Fundamental fortitude

Amid continued economic turbulence, First West’s core financials performed well and we continued to add value to members’ banking experiences.

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2023 ANNUAL REPORT

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A MESSAGE FROM OUR BOARD CHAIR & CEO

Handling today’s challenges while building for tomorrow’s

It’s been said that culture eats strategy for breakfast. It’s a provocative statement and though it’s not downplaying strategic planning, it highlights a vital truth that great organizations and leaders know: success ultimately comes down to how your team members work together—what’s often called “corporate culture.” We begin our message on this point because late in 2023, First West Credit Union received its first-ever award recognizing the excellence of our culture.
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Shawn Neumann, Board Chair | Launi Skinner, CEO

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Performance dashboard

Key financial strength metrics – For detailed analysis of our financial results, see Management's Discussion & Analysis in the downloads section below.

Assets

Grew by $0.9 billion or 7.0% in 2023, compared with an increase of 5.0% in 2022.

Loans

Grew by $0.7 billion or 6.1% in 2023, compared with 10.5% in 2022.

Deposits

Increased by $598.8 million or 5.3% in 2023, compared with 3.5% in 2022.

Wealth Assets Under Administration

Increased by $306.0 million or 7.5% in 2023, compared with a 1.6% decrease in 2022.

Loans by Lending Sector (%)

Stable portfolio product mix across commercial and retail loan books in 2023.

Total Funding Composition (%)

Strong funding and liquidity profiles, with deposits totaling $12.0 billion, an increase of 5.3% in 2023, compared to 3.5% in 2022.

Profit ($M)

Loss for the year of $1.8 million was $38.8 million, or 104.9%, lower in 2023, compared with profit of $37.0 million in 2022.

Revenue Mix ($M)

Continued strong diversification of interest, fee, commission and other income in 2023.

Total Assets and Wealth Assets Under Administration ($B)

Including wealth assets under administration, First West's total assets grew to approximately $1.2 billion, an increase of 7.1% from $17.4 billion in 2022.

Credit Rating | Long-Term

Investment Grade Credit Rating (DBRS Morningstar). Long-term issuer rating.

Credit Rating | Short-Term

Investment Grade Credit Rating (DBRS Morningstar). Short-term issuer rating / short-term instruments.

Strong Regulatory Capital Ratio*

Capital buffer of $572 million relative to minimum regulatory requirement of 8.0%. (*as defined by BCFSA)
“Faced with persistent, tough economic conditions, First West’s team members dug deep for members and each other, achieving strong fundamental financial performance while building our members’ confidence and trust.”
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Mark Moreland, Chief Financial Officer

Building a more sustainable credit union for future generations

Leading ESG research, ratings and data firm Sustainalytics has rated First West as 11.3 low risk of experiencing material financial impacts from ESG factors. First West’s ESG Risk Rating places our credit union among sustainability leaders in the banking industry.

Learn more about ESG and our sustainability journey on pages 8 – 11 of the 2023 annual report.

More 2023 highlights

We continued to create value for members, communities and team members.

Members

Communities

Team Members

Advancing member financial wellbeing

  • We introduced balance alerts as a powerful digital tool to make it easier for members to manage their account balances and prevent unwanted fees.

  • Building up savings is a key part of financial wellbeing—we made it easier for members to get started by making it possible to open our core interest-bearing deposit account, Savings First, online.

Making meaningful impact

We invested more than $3.6 million in our communities in 2023. 

First West team members also contributed 6,780 hours of community leadership to more than 242 non-profit and charitable organizations throughout British Columbia. 

Our signature cause, targeted on food insecurity, raised $354,472 for local food banks through team member-led fundraising and community partnerships, bringing our total support since 2010 to nearly $5,175,000. 

Helping team members flourish in a complex world

First West is proud to be a leading employer where our team members can flourish in their careers and bring their whole, authentic selves to work.

We were honoured to be recognized in 2023 as one of BC’s Top Employers by Mediacorp Canada and one of Canada’s Most Admired™ Corporate Cultures by Waterstone Human Capital.

Downloads

Download previous annual reports

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009 | Envision Financial

2009 | Valley First

2008 | Envision Financial

2008 | Valley First

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