Canadian credit union Vancity has returned to profit following a “strategic reset”, according to its 2024 annual report.
Vancity reported a net income before distribution and tax of CA$14.1m in 2024, compared with a loss of $3.3m the previous year, and $516m in core revenue at the end of 2024, compared with $488m in 2023.
Vancity is one of Canada‘s largest credit unions, with $36bn in assets plus assets under administration. It serves 570,000 members through offices located in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Victoria, Squamish and Alert Bay, employing around 2,360 people.
Vancity CEO Wellington Holbrook, who was appointed in January 2024, described the credit union’s loss year in 2023 as “a wake-up call”.
“Now we must earn, all over again, the right to be considered by members as a serious financial institution,” said Holbrook. “We have to be seen, once more, as a place that meets everyone’s day-to-day banking needs as well as any other bank.”
To achieve this, the report says, Vancity has focused on service as a top priority, working on a new online banking platform and mobile app, which will go live at the end of this year, and rolling out upgrades such as online account opening and faster loan approvals.
Alongside this, Vancity took a number of cost-cutting measures including laying off almost 200 employees last summer. Holbrook recently told BC Business that this was “100%” the end of job cuts for the organisation.
In its report, Vancity states that its operating context began to show signs of improvement in 2024 after four years of economic instability spurred by the Covid-19 pandemic. But despite lower inflation and interest rates, external challenges remain, such as geopolitical and economic uncertainty, disruption in the credit union sector, and climate change and housing affordability.
In addition to its core business activity, Vancity financed the construction or renovation of 1,924 units of affordable housing, supported 1,097 homes with retrofit grants to make them more climate ready, and developed its educational initiatives to include support for Indigenous entrepreneurs.
Earlier this year Vancity announced it was exploring a possible merger with First Credit Union, which it says would strengthen local community banking in British Columbia.
