Two key players from Western Canada’s cooperative movement

The Summit is pleased to be able to count on the support of two partners from the financial sector that are responsible for helping many communities in Western Canada thrive.

According to Stéphane Bertrand, Executive Director of the 2012 Summit, “These key partners will bring a valuable perspective to the Summit discussions, due to the nature of their missions and the scope of their activities, as well as their expertise and in-depth knowledge of the realities of cooperative enterprises.”

Read on to learn more about each of our two financial partners :

Coast Capital Savings Credit Union is Canada’s second largest credit union with total assets under administration of $13.5 billion, more than 478,000 members and 51 branches in the Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, and Vancouver Island regions of British Columbia. Its purpose is To change the way Canadians feel about banking, forever, by providing simple financial help to its members.

Coast Capital’s reputation and culture of providing helpful service has played a significant role in its success and financial performance. The concept of challenging banking conventions to bring innovation into the organization is what drives Coast Capital’s corporate strategy. Product innovations based on this approach have led to Canada’s first free chequing account from a full-service financial institution and the country’s most flexible mortgage product, the You’re the Boss^TM Mortgage, which was named 2010 Mortgage of the Year by canadianmortgagetrends.com.

Coast Capital lives to make its communities stronger as being engaged in community investment goes back to its roots as a cooperative organization. It gives back 7% of its pre-tax profit to its communities and donated $5 million in 2011.

In 2011, Coast Capital was recognized as having one of Canada’s 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures^™ and is a member of Canada’s Best Managed Companies Platinum Club.

A Living Wage employer, Vancity is Canada’s largest community credit union, with $16.1 billion in assets, more than 479,500 members and 59 branches throughout Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Victoria and Squamish.

At Vancity, we make you good money by putting money to good. Vancity’s vision of redefining wealth incorporates personal and community well-being. Vancity has distributed $221 million to members through dividends and to communities through grants and community investment initiatives since 1994.

We are a member of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values – a network of the world’s leading sustainable banks sharing the commitment to achieving triple-bottom-line impact through responsible banking practices.

More information about Vancity is available at vancity.com.