Frequently Asked Questions
The First West model enables local credit unions to stay relevant in their communities while tapping into the strength and resources of a financially strong parent company. Essentially, it allows local credit unions to work big, while still working local.
In 2010 – the first year of operations as First West – we surpassed our merger business plan expectations so we know this model works. Just look at the benefits for Envision Financial and Valley First in 2010:
- We won significant business with larger clients such as the City of Penticton and the District of Mission due to higher lending caps.
- We’ve saved hundreds of thousands in insurance, training and other costs
- We gained millions of dollars in investment revenue.
- We achieved return on assets before tax of 0.89 per cent, the highest among major credit unions in B.C.
And, we’ve been able to attract new business that neither of the previous credit unions would have had the resources or risk tolerance to compete through First West Capital.
- This is First West’ newest subsidiary with a $60 million fund established to provide subordinated debt and mezzanine financing to small and medium-sized businesses.
- Focused on investments ranging from $500,000 to $6 million.
Now, we are actively working to bring on at least one more, like-minded credit union by 2013—anticipating more to come afterwards.
Although we have multiple brands, we have one spirit—one common set of values that we call our Six Big Ideals. These big ideals define how we relate to each other inside the organization and especially how we relate to our members. They speak to who we are and, when lived out, help us achieve our goals.
Over the last 10 to 15 years of credit union mergers and consolidation, financial decisions have moved from the local branch to centralized head offices—often miles away. Our members want their financial decisions made at the local level by the person sitting across the desk or, at most, the branch manager. This is why acting local and making common-sense decisions are rooted in how we work everyday.
Our Six Big Ideals:
- Succeed together
- Act local
- Value all
- Make common-sense decisions
- Create good things
- Inspire exceptional results
Working local is central to what it means to be a credit union and we strive to act local and make common-sense decisions across our entire organization. With this in mind, First West created regional councils—special advisory bodies appointed by the board of directors to represent the interests of local members and address issues unique to each of our regions.
These regional councils – one representing Valley First and one representing Envision Financial – ensure that our local focus endures and thrives as we grow.
The regional council concept is unique to First West. In fact, it is a distinguishing feature of the new First West operating model that sets us apart from other credit unions in British Columbia.
At this stage in the model, the regional councils are a mix of directors and former directors of the credit union. Council members are appointed annually by the Board.
There are 12 directors on the First West board, six from the Envision region and six from the Valley First region. In keeping with modern governance practices, the directors bring key competencies that the board as a whole should ideally possess.
Directors also serve on a number of statutory and non-statutory committees. Statutory committees include the Audit and Risk, Conduct Review and Governance, and Investment and Loan committees, while non-statutory committees include the nominations, human resources, governance partnership, and Pathways committee. Credit union directors and retired directors also serve on the board of the First West Foundation, a private, charitable arm of the credit union.
Director elections are conducted annually with each director typically serving a three-year term. A call for nominations is extended to all members and the board's nominations committee interviews all candidates and determines which candidates it will endorse for election based on the balance of skills and competencies needed on the board at the time. Directors are elected in and represent one of First West's two regions by the members who live in that region. Voting is currently conducted at our AGM, in branch, by using mail-in ballots and, for the first time in 2012, by voting online.
The First West team cares about the well-being of the communities we serve, working to make a difference by contributing time, expertise and money to help our neighbours. Over the last year, we’ve come together to:
- Provide school supplies to every Oliver High School student after a fire devastated their school in September
- Teach kids how to earn and manage their own money by funding PowerPlay Young Entrepreneurs® in Langley and Surrey
- Launch the Angel Tree program in the Envision region to provide Christmas gifts to children and seniors going through difficult times
- Raise funds and food for food banks in the Okanagan, Similkameen and Thompson valleys through Valley First’s signature charitable cause – Feed the Valley; since March 2010, more than $225,000 and 7.5 tonnes of food have been raised
- Donate $25,000 to the Co-operative Development Foundation of Canada’s Women Mentorship Program in an effort to reduce poverty and support the development of co-operatives and credit unions in Africa, Asia, and the Americas
- Grow moustaches, raise funds and become walking billboards for the fight against prostate cancer
- Host Child Identification days in collaboration with community police departments in the Envision region
- Trade time at the office for the opportunity to volunteer in our communities as part of Envision’s fifth annual Days of Caring; more than 175 employees volunteered
- Lace up our runners and join thousands of Fraser Valley residents at the fourth annual Run for Water, which raised much-needed awareness and funds for clean water projects in Ethiopia; 150 Envision employees participated – the largest number of company participants in the run
- Bring the Granfondo Axel Merckx to Penticton, gaining support from participants and organizers to donate food and funds to Feed the Valley
These are only highlights of ways we are helping our communities. In 2010, First West contributed more than $1.4 million and 4,000 hours of support to the regions we serve.
The First West Foundation was created in 1996 to build on our credit union’s legacy of community giving. The Foundation uses income generated from its endowments to help improve the quality of life for British Columbians in the communities served by Envision and Valley First. Since its inception, the First West Foundation has donated over $2 million in grants to local community groups and projects.
The Foundation also grows its endowments through charitable gifts and bequests.
First West has a distributed work force located in multiple offices throughout British Columbia. Regional head offices are retained, and we leverage technology to support a geographically dispersed workforce.
Regional presidents are supported by local sales teams and administration with First West providing specialized shared services in areas such as treasury, risk management, credit, human resources, marketing, public relations and communications.
We are implementing an overall architecture with prescribed standards that allow both legacy and new systems to work together, including greater use of common components that can be shared on an enterprise scale.
This means that existing banking systems can continue to operate separately—as they are at Envision and Valley First—or they can be rationalized as conditions permit both to reduce the overall cost of maintaining them as well as to minimize the impact on credit union members and employees. This provides the greatest business flexibility for existing and new partners within First West.
First West has a 37-branch network throughout our Envision and Valley First regions.
First West is the parent company. For our members, we chose to have no name changes and no brand overhauls in our regions to avoid member confusion and ensure a distinct local identity. In our Valley First region, our members are served by Valley First. In our Envision region, our members are served by Envision Financial.
No. Our focus is on creating a network of like-minded credit unions where local brands, which are already strong, remain in place in the communities they serve.
We are creating an enterprise product structure with areas of responsibility that will incorporate both (and future) regions. When established, the enterprise product group will map opportunities to consolidate products where possible, with little or no member impact. A significant influence on the viability of aligning products is dependent on the regions’ technology systems as well as their different economic and financial needs.
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