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Central Notes

January 23, 2012

SPRING PEER GROUP
MEETING UPDATES

The following updates information published in Central Notes 12:001 (January 9):

Peer Group 1 (Northline), March 30-31, Hudson Bay Lodge, Smithers
Peer Group 2 (Okanagan), March 24, Ramada Hotel & Conference Centre, Kelowna.

Coastal Community Credit Union has a Tann ULC Class 2 modular vault and vault door with left-hinge swing door for sale. Outside dimensions are: 120.5 in. deep x 113 in. wide. Inside dimensions are 109 in. deep x 102 in. wide x 96 in. high.

The door has two mechanical combination locks, an emergency release mechanism and a two-movement 144-hour mechanical time-lock. The unit includes a steel bar day-gate with a double-cylinder deadbolt lock.

Asking price is $10,000; offers will be considered. The vault is currently in storage in Vancouver. Pictures are available. For further information, please contact Kel Koutecky, Senior Manager, Premises, at Kel.koutecky@cccu.ca or 250-716-2850.

As part of the Province-Wide Communications Program, the Credit Unions of BC launched the Be Remarkable T-Shirt Contest in December, inviting creative people to submit remarkable and original T-shirt designs for a chance to win $1,000.

Some of B.C.'s brightest designers submitted designs and 32 have been shortlisted. Fans of the Be Remarkable Facebook page, at www.facebook.com/beremarkable, can now vote for their favourite. The most popular t-shirt design will be printed and distributed to 100 lucky fans.

B.C. credit unions are invited to share information about the contest with their members so they have a chance to view, vote, and win a limited edition Be Remarkable T-shirt. You can share the contest information by linking directly to the Be Remarkable Facebook page from your credit union's Facebook page or website. For more information, contact Michelle Chan in Central 1's Marketing & Creative Services Department at mchan@central1.com or 1-800-661-6813, local 5044.

Credit union professionals from nine provinces will be providing hands-on coaching to credit union managers and staff in three African countries over the next two weeks. As part of the Canadian Co-operative Association's coaching program, the 22 team members will be working in Ghana, Malawi and Uganda.

The seven team members from B.C. credit unions are: Deborah Edwards (Coastal Community); Brian Bentley (Integris); Heidi Hyokki (Interior Savings); Erin Robinson, Anthony Okuchi and Miriam Valois (Vancouver City Savings); and Garth Sheane (retired from Coastal Community). Several team members will be blogging about their experiences at http://theviewfromherecca.blogspot.com. (News release)

The United Nations International Year of Co-operatives (IYC) was officially launched in Canada on Thursday, January 12, with 14 events across the country, including a live webcast from Ottawa. Attendance online was so large that the official website, www.canada2012.coop, went down temporarily during the live broadcast. An archive of the webcast is now available here. The January 2012 issue of the Canadian Co-operative Association's 2012 Matters newsletter highlights events held for the launch and planned for the rest of this special year.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper sent the following greeting to the Canadian co-operative sector in recognition of the event:

I am pleased to extend my warmest greetings to everyone marking the launch of the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives.

The existence of co-operatives across all sectors of the economy speaks to the influence and relevance of the co-operative movement. Over 18 million Canadians can count themselves as members of co-operatives - an impressive statistic with an impact on the nation's socio-economic strength.

By proclaiming the International Year of Co-operatives, the UN General Assembly has placed a global importance on the co-operative business model. This year offers opportunities for organizations in Canada and throughout the world to share the benefits of co-operatives, to promote the founding principles common to co-operatives worldwide, and to highlight the vital roles that members play in the success of these organizations.

On behalf of the Government of Canada, I would like to offer my best wishes for a memorable and successful year.

The launch event in British Columbia was hosted by the British Columbia Co-operative Association. John Restakis, BCCA's Executive Director, recently wrote an article on the co-operative connection to the Occupy movement, for Common Ground magazine. The article is available online here.

A trio of British Columbia credit unions celebrated the IYC launch by announcing a unique partnership. Aldergrove Financial Group, Envision Financial and Prospera Credit Union have teamed up to demonstrate the difference co-ops are making in their communities. Inspired by the theme 'Co-operative Enterprises Build a Better World', the three organizations formed a partnership to support the Abbotsford Hospice Society's Stepping Stones program with a $30,000 contribution. The program provides grief support to school-aged children and their families. (News release)

The following new items are now available online:

• The November 2011 issue of MarketSmarts, produced by Central 1's Research Department, discusses a variety of opportunities and trends discovered within the data of the 2011 Products and Services Study. The current issue and an archive of back issues are available here.
• A video of a lecture by Dr. Lou Hammond Ketilson, director of the Centre for the Study of Co-operatives at the University of Saskatchewan, speaking on Parliament Hill about the economic impact of credit unions and caisses populaires on their communities, is available here. In her discussion, Dr. Ketilson showed how credit unions and caisses populaires have withstood the pressures of recession while continuing to contribute to sustainable regional economic development.
• A new report from the Filene Research Institute focuses on current global trends that will impact credit unions. The author addresses how the trends correlate to society, technology, the economy, the economy and politics, and then explores the implications for credit unions in each. The report, titled Global Trends: drivers, values, implications and questions for credit unions, by Avery Hines is available to registered users of the Filene website, at www.filene.org. Through a partnership between Filene and Credit Union Central of Canada, all affiliated Canadian credit union staff are eligible to register to access Filene research.
• The Council on Financial Competition produces research for the global retail financial services industry. Through a membership held on a behalf of affiliated credit unions by Credit Union Central of Canada, credit union staff are invited to register to access the wide array of research available from the Council. Two recent Council releases which may be of interest are: Key consumer indicators on the decline in Canada; a quarterly view of Canadian consumer sentiment and engagement in financial services Q4 2011 and Channel Strategy; replacing consistency with quality.
• New reports are posted regularly to the Information Centre's Online Reports webpage. Two Ernst & Young reports from 2011 give an overview of the firm's Global Consumer Banking Survey and track developments in Mobile Money.

The Fact Finder article service is a listing of 10 recent articles from a variety of print periodical sources. To view the current Fact Finder listing or to place an electronic request for article copies in pdf format, click here.