OTTAWA, Canada–It appears Canada’s credit unions will get a reprieve and be allowed to use the words “bank,” “banker” and “banking” after all.
In Vienna, Austria, at the World Council of Credit Unions’ World CU Conference, Martha Durdin, president of the Canadian CU Association confirmed to CUToday.info it appears the decision prohibiting use of the words is being reconsidered.
As CUToday.info reported here, Canada's Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions has issued an advisory that restricts the use of those the words “bank,” “banker,” or “banking” by non-bank financial service providers. In other words, the country’s credit unions can no longer say that members may “bank” at the CU or use mobile “banking.” The ban, which is to be widely panned and criticized by CUs, would require significant costs and lead to confusion, the country’s credit union trade association has argued.
But the Canadian Credit Union Association (CCUA) indicated after meeting with federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau that a productive and positive meeting was held regarding the usage of the three words. Credit union leaders told several publications, however, they were not at liberty to discuss what they called a “positive development.”
An official announcement is to be made by the Minister of Finance “within the next two weeks,” according to SooToday.com.