Credit union members approve merger

The members of two B.C.-based credit unions have agreed to join forces.

Members of Interior Savings Credit Union voted 87.8 per cent in favour while 80.7 per cent of Gulf and Fraser Credit Union members supported bringing the organizations together in voting between Oct. 20 and and Nov. 6, 2023.

A minimum 67 per cent of votes cast from each credit union had to be in favour for the merger proposal to proceed.

The combined credit union will operate under the legal name of Beem Credit Union starting Jan. 1, 2024, but there is not expected to be an immediate rebranding of branches, which will continue to operate under their existing names for another 12-18 months.

The new credit union will provide a network of 55 branches and 14 insurance locations to approximately 160,000 members from the Lower Mainland, through to the Thompson Okanagan and Boundary regions and up into Prince George and the North Peace and Northern Rockies regions. Combined total assets will be about $10.1 billion.

Brian Harris, CEO of Interior Savings, and named CEO of Beem, said “We are grateful for our members continued confidence in us and look forward to what we will accomplish together, taking all that is great about our two credit unions and making it even better.”

Harris added the merger will create the first of its kind province-wide credit union in B.C. with the resources and scale needed to better serve members within an increasingly competitive landscape.

Interior Savings currently has about 90,000 members while Gulf and Fraser has about 71,000.

With each vote counting toward a donation to support wildfire recovery efforts, the credit unions say that, with over 12,000 votes cast, their members helped raise $25,000 for the United Way’s United for BC Wildfire Recovery Fund.