Changing our name to Servus Credit Union is a major change for all of us, and as leading members of our credit union, we want to share with you the background for this decision.
Renaming Capital City Savings was a carefully considered and planned decision by the Board. For at least three years we have discussed this. As Capital City Savings grew to serve more members outside the "Capital City" our name became less appropriate. Half of our branches are now outside Edmonton. A name with a geographic association holds less appeal for potential new members who want a credit union in Hinton or Mundare to be theirs and not Edmonton’s.
We also recognized a need to stand out more in a very crowded and competitive marketplace. We needed to make a stronger statement about what our organization is - a credit union, with a proud history of personal service to our members and our communities.
The first Alberta credit union, Mangan Credit Union, was incorporated in 1938 with a simple promise - service to members. Capital City Savings, as the direct descendent of that first credit union, wanted to reaffirm the same promise, in a name with power and a unique identity. We believe that our service is what sets us apart in the market.
We also felt our name should be shorter and the "credit union" part should be more prominent. This is exactly what members told us: in a survey conducted in January 2005, 68% of members indicated a very strong desire to include "credit union" in our name.
Choosing a name is a complex task which must take into account legalities, the nature of the company and its business, where it operates now and where it will operate in the future, marketing advantages, products and services offered, as well as many other factors.
The Board and management prepared ourselves with research and professional advice to make a decision that would help the credit union in the long term. For instance, we learned that many variations using the term "Capital", such as Capital Credit Union, were not permissible. We developed a list of criteria that our new name had to meet and then we sought the right name and the right opportunity to make a change.
I want to emphasize that ServUs Credit Union is not "taking over" Capital City Savings. We also did not amalgamate with ServUs to "grab" their name, but we realized during our merger discussions with them that here was a name that met our selection standards, while an amalgamation created the opportunity to make the change.
Renaming our credit union will have a cost. But we prefer to see it as an investment in our future. Doing this in conjunction with two amalgamations actually saves money, as we will need to replace signs and other materials in the new branches anyway. To recoup our investment in the Capital City Savings brand, we will use the renaming as a platform to make a major impression in our trade area. This should not affect our member dividends and our profitability should remain very strong.
As a current member of Capital City Savings, you will not have to learn a new account number, nor do you need to order new cheques, debit cards or credit cards, or sign new papers for loans or deposits. We will work to make sure becoming a member of Servus Credit Union is as smooth as possible for you.
Capital City Savings was the name given to us by the government in 1987. We adopted it and made it a name to be proud of. Our success has led to growth and significant changes to our credit union. These changes are not always popular with every member, but we on the Board of Directors and the management team accept as our responsibility the task of weighing the options and making objective choices that are good for members, employees, our communities and the credit union itself.
We believe the name Servus Credit Union is a good choice for us as it captures our foundations of member-ownership, personal service, integrity, and community support.
