Community Savings Fights Hostile Take Over
Board votes that being a credit union is in the best interest of its members

Red Deer, Alberta - "When 94 percent of our members tell us that it's important to remain a member-owned credit union, the Board of Directors has clear marching orders," says Murray Haubrich, President and Chief Executive Officer of Community Savings. "There is no way the Board can take any steps that would cause us to dissolve what we've got and replace it with a bank."

Community Savings received an outline from Western Financial Group late Thursday. The publicly traded company announced their intention to acquire Community Savings and turn them into a publicly traded bank.

Community Savings' Board of Directors convened a meeting on Friday afternoon to review the information provided and has determined that the matter will not be put before the membership at its March 18th meeting.

"A few things stood out to the Board," observed Haubrich. "The document is very brief and contains a conditional offer. Even if we considered it, members wouldn't be able to count on it actually occurring. A move like this has never been successful in Canada, regulating bodies haven't approved the idea, and there is nothing to substantiate that Western Financial Group can afford to purchase an organization more than five times its size."

Credit union Boards of Directors are charged with the stewardship of their organizations. They are bound to act in the best interests of their members and provide a framework that is member-owned, democratically-governed and that shares profits with its members.

"If our members are tempted by the cash that Western Financial says might be paid to them," explains Haubrich, "they should understand that they certainly wouldn't receive annual Profit Sharing." Community Savings paid $14.5 million in Profit Sharing to its members in 2007, and its total payout over the past four years approached $56 million. In January, one member's payout approached $50,000, while a 13-year-old with some investments earned almost $200. An average member using normal banking services easily receives $800 a year.

Community Savings has explored a number of options it believes will enable it to thrive in the coming years. Fundamental to these are its Board priorities that focus on remaining a member-owned credit union, providing Alberta-wide branch access for members, and retaining its 100% deposit guarantee.

"We are looking forward to members approving the Board's recommendation to merge with Common Wealth Credit Union and Servus Credit Union," adds Haubrich. "It would introduce province-wide access for our members, and the Community Savings Board of Directors remains confident that its recommendation is in the best interests of the members." A merged credit union would provide province-wide access through 92 branches in 63 communities, 357,000 members, and assets approaching $9 billion. It would create Canada's third largest credit union and would be a true Alberta success story. Member voting will take place in mid-March.

Community Credit Union Ltd., operating as Community Savings, has 30 locations in 24 Alberta communities geographically distributed from Ponoka south to the U.S. border. Community Savings provides a complete line of banking services, including registered accounts, financing, investments, insurance and commercial banking. With assets of $2.7 billion, it is the second largest credit union in Alberta and the sixth largest in Canada. Its head office is located in Red Deer.