Coast Capital Savings' Simple Financial Help for Members Delivers Excellent Financial Results and Enables Continuing Investments in Community, Innovation and Growth

SURREY, BC --(Marketwired - March 30, 2016) - Canada's largest credit union by membership, Coast Capital Savings, closed a year that marked its 75th anniversary with continuous advancement in helping improve the financial well-being of Canadians, attracting 20,000 new members, investing $5 million in supporting community programs focused on building a richer future for youth, and achieving strong balance sheet growth.

Don Coulter, Coast Capital's president and CEO, said the strong growth included an 11 per cent increase in total assets under administration from $15 billion in 2014 to nearly $17 billion in 2015. This allowed the credit union to make key investments to position itself for growth and expansion opportunities and to continue to deliver helpful products and services to more Canadians.

"In 2015, our employees helped an increasing number of British Columbians navigate uncertain financial times, whether this was through personal or business loans and mortgages, savings, or investments towards the future -- assisting many families and small businesses achieve their goals."

Coast Capital increased regulatory capital by 6 per cent last year, exceeding the $1 billion mark for the first time in the company's history, despite continued market uncertainty; grew revenues to $341 million, an increase of 4.6% over the previous year; and achieved net income of $58 million (compared to $62 million in 2014). The change in net income was driven by several strategic investments that were made in 2015 to improve its members' experience. In addition, the credit union's employees delivered 27,000 unique Where You're At Money Chats designed to help members save, manage, grow, and protect their finances; and helped nearly 200 non-profit organizations through its Youth Get It community investment model.

Retail deposits grew 5.6 per cent, from $6.5 billion to $6.9 billion, while business deposits rose 7.7 per cent, from $1.9 billion in 2014 to $2 billion in 2015. Coast Capital's mutual funds under administration grew by 12.7 per cent, from $2.7 billion in 2014 to $3 billion in 2015, while loans to members increased from $10.9 billion to $11.6 billion, a 6 per cent jump.

According to Coulter, the financial sector faced several challenges in 2015, including stock market volatility and the declining value of the Canadian dollar. He said Coast Capital was able to respond to these challenges through the credit union's innovative offerings, including the Free Chequing, Free Debit and More Account®, Members Get It™ Mortgages and Low-fee, More-for-me Mutual Funds™.

"As part of our commitment to helping our members achieve financial well-being, we invested in strategic initiatives last year that focused on innovation and growth and operational excellence. We further enhanced our banking system to ensure a superior member experience and moved into our new Help Headquarters, to provide a great place for our employees to work and increase collaboration," Coulter said. "We are also excited to announce that we will be opening locations in the Okanagan and Courtenay in 2016, allowing us to help more British Columbians improve their financial well-being while supporting the strong and vibrant credit union system in BC that has contributed to the growth of the province's communities."

Coast Capital Savings is Canada's largest credit union by membership. A recipient of the 2015 "Outstanding Corporation" Giving Hearts Award, the credit union invested $5 million­­­­­­­­ into local communities in 2015, focusing on empowering and engaging youth. Coast Capital is one of Canada's 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures™, a member of Canada's Best Managed Companies Platinum Club, and an Imagine Canada Caring Company. It has 50 branches serving its 532,000 members in the Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island and Okanagan regions of British Columbia. Product innovations include Canada's first free chequing account from a full-service financial institution. To learn more, visit coastcapitalsavings.com.