TORONTO – Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB) today celebrated its launch in Ontario.
VCIB, Canada’s first Schedule 1 community investment bank, offers financing and expert advice to organizations addressing local community issues, such as impact businesses, social enterprises and not-for-profits.
Leveraging their deep expertise in social purpose real estate and their experience working with ‘socially focused’ organizations in British Columbia, VCIB will now be able to refocus on tackling some of Ontario’s most pressing challenges: housing, support for local and sustainable businesses, and the economic development of indigenous communities.
“We’re proud to be the only Canadian bank committed to partnering exclusively with organizations driving positive change,” says Jay-Ann Gilfoy, CEO of Vancity Community Investment Bank. “We can’t wait to apply our expertise in service of Ontario’s pressing problems, and help organizations finance a better tomorrow.”
VCIB was founded in 2017, when Vancouver City Savings Credit Union (Vancity) relaunched its national subsidiary, Citizens Bank of Canada, as Canada’s first Schedule 1 community investment bank. Drawing on Vancity’s years of expertise in serving its half-million members, and from its community-first finance model, VCIB is bringing its deep knowledge of social purpose real estate, its experience working with “socially focused” organizations” and its deep understanding of the social impact space to help scale up Ontario’s social enterprise and sector.
“Values based banking allows us put the tools of finance to use in the right way,” continues Gilfoy. “Our goal in Ontario is to take our experience in BC and marry it with purpose-driven action. In doing so, we will be able to partner with our clients to help drive change.”
Initial services that will be provided by VCIB include:
- Community-Focused Commercial Lending – VCIB plans to work with organizations developing real estate for social purposes, including affordable housing, co-operative housing, green eco-efficiency buildings and co-working spaces
- Community Change Term Deposit – VCIB’s community change term deposit allows organizations looking for fixed-term investments an opportunity to align their investments with their values. 100% of VCIB’s term deposit contributes to community development lending in Canada, providing businesses and individuals in disadvantaged and financially excluded communities.
- Traditional investment bank services, such as payments cards, foreign exchange and remittances
About Vancity Community Investment Bank
Vancity Community Investment Bank is a values-driven bank on a mission to finance a greater tomorrow. We are the only financial institution in Canada committed to achieving positive change in all our actions. Born from the community-first finance model sharpened over seventy years by Vancity and, as a certified B-Corporation, we meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance to balance profit and purpose. Learn more at www.vcib.ca.
