In a current television ad, the audience hears that the Royal Bank of Canada has more than 1,100 branches. Ganaraska Financial Credit Union (GFCU) has two: one in Port Hope and one in Cobourg.
What some may perceive as a weakness they see as an advantage. Being small creates the opportunity for a closer relationship, where staff liter-ally know the names of their customers. In an industry dominated by massive international financial institutions with abroad outlook, Ganaraska’s focus is clearly local.
Founded in Northumberland more in 1945, the organization began with neighbours helping neighbours, a foundation that continues to reflect in their services, products and active involvement in their communities. The organization is a full-service financial institution, offering all the products and services most customers expect from a full service bank, but they manage their business through a local lens, and have done so since it began 80 years ago.
Unlike banks which are corporations owned by share-holders, GFCU is a cooperative financial institution owned by its account holders and governed by a Board of Director selected by their customers also called members. The Board directs the affairs of the credit union in the best interest of the membership, establishing policy and regulations to achieve the organization’s goals and objectives. Each year at the Annual General Meeting, the member-owners elect Board members to provide governance for the credit union throughout the year. This means members have a direct say in who runs the business. Board members establish strategic plans that ensure the organization remains viable and it delivers attractive financial solutions for its member-owners.
GFCU provides full banking services for individuals and businesses, including chequing and savings accounts, personal and business loans, credit cards and lines of credit, mortgages, term deposits and direct investing, and all of the registered account vehicles such as the Tax Free Savings Account, Registered Retirement Savings Plans, Registered Education Savings Plan supported by an easy to use trading platform for investing in the Canadian and US markets with a wide selection of investment options including stocks, ETF’s, bonds and mutual funds. They also have professional investment managers who can help customers with wealth management.
In addition to their branches, they have a network of 3,500 ATM’s across Canada with ten in Peterborough. A map on their website shows their location, the name of the ATM partner and the hours they are available. Among the local ATM brands are Manulife Bank of Canada, Kawartha Financial Services and Alterna Savings. There are no fees for cash withdrawals from these ATM’s for Ganaraska customers.
To learn more about if banking with a local financial institution is for you, visit www.ganaraskacu.com or call 1-905-885-8134.