Meridian & GIC Comparison Chart | Meridian Credit Union | Discussion forum

I wonder if they will increase their interest rate on 5 years GIC next month

Meridian has been offering 3.75 for 5 years since at least September. It's the leading rate out there for that term as far as I know. At the moment, I can't think of a good reason why they would increase it.
We'll see what BoC does on Jan 9.

Yes, I know Meridian is in the process of opening a bank. My local branch denies this is why they need more deposits, but I don't know if that's true. They are also opening lots of bricks and mortar branches, and that also costs money.

I don't really have an opinion, between DICO and CDIC. I know what everybody else here knows, I suppose, but have to be realistic about the limits of my knowledge of the inner workings of the financial system. Each has their own ways of trying to avoid systemic disaster. If disaster should come regardless, then I know perhaps 3 things: it won't be my fault; one way or another, I will have to pay for it; and the reactions of various levels of government will not be good enough - and it doesn't matter who's in power.

I will say though that the extension of DICO's coverage to 250K non-registered as well as full coverage registered has enabled me to be more interested in the CUs. The 100K that CDIC offers is simply not adequate and it is not on their radar to increase it. I prefer to minimize the number of financial institutions I have to deal with, so, from that perspective, the CUs are more efficient.On the other hand, it makes sense to me to spread the risk around. Your decision may depend in part on how much money you have to try to secure.

The way I see it, these insurance schemes are really only going to work for the smaller institutions. If we are facing something systemic, all bets are off.
I read somewhere once that, during the Great Depression, it was the banks that failed more than the CUs. Not sure if the reference was to Canada or the US, but think it was US. I can't verify that, and history may not repeat itself. A lot has changed.