“It’s truly an honor to be recognized by our peers as Alberta’s Credit Union of the Year,” says Steve Friend, Chief Executive Officer of Vision Credit Union. “If we’re succeeding as a credit union, that means we’re serving our members well. We believe in our loyal members and we work hard to help them.”

Each year, the Credit Unions of Alberta assess all credit unions in the province for their financial performance, community support, innovation and business accomplishments.

Vision received top scores in several categories among its peers, with the following key achievements tipping the scales in their favour:

• Service innovations for members: Vision continually upgrades services to members. In 2019, Vision introduced frictionless digital, in-branch account opening processes.
• Community connections: Vision is a strong community builder year-round, providing local initiatives such as in-branch food bank drives, other financial donations, and assistance for Vision’s La Crete members during the wildfire evacuation and branch closure.
• Financial performance: Vision has demonstrated strong financial progress which benefited members. In 2019, Vision returned $12.5 million in profit shares to members across Alberta.
• Vision was successful in the conversion of branch members following the acquisition of the Wetaskiwin credit union branch

In addition to Credit Union of the Year award, Vision also received awards for growth. These include:

• Best Loan and Deposit Growth (year over year) 
• Best Return on Assets ROA (three-year average) 

Whether for exceptional service or growth, Vision’s success stems from the effort of all of members of Vision’s team, from management to member services, from board members to administrative staff to executives, says Friend. “Over the past year, we’ve seen the strength of that team as we’ve pulled together to successfully bring the Wetaskiwin branch on board and more recently, as we’ve responded to the challenges of COVID-19. Moving forward in these tough times, we intend to do our best to help our members and communities recover and prosper.”