Servus Credit Union, St. Albert's only such banking co-operative and the namesake of the Servus Place recreation centre, has been voted by Gazette readers' as this year's best financial institution in the 2024 Readers Choice Awards, which is something branch manager Adam McKay thinks could be a result of the credit union's structure and services.
“We're quite a bit different from the larger banks in the sense that we're a cooperative,” McKay explained when asked what he thought made Servus stand out. “We don't report to corporate shareholders — our agenda isn't to make money in the sense that the big banks have to do.”
“We're a co-operative created by the people for the people and every single member is a member-owner, so it's a different atmosphere when you think about it from that standpoint.”
Servus Credit Union has only operated under its name since 1995, but its history can be traced back to 1938 when the St. Alphonsus Parish in Edmonton created the Mangan Credit Union, named after Father Thomas Mangan, which was the first credit union to be incorporated under provincial law in Alberta.
Unlike other financial institutions such as Royal Bank of Canada or Bank of Montreal, Servus Credit Union and other credit unions alike operate under a non-profit model in that those who bank with a credit union, called members, become part owners of their institution when they become a member, which gives them a say in things like board of director elections and ensures they receive annual payments as a result of the institution's yearly profit.
According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, the first credit union in Canada was created in 1900 by Alphonse Desjardins in Quebec. Credit Unions in Alberta became more and more common in the late 1930s and 1940s such as the all-women Pioneer Credit Union in 1941, as well as others such as the Belmont Credit Union and the Edmonton Civil Servants Savings and Credit Union.
Credit union mergers in Alberta happened somewhat frequently in the 1970s and 1980s, such as the eight unions that banded together to form Capital City Savings and Credit Union in 1987.
Capital City Savings and Servus Credit Union, which was called Caisse Populaire St. Paul until 1995, merged together in 2006, and two years later Servus merged again with Community Savings Credit Union and Common Wealth Credit Union to become a province-wide operation and the largest credit union in Alberta.
At the local level, McKay, who's been the St. Albert branch manager since 2015, said the operating structure may be one reason Gazette readers showed their support this year, but another may be the branch's goal to provide exceptional member services.
“I'm sure every financial institution says they strive to provide exceptional member service, but it might be a little bit different when your co-operative is also your owners,” he said. “I think because of that you do feel that there is a difference when you're dealing with it us.”
“Exceptional member service is something we always strive for, so it's great that maybe we are making a difference.”
“It's an honour that we were chosen,” McKay said of the Readers' Choice recognition.
Moving forward, McKay said St. Albert's Servus Credit Union members shouldn't expect to see too many changes after the union's recently confirmed merger with connectFirst, another credit union that mainly serves southern Alberta, although there is a branch in Fort Saskatchewan.
READ MORE: ConnectFirst, Servus merger largest in Canadian credit union history
“Honestly, I don't think there'll be much public-facing change,” he said. “There might be a slight change to the name, but you're not going to notice any difference when you're banking with us.”
“It's just going to give our membership more options when they're in the south.”
The Servus and connectFirst merger brings together over 3,000 staff members, and 500,000 member owners across 140 branches in Alberta.
“The merger enables the credit union to operate at the scale necessary to invest in new technologies and thrive for the long term while preserving the co-operative values and ways of banking that are important to members, employees, and the communities the credit unions serve,” reads a Servus Credit Union press release after the merger was announced in May.
