![]() ![]() Last fall, in anticipation of the arrival of thousands of Syrians, it expanded the number of branches that process refugee accounts from one to five. Vancity offers to open bank accounts for government-assisted refugees within two weeks of them stepping off the plane. For example, the influx of refugees to Canada has been a golden opportunity to pursue both social responsibility and the bottom line. The credit union’s drive to burnish its do-good credentials takes many forms. “It’s pretty difficult to create the kind of society that most people say they want if we’re not connecting capital to the things that matter to them – the sustainability of the planet, how welcoming and inclusive a community is, the business and corporate environment, the role of education and health and democracy, the inclusion and reconciliation for indigenous people…all those things.” “The allocation of capital – what kind of firm, what kind of person does and doesn’t get access to credit – is probably the single most positive force in creating the future society that we want,” she says. ![]() Vancity also helps train young “social bankers” from other countries.Įven as many of the world’s biggest banks find themselves in the political crosshairs, Vrooman sees the financial services industry as a powerful force for good in society. He cites a small bank in Melbourne, Australia, that is modelling itself on the Canadian credit union. Vrooman’s efforts to immerse senior staff in social responsibility and environmentally sound banking “is a real source of inspiration to the CEOs of other, smaller organizations,” Blom says. “What’s so interesting about Vancity,” Blom says, “is that they are in a transition from a local credit union that did a lot of good work to a modern credit union that incorporates the environment and broader social issues into their banking space. Vrooman, who was B.C.’s deputy finance minister from 2004 to 2007, chairs the alliance’s North American chapter. The alliance’s 28 members, mostly cooperative and community banks and credit unions, promote sustainable banking as a way of improving their communities and society at large. “A lot of smaller local banks see Vancity very much as a role model,” says Peter Blom, chief executive of Netherlands-based Triodos Bank and chair of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values, of which Vancity is a member. It has fewer than 2,600 employees, and just 59 branches in Vancouver, provincial capital Victoria and British Columbia’s Fraser Valley. Its assets of $19.8 billion amount to less than 2 per cent of the balance sheet of Royal Bank of Canada, the country’s largest financial institution. Owned by its 515,000 members, Vancity is dwarfed by the big Canadian shareholder-owned banks. Its goal is, in its words, “to integrate social, environmental and economic factors into all aspects of our business, and collaborate with others to build healthy communities.” Size and growth (though not profits) take a backseat to what it calls “values-based” or ethical banking. Vancity – its full name is Vancouver City Savings Credit Union – is a rare beast in the corporate world. It played no role in compiling the rankings.) (Full disclosure: Vancity is a minority investor in Corporate Knights. Vancity scored above 75 per cent in all 12 categories used to compile the rankings, except for water use, employee turnover, taxes and pension benefits. ![]() The credit union was also awarded the top spot in 2013. That rare attribute helps explain why Corporate Knights has named Vancity Canada 2016’s Best Corporate Citizen. Noting that women make up more than half of Vancity’s top management and seven of its nine board members, Vrooman, its chief executive, chuckles: “We are the only board in Canada looking for a few good men.” Tamara Vrooman has a drop-dead response to a question about gender diversity at Vancity, Canada’s biggest credit union. ![]()
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