Government Services
April 16, 2008

The following statement was issued by the Honourable Kevin O�Brien, Minister of Government Services. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

50th Anniversary of Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union

I had the pleasure last week of attending the Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union�s 50th anniversary celebrations. As the minister responsible for the Credit Union Deposit Guarantee Corporation, I am responsible for ensuring that credit unions are in compliance with legislation and sound business practices. The Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union is certainly an excellent example of the success story of credit unions in this province.

In 50 years, the Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union has grown to be not only the largest credit union in the province but also in Atlantic Canada. They have 12 branches across the province and, in eight years they have doubled their asset base to more than $343 million today. They employ 125 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and they contribute $22 million annually to the provincial economy.

Not many people will know the many firsts which can be attributed to the Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union. In 1978, they were the first financial institution in this province to have a computerized banking system. In 1988, they were the first financial institution in this province to have a drive-thru teller service and it was not an ATM service but an actual person. In 2005, they were the first financial institution in the country to offer an energy-efficient mortgage product for which they have received national awards.

These are the accomplishments for the Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union. However, there are other firsts for the national credit union system too. Credit unions were the first to offer daily interest savings accounts to Canadians, ATM services, biweekly mortgage payments, online banking and, believe it or not, credit unions were the first to offer loans to woman on their own signature.

The success of credit unions is that they are owned by their members. In this province, the credit union system has 13 credit unions with offices in 40 locations, 30 of those in rural areas. The credit union system has about 51,000 members and assets in excess of $632 million. The system employs 312 people.

I congratulated the Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union last week on their 50th anniversary. I would ask my honourable colleagues to join with me today in recognizing their significant achievement.


2008 04 16                                          2:30 p.m.

 


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