The first indications were the odd-coloured new signs. All of a sudden, the regular logo where we normally make our deposits, pay our bills and withdraw our cash, began disappearing in literature, pamphlets and, as I say, on the signage inside and outside the building. Then, we received email notification.
“We’re making changes so that you can experience the good in banking,” the email said. “We’re transitioning banking systems.”
As of the July 1 holiday weekend, the Credit Union, at which we have conducted the majority of our financial dealings since we arrived here in 1988, is no more. I know. I know. Technically our Credit Union disappeared in the consolidation of a number of Ontario Credit Unions under the PACE Savings and Credit Unions back in 2000. And we have PACE’s then chief executive officers to thank for fraudulent self-dealing (as discovered by Ontario’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority) and for driving what was left or our Credit Union into the hands of bankers in 2018. And when that July 1 email announced “important upcoming changes,” I winced.
The new facility in town, called Alterna Savings, I believe is the last gasp of our member-driven, community-oriented financial institution. What we’re witnessing in microcosm at the old Credit Union is what corporate Canada claims is best for all of us.
They call it amalgamation which usually means downsizing. They call it consolidation which often means elimination. They call it streamlining which mostly means fewer services and higher costs for users. They describe it as “important upcoming changes” benefitting customers. I suggest it means just the opposite.
All we have to do is look at the recent track record of such amalgamations, mergers and consolidations to realize their folly. I mean, just go to the bread box in your pantry. Mexico-based Grupo Bimbo, which owns the Canada Bread Co. has pleaded guilty to bread price-fixing and was fined $50 million.
Meanwhile, the federal Competition Bureau is currently investigating such companies as Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Giant Tiger and Maple Leaf Foods for similar alleged offences. On the other hand, back in January the Federal Court of Appeal rejected the Competition Bureau’s request to block Rogers’ takeover of Shaw. Who really thinks that Rogers’ $20-billion merger with Shaw Communications will result in more efficiencies and lower prices for wireless communications?
If you want a lesson navigating corporate mergers and takeovers, have a look at house and car insurance. Last year, when that derecho blew through town, we went to our insurance company which we thought was Johnson Unifund. I learned they had been gobbled up by Royal & Sun Alliance, and they in turn by Intact.
And if you expect quick answers and service, as in, “How do I rebuild my house after a tornado?” you don’t want to have to face that labyrinth of corporate bureaucracy.
Then, there’s the world of broadcast journalism. Bell Media, which owns CTV, BNN, CP24 and local radio and TV stations across Canada recently complained to the CRTC that it couldn’t possibly meet the regulator’s demands for local news coverage.
Then, while it complained about abiding by its broadcast licence, it chose the same week to lay off 1,300 people. Bell CEO Mirko Bibic called it a move toward “collaboration and efficiency.” Does anybody believe his explanation?
A few weeks ago, after I received that original email announcing “important upcoming changes,” the bank that now owns and operates our old Credit Union alerted me that my account numbers would be different, that my online access would change, and that if I simply followed their online guide the transition would all happen comfortably over the holiday weekend. It didn’t.
So, last Tuesday, I went our old Credit Union for help. And I received it. A pleasant banking rep walked me through the process – changed my account numbers, changed my password, gave me access – and all seemed fine. At home, using all the tools she’d given me the next day, I tried to get into my account, but was blocked. Another trip to the old Credit Union and they unblocked my account, I think.
Where is Paul Martin when we really need him? In 1998, when CIBC, the Toronto-Dominion, the Bank of Montreal and the Royal Bank announced plans to merge, Martin, then finance minister, said no.
He sensed that mega-banks would lead to an unacceptable concentration of economic power. He further recognized that mergers would result in reductions in competition, higher prices and less service. Even Charles Baillie, CEO at TD back in the late ’90s, admitted as such.
“It became pretty obvious that nobody other than the banks thought (merging) was a good idea,” he said.
