonie said
There is truth in both camps, which doesn't make this decision easy, at least for me.There is no question, in my experience, that mergers mean lower rates for us, often worse customer service, etc. The so-called 'efficiencies' are not obvious from our end.
The case for merger includes the idea that it is necessary in the long run for the CU's survival. This may actually be true, but the problem is that I have not heard the case for this clearly presented.
I'm still waiting for a clear answer on this question. All I heard so far was that efficiencies were needed and would presumably improve the bottom line and that fintechs are a threat, but no details.I am willing to consider these issues as possible valid reasons for merger, but the absence of detail leaves me no choice but to vote "no".
I can't help but think of other small CUs that I belong to. One of them sends out absolutely no emails or postal mail except the T5 and I never hear from them, but they have given me some of the best rates possible from time to time. It's a pleasure not to be bombarded with junk (e)mail.
Another small CU that I belong to sends only twice yearly statements, no other communication except T5. They tell me that, according to a criterion used by CUs (I forget the details unfortunately), they are one of the most successful in the province. And they have good rates.By contrast, the 3 large CUs that i belong to give very mediocre rates most of the time. I will be dropping one of them in March. I will keep the other two because they have bricks and mortar and longer phone access hours, which I sometimes need.
With the small CUs, I can talk to the CEO if I need to. I doubt I'd ever get through to the CEOs of the large ones.
I think they might consider other models than mergers. I'm no expert, but perhaps they could consider federations of small CUs, where they use some back room work and technology in common but keep their service models unique.
I am somewhat alarmed that the case has not been clearly made. Maybe there really is a good case but it is not being well communicated. I would like to be able to consider it seriously, but the "father knows best" model is not doing it for me.
Well said. Thankyou.
3:22 pm
October 21, 2013
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P.S. I have formally requested more info. Will let you know if I get any. If anyone finds it on their website, please let me know; i haven't searched.
5:58 pm
January 12, 2019
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Loonie said
P.S. I have formally requested more info. Will let you know if I get any. If anyone finds it on their website, please let me know; i haven't searched.
Loonie,
I searched the Hubert site and couldn't find any details on the reasons/justifications for the merger. However, I hit pay-dirt when I went to Sunova's website.
Read down through this page ➡ https://cusuccess.ca/about-merger/
There's also this, as well ➡ https://cusuccess.ca/
- Dean
" Live Long, Healthy ... And Prosper! "
8:43 pm
October 21, 2013
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Thanks very much, Dean.
I looked through these pages. The most useful statement was perhaps this one:
"As credit unions work to keep pace with modern technology, multimillion-dollar investments in initiatives such as Consumer Directed Finance and Payments Modernization loom on the horizon. By making these investments as a larger organization, we achieve economies of scale and reduce the average cost per member for the scope of the project. This results in savings passed onto our membership and increased funds available for our communities.
With improved operational efficiencies, the new organization will be in an even stronger position to not only maintain, but also potentially provide enhanced offerings in the following areas:
Highly competitive rates and fees;
Streamlined account package options that best meet the needs of our combined membership; and
A flexible patronage program designed to thank members with cash rewards for their loyalty."
None of this is costed, so it's really hard to evaluate.
I do think patronage dividends are an excellent idea, not because they will necessarily pay well, but because the CU can wait and see how well they do during a given year before committing themselves to pay us more.
10:09 am
January 12, 2019
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.
And it's also encouraging to see in their list of enhanced offerings (see Loonie's post above ⬆ ), that listed First is; "Highly competitive rates and fees".
This should 'bode well', for all us Hubert fans.
- Dean
" Live Long, Healthy ... And Prosper! "
11:23 am
November 7, 2014
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Dean said
.
And it's also encouraging to see in their list of enhanced offerings (see Loonie's post above ⬆ ), that listed First is; "Highly competitive rates and fees".This should 'bode well', for all us Hubert fans.
Dean
Dean, I applaud your optimism, although I don't share it. The credit unions may have honorable intentions, but, at my age, I've seen a lot of good intentions sail off into the sunset as wishful thinking. Don't forget, they want you to vote "YES" and will promise what they can, within reason, to achieve that goal.
Likely the merger will be successful and we'll get to see how this all evolves. We can always move our money elsewhere if unsatisfied at the eventual results in performance. Recently we have moved some of our money elsewhere due to middling deposit rates. More may follow. Good luck to us all.
7:32 pm
April 6, 2013
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I don't share that optimism either.
They don't mention what others they will be highly competitive with. If the merged credit unions will be the largest in the province, they may start comparing themselves to the largest credit union in BC, VanCity, or the largest bank in Canada, RBC!
The fintechs are no threat. They have no capital. A fintech cannot compete and snatch away $100 million of mortgages, business loans, or credit card balances when it doesn't have $100 million to front.
The threat is when a competitor, like ATB Financial, or a behind-the-scenes partner, like Concentra Bank, agrees to work with a fintech, like Neo Financial, that doesn't have the legacy overhead of an established credit union.
Just think about the efficiencies Neo enjoys by not having a building like this Sunova branch.
8:30 pm
October 21, 2013
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I did get a response to my inquiry asking for more specifics, but it doesn't contain any new information. It basically says they can't be more specific. This leaves me wondering, again, why they're confident this merger will be beneficial.
8:36 pm
October 21, 2013
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I think "highly competitive" just means "competitive enough to be able to sell our GICs". I presume that some people do buy GICs from the likes of VanCity and RBC etc.
9:44 pm
April 6, 2013
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Yes, if one has a large enough branch network, one would be able to reach enough of those who would go for a RBC one-year 0.75% GIC or a VanCity one-year 0.8% term deposit.
Why continue an online division that offers 2% one-year term deposits then?
9:49 pm
April 6, 2013
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Loonie said
I did get a response to my inquiry asking for more specifics, but it doesn't contain any new information. It basically says they can't be more specific. This leaves me wondering, again, why they're confident this merger will be beneficial.
Two of the three CEO's will be gone. Two of the three boards of directors will be gone. Two of the three banking systems will be gone. Two of the three annual filings, like tax returns, will be gone.
Hubert web site will be gone after migrating Hubert clients to the Accelerate one. Efficiency gains also from reducing the rates on the former Hubert accounts to the Accelerate ones. 
5:43 am
March 30, 2017
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Loonie said
I did get a response to my inquiry asking for more specifics, but it doesn't contain any new information. It basically says they can't be more specific. This leaves me wondering, again, why they're confident this merger will be beneficial.
it will be beneficial for the person that becomes the new CEO
Not so much for the departing one (I imagine a pretty shiny golden parachute tho)
Size matters in the FI world. Big 5 can afford to offer low deposit rates cuz they dont really need the deposit (they usually have more capital than they can deploy).
Will lock in a bit more $ in the 1y 2% and will see how Hubert evolves into.
7:47 am
February 7, 2019
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Norman1 said
Loonie said
I did get a response to my inquiry asking for more specifics, but it doesn't contain any new information. It basically says they can't be more specific. This leaves me wondering, again, why they're confident this merger will be beneficial.Two of the three CEO's will be gone. Two of the three boards of directors will be gone. Two of the three banking systems will be gone. Two of the three annual filings, like tax returns, will be gone.
Hubert web site will be gone after migrating Hubert clients to the Accelerate one. Efficiency gains also from reducing the rates on the former Hubert accounts to the Accelerate ones.
I'm a Hubert member/client, not Accelerate. How do the two compare online banking wise?
| CGO |
8:18 am
October 21, 2013
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Norman1 said
Loonie said
I did get a response to my inquiry asking for more specifics, but it doesn't contain any new information. It basically says they can't be more specific. This leaves me wondering, again, why they're confident this merger will be beneficial.Two of the three CEO's will be gone. Two of the three boards of directors will be gone. Two of the three banking systems will be gone. Two of the three annual filings, like tax returns, will be gone.
Hubert web site will be gone after migrating Hubert clients to the Accelerate one. Efficiency gains also from reducing the rates on the former Hubert accounts to the Accelerate ones.
The CEO who remains will likely expect higher pay due to running a larger company, so I don't think there will be savings there.
When the organization gets bigger, it doesn't necessarily result in lower costs. It could be even more complicated and expensive to run, with a need for a larger bureaucracy which may be more sluggish. Everyone working at the highest levels will expect more pay due to larger size that they are responsible for.
I don't see board maintenance as a big expense, unless members are paid, which I doubt they are.
They plan on doing more in terms of community contributions, which might cost more overall. Meridian spends tons of money on concert venues, for example but I have yet to see any analysis that shows this to be useful to Meridian.
Et cetera.
But the basic point is that we have not been given any information on any of these things, so how would we know?
8:53 am
September 11, 2013
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I think the general premise (don't know if it's true) is the bigger you are the better positioned you are to survive in a rapidly-changing environment with new forms of competitors and technology arising regularly. And it's not possible to predict exactly how it's all going to play out as the future is constantly unravelling, there will be more adjustments and changes all along the way.
Hubert's 1-year cashable GIC seems totally out of line with what the market offers these day, offering quarterly rates starting at 1.85% with the ability to cash it in, does anybody else offer anything even close to this? Combined with unlimited insurance at first glance it seems cavalier/irresponsible to me.
9:01 am
February 7, 2019
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Bill said
I think the general premise (don't know if it's true) is the bigger you are the better positioned you are to survive in a rapidly-changing environment with new forms of competitors and technology arising regularly. And it's not possible to predict exactly how it's all going to play out as the future is constantly unravelling, there will be more adjustments and changes all along the way.Hubert's 1-year cashable GIC seems totally out of line with what the market offers these day, offering quarterly rates starting at 1.85% with the ability to cash it in, does anybody else offer anything even close to this? Combined with unlimited insurance at first glance it seems cavalier/irresponsible to me.
I have a number of their 1 year cashable quaterly GIC's. A great product that I refuse to refer to as cavalier/irresponsible. A very good product in my view ...
| CGO |
9:10 am
October 15, 2015
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Someone at redflagdeals reported someone at hubert (i can’t remember who) said the rate would only last until end of january so lock in while you can to be safe. Although it would look poor if the vote was yes and they pulled the rate.
9:16 am
October 15, 2015
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I found the post, the poster says at a shareholder briefing The CEO let slip that the current GIC interest rates are a promo that they plan to reduce at the end of the month. I have a gic that matures feb 1st!
9:32 am
April 6, 2013
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cgouimet said
I'm a Hubert member/client, not Accelerate. How do the two compare online banking wise?
One can have a look around at AcceleRate Financial.
If my Hubert Happy High-Interest Savings account does become an AcceleRate Savings account after the merger, I'll close it. Rate would be lower. Fees would be higher with only one free withdrawal per month.
Hard to justify keeping an Accelerate Savings account when I have an EQ Bank HISA with higher interest and more free transactions.
9:34 am
February 7, 2019
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christinad said
I found the post, the poster says at a shareholder briefing The CEO let slip that the current GIC interest rates are a promo that they plan to reduce at the end of the month. I have a gic that matures feb 1st!
Considering all the speculation that the BOC will be increasing rates starting as early as next week, that 2% GIC may remain a little longer ...
| CGO |
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