TORONTO - Meridian Credit Union here has announced plans to launch a new bank in an effort to expand beyond the province of Ontario.
The credit union said it hopes to start offering online and mobile-based banking services outside the province in 2018. Meridian Bank will be a wholly owned subsidiary of the credit union.
The credit union said shares in the bank will not be publicly traded or sold, and its CEO, Bill Maurin, said in a statement the bank will be based on the values and commitment to service that has defined the credit union.
Maurin told the Financial Post, “There’s not a lot of Canadian love for the Big Five banks, but we think there can be a lot of love for a Meridian version.”
Canadians are looking for flexibility, convenience, and mobility as well as a banking relationship with a financial institution that is socially relevant, and treats them as individuals, with individual needs," Maurin said in a statement. “Like Meridian Credit Union, it will not be hostage to quarterly earnings per share targets the way publicly traded banks are, and will therefore take a long-term view in terms of how it invests to serve its customers,” said Maurin.
That approach may pay off with Canadians.
The $14-billion Meridian, which was created in 2005 and which has 270,000 members, has earned a name for aggressively marketing loans, including a 1.49% 18-month mortgage.