Credit Union Atlantic
When a person pops a customer card into a credit union ATM anywhere in English-speaking Canada, they may not realize it, but they're continuing a tradition started by two radical priests from Antigonish.
But as Jamie Baillie, president and CEO of Credit Union Atlantic, explains, the innovative idea that evolved into credit unions across English Canada was born right here in Nova Scotia.
Fathers Moses Coady and Jimmy Tompkins founded the Antigonish Movement during the depression in response to the poverty afflicting local farmers, fishermen, miners and other disadvantaged groups. One of the movement's six objectives was to work toward a full and abundant life for everyone in the community. They believed economic co-operation was the first step to achieving it.
"(Coady and Tompkins) realized that the people who were able to acquire capital or pool it, then invest it, were the only ones that were able to advance their own lives," says Baillie. "So they brought forward the concept of co-operative ownership, such as co-op grocery stores and co-op gas stations. Credit unions are a financial co-op, and they opened the first ones in the province in the '30s."
It's an idea based on a fundamental value that has always run deep in Nova Scotia: commitment to community. Neighbours banding together to support each other, finding solutions, and succeeding. Each local credit union is owned by its customers, providing the services those members need, and sharing its profits with members at the end of the year.
Today, Credit Union Atlantic, the largest credit union in Nova Scotia, carries on the tradition of helping communities prosper through innovative thinking. In 2006, Credit Union Atlantic responded to the rise in gas prices in Nova Scotia.
"When gas prices spiked as high as $1.48 a litre, we saw that as a threat to the financial well-being of our member-owners. We knew we couldn't do anything about gas prices, but we could help with loan payments. So in a very short period of time, we developed a new product we called our GoGreen Car Loan."
The program provided discounted car loans to people who wanted to trade down from an expensive "gas guzzler" to a more economical car that met certain fuel-efficiency standards.
The campaign was a "win-win-win," according to Baillie. "It helped our members get through a tough time and it was a win for the environment. And Credit Union Atlantic got national attention for the product."
Two other credit unions in Canada quickly followed suit with GoGreen products -- a win for Nova Scotian ingenuity!
Baillie is quick to point out that the success of the GoGreen campaign is not measured in money made by Credit Union Atlantic. It measures its success by the success of communities. Every penny that comes in as a deposit is reinvested back into the community as a loan.
"Often those loans are to small- to medium-sized locally owned businesses who are trying to generate economic activity," says Baillie. "In this way, we're helping to build a stronger economic base. You don't ever have to wonder if your deposit to Credit Union Atlantic is zipped off to Toronto. It's all going directly back into your own community."
While traditional banks also make loans to small to medium-sized businesses, Baillie says the major difference is Credit Union Atlantic's method.
"We have that unique Nova Scotian ability to take the time to really get to know people and understand their needs," says Baillie. "We still place a lot of emphasis on the quality of local management, the character of the people we're dealing with, our own knowledge of the local economy, and the likelihood of a business' chance of success. These are assessments you can only make if you live in the same community."
That means Credit Union Atlantic approves loans for businesspeople that many large banks would reject because they don't fit the formula. Does that mean Credit Union Atlantic is taking more risks?
"We think we're taking fewer risks," says Baillie. "And our loan losses indicate we're right because our bad debts are below the banking average."
Those businesses range from a woman who wanted to start a firm placing contract accounting and finance professionals, to a plumber who wanted to start a general contracting company, to a musician who wanted to build his own recording studio and start a music label.
Small- to medium-sized businesses are an economic driver in Nova Scotia and make up the majority of businesses in the province.
"Yet they don't have the same access to bank borrowing as larger, or more established, businesses do," says Baillie. "That's been identified as an impediment to growth by no less than the Nova Scotia government."
And that's why the government's Nova Scotia Small Business Financing Program is delivered exclusively through Nova Scotia credit unions. Baillie sees that as recognition that credit unions' values match those of Nova Scotians.
He is particularly proud of Credit Union Atlantic's employees, who are frequently praised by owner-members for delivering an exceptionally high caliber of service.
"We have a very professional, well-educated and articulate workforce," says Baillie. "That's because we draw our employees from a pool of educated, motivated Nova Scotians who are passionate about our province and our communities, and have made the decision to stay here, live here, and build careers here."
There's another value Credit Union Atlantic shares with Nova Scotia: a belief in work-life balance.
"I think we work smarter here in Nova Scotia," says Baillie. "We're not spending as much dead time in between home and work. We're not losing up to two hours a day on a stressful commute. That's time we can reinvest in our family lives, our community lives, and in our businesses. That makes us happier -- and more productive."
Fathers Coady and Tompkins would call that a full and abundant life. A radical idea, indeed.
