2014 Annual Report Corporate Highlights

Transcription

1 2014 Annual Report Corporate Highlights

2 2014 Annual Report Message from the Chair 2 Message from the Chair This past May, Meridian welcomed Bill Maurin to his new role as Meridian s President and CEO. With Bill s 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, strong business acumen and leadership foresight, the Board of Directors is very confident that Bill will continue to lead Meridian into a bright and prosperous future. While there were many accomplishments reached in 2014, the Board is extremely proud of the establishment of Meridian s Commitment to Communities, our expression of corporate social responsibility. Our commitment is local and based on the cooperative values and beliefs our Members and employees share. Through it, we invest money, our time and talent to help build prosperous, resilient communities where people can grow their lives. We also invest at least 4% of our pre-tax earnings to the communities we serve. Building and forging a stronger co-operative sector in Ontario remains a key priority for Meridian and its Board of Directors. Throughout 2014, Meridian made good on this commitment by collaborating with a variety of credit unions and co-operatives throughout Ontario and Canada to help inform, celebrate and promote the co-operative difference. In early 2014, Meridian joined with other Ontario-based credit unions to launch an Ontario awareness campaign, whose primary goal is to help raise awareness of credit unions among Ontarians and inspire them to participate in the co-operative banking movement through a multi-media advertising and public relations campaign. Meridian was also very active in promoting the credit union difference to various levels of government. Last spring, as part of Meridian s affiliation with the Credit Unions of Ontario, Meridian participated in Central 1 s advocacy campaign. As part of the advocacy campaign, the Credit Unions of Ontario has created a petition calling on the Government of Ontario to support the strength and growth of the credit union system in the following three ways: 1. Maintain current credit union provincial tax rates; 2. Show confidence in Ontario credit unions by increasing deposit insurance limits; and 3. Permit credit unions to diversify the breadth of their business by enhancing subsidiary ownership powers, among other things. This past fall, the Minister of Finance, Charles Sousa, appointed an MPP to conduct regional sessions across the province with key credit union stakeholders to identify any changes or revisions that need to be made to the Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires Act, Meridian, as Ontario s largest credit union, took an active role in this process and attended several consultations. Meridian continues to champion Ontario s co-operative sector as seen through our Provincial Sponsorship of the Ontario Cooperative Association s Regional Co-op Connections Roundtables program. The regional roundtable program fosters local co-operative networks and encourages collaboration and sharing of best practices and ideas. In late 2014, Meridian announced a strategic alliance with The Cooperators on a pilot basis, to be operationalized during 2015 in the Greater Toronto Area. The pilot program will include certain side-by-side locations of new Meridian branches and Cooperators agencies, providing the opportunity for Members and clients of both organizations to benefit from financial planning while gaining more convenient access to a broad array of financial products and services including those relating to insurance, lending, daily banking and wealth management. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our employees for their continuing commitment to helping lives grow and improving the communities we live in. Thanks also to you, our Members, for your ongoing loyalty and belief in the co-operative principles we follow and value. Don Ariss Chair, Board of Directors

3 2014 Annual Report Message from President and the CEO 3 Message from the President and CEO From a personal perspective, 2014 stands out as a true inflection point for me as it marks the year that our Board selected me as Meridian s President and CEO. It is a true honour and privilege to lead an organization of Meridian s calibre and I would like to thank Meridian s Board of Directors for their confidence in my ability to lead Meridian into the future is also significant in that it represents a demarcation point. It is a year in which we celebrated and leveraged our history of successes and learnings, and simultaneously readied ourselves as an organization for the next ambitious leg of our growth journey. Part of that readiness preparation included the expansion of our executive team. It gives me great pleasure to welcome Leo Gautreau, Chief Risk Officer; Tim Smart, Chief Financial Officer; and Sunny Sodhi, Chief Legal Officer to Meridian s Executive Leadership Team. Together, in partnership with the rest of Meridian s Executive Leadership Team, we will leverage our full range of skills and capacity to grow the lives of our Members and the communities we serve, and in so doing, help to build a stronger province for Ontarians. In 2014, we continued to aggressively execute against our strategic plan, which resulted in our strongest growth to date. Meridian recorded growth across all our business lines and despite a competitive environment, assets under management grew to $11.4 billion, we recorded pre-tax earnings of $50.5 million and we grew our Member relationships (including lending, deposits and Wealth) by $1.7 billion. Our focus on expanding Members access resulted in the expansion of our branch footprint with the opening of three new branches, two of those being in Hamilton and one in Barrie. We also continued enhancements to our digital and online capabilities with a special focus on our business banking Members. Meridian also continued to offer market-leading products including our We ve Got Your Back Mortgage offering last February and our No Fine Print Good to Grow high-interest savings account. Providing value to our Members is at the forefront of all that we do at Meridian. As a Memberowned organization, your thoughts, opinions and insights on how we can continue to have your back and serve you better matters to us. I d also like to take this opportunity to thank those Members that agreed to meet with me in 2014 to share what makes Meridian different from other financial institutions in their eyes. Last year, through our Voice of Member program, more than 12,000 Members were contacted by an independent third-party firm to gauge their Meridian experience. I m happy and proud to report that our Net Promoter Score a measure of how likely our Members are to recommend Meridian to their friends and family is industry leading and well above our 2014 goal. While much was accomplished in 2014, Meridian will not rest on its laurels. As we look forward to 2015, Meridian is well positioned to continue the growth momentum established in Members can continue to expect innovative and highly competitive product offerings, ongoing advancements to our digital banking capabilities, and more branch access in new and current Meridian communities with a strong focus in the Greater Toronto Area. We pride ourselves on being different from our competitors and we will focus on furthering that differentiation in everything we do and offer you. To our Members, we at Meridian thank you for your ongoing loyalty and we will continue to strive to have your back and help your lives grow. Bill Maurin President and Chief Executive Officer

4 2014 Annual Report The Meridian Team 4 The Meridian Team Executive Leadership Team and Officers Back row left to right: Sunny Sodhi, Jennifer Rowe, Tim Smart, Bill Whyte, and Gary Genik Front row left to right: Leo Gautreau, Bill Maurin, and James Millard Bill Maurin Chief Executive Officer* Leo Gautreau Chief Risk Officer Gary Genik Chief Information Officer Tim Smart Chief Financial Officer* James Millard Chief People Services Officer Jennifer Rowe Chief Marketing Officer Bill Whyte Chief Member Services Officer Sunny Sodhi Chief Legal Officer* Sheryl Wherry Corporate Secretary* (not pictured) Board of Directors Back row left to right: Richard Owen, Phoebe Wright, Patricia Callon, John Murphy, Mark Kraemer, Kevin Thompson Front row left to right: Colleen Sidford, Ross Lamont, Larry Doran, Don Ariss, Karl Wettstein, Tamara Paton COMMITTEES Audit & Finance Richard Owen Chair Mark Kraemer Ross Lamont Tamara Paton Patricia Callon Governance Don Ariss Chair* John Murphy Ross Lamont Colleen Sidford Human Resources John Murphy Chair* Don Ariss Larry Doran Kevin Thompson Phoebe Wright Nominating Mark Kraemer Chair Larry Doran Richard Owen Phoebe Wright Risk Colleen Sidford Chair Tamara Paton Kevin Thompson Karl Wettstein * Credit Union Officer

5 2014 Annual Report Corporate Highlights 5 Corporate Highlights New Products & Services BRANCH EXPANSION In 2014, Meridian opened three new branches expanding our network footprint while continuing to help grow lives in the Barrie and Hamilton-area communities. With the opening of the Rymal Road and Stoney Creek branches, Meridian expanded its presence in the Greater Hamilton Area to six branches. Last December, Meridian opened our third branch in Barrie Big Bay Point. The opening of these branches allows us to expand our footprint in high-growth markets while providing our Members with better access and convenience. MARKET-LEADING PRODUCTS Last spring we offered a market-leading mortgage rate of 2.95 per cent on our 5-year We Got Your Back Mortgage; demonstrating our commitment to helping our Members own their homes sooner while potentially saving them thousands of dollars in interest. Our Good to Grow high-interest saving account was introduced last summer, offering our Members a highly competitive rate with No Fine Print. ENHANCED ONLINE EXPERIENCE Meridian continues to invest in technology that improves and enhances our Members experience. Last summer, in support of our Good to Grow highinterest savings account launch, Meridian kicked-off our new onboarding process, providing prospective Members throughout Ontario the ability to purchase a Good to Grow high-interest savings account online. In May, Meridian launched its Small Business Online Banking platform, enabling our Members to access their personal and business holdings through one login, delegate authority to an employee, and access business banking-specific functionality.

6 2014 Annual Report Corporate Highlights 6 DEDICATED TO SUPERIOR SERVICE Meridian prides itself on providing our Members with superior service and quality financial advice. A year-long mystery shopping program, conducted by Toronto-based research firm Surviscor, found Meridian provided the best service among Canadian credit unions. Meridian s Net Promoter surveys, in which Members are surveyed and asked if they would recommend Meridian to a friend, continue to exceed our expectations. JOIN THE SOCIAL MEDIA CONVERSATION Whether it s on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, Meridian loves to connect, engage and educate Ontarians about all matters of personal finance. Last year, our Win Your Way to Savings contest winner, Sherry Bertleff, won $10,000 simply for playing a game on Meridian s Facebook page! In addition to fun contests, Meridian s social media platforms offer practical personal finance tips, up-to-date information about Meridian and highlight Meridian s support and involvement in the communities we operate in. Visit to learn more about Meridian s social media platforms.

7 2014 Annual Report Financial Highlights 7 Financial Highlights Meridian achieved record relationship growth, growing the lives of our Members, while our earnings continued to contribute to a strong capital position. Total relationships with Members grew to $18.3 billion. Record relationship growth was achieved across all business lines and across all product categories, particularly mortgages, demand deposits and mutual funds. Pre-tax earnings totaled $50.5 million. Net interest income continued to grow steadily, driven by increased relationships. Strategic investments in new branches, building awareness of Meridian in Ontario and improving the experience of Members resulted in increased expenses. * Includes share of profits from investments in associates and joint venture. ** Excludes Desjardins Credit Union amalgamation expenses, amortization of fair value adjustments and pension curtailment gains. Performance Ratios Minimum Regulatory Required Capital Ratio 4.0% 6.4% 6.6% Risk Weighted Capital 8.0% 13.2% 13.4% Liquidity Ratio % 11.1% Return on Average Equity - 5.8% 10.3% Annual Dividend Payments ($ millions) - $11.3 $10.8 Our capital position remained strong. Our capital and liquidity positions continued to remain well above regulatory and Board policy limits. Our return on Members' equity declined as capital was strategically invested for future success. Meridian paid $11.3 million in dividends.

8 Trademarks of Meridian Credit Union Limited. meridiancu.ca