Mar 1: Vancity and Village Credit Union talk merger

Vancouver, March 1, 2005 – Vancity Credit Union and Village Credit Union announced today that they are entering into formal merger discussions.

The merger offers exciting opportunities for both credit unions. For Vancity, it means expanding their presence in the Tri-cities and Chilliwack regions, as well as capitalizing on Village’s unique relationship with the French-Canadian community in Maillardville. For Village, it means delivering a broader range of products and services through an expanded branch network, as well as enhanced telephone and online banking capabilities.

“We’re very excited to be entering into talks with Village,” says Vancity CEO Dave Mowat. “They have played a pivotal role in the development of the French-Canadian community in Maillardville, which complements our own community-focused approach to member service.”

Village plans to bring the issue to a vote of its membership in June. The organizations have entered the due diligence phase; in the coming months, they’ll be sharing information and developing plans for bringing their organizations together in a way that is as comfortable as possible for theirmembers and employees.

“Both Village and Vancity are celebrating 59 years of serving our members and communities,” says Village CEO Ian Cornish. “Welook forward to joining forces to continue to offer our members great products and services, while making a difference in the communities where we live andwork.”

Vancity is Canada’s largest credit union, with $10.5 billion in assets, more than 300,000 members, and 42 branches throughout Greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and Victoria. Vancity was chosen as the best place to work in Canada for 2005 by Maclean’s Magazine as part of its annual Canada’s Top 100 Employers issue. Vancity owns Citizens Bank of Canada, serving members across the country by telephone, ATM, and the Internet. The Globe and Mail Report on Business magazine has ranked Citizens Bank #1 among banks in Canada in their second annual Corporate Social Responsibility survey. Both Vancity and Citizens Bank are guided by a commitment to corporate social responsibility, and to helping members and communities thrive and prosper.

From its first days as La Caisse Populaire Notre Dame de Lourdes Credit Union, catering solely to the French-speaking community of Maillardville, Village has grown to serve 9,500 members in Maillardville, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody and Chilliwack. Village’s mission is to build better futures and is committed to serving members from all walks of life.