Toronto, April 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Traditional Territories of multiple Indigenous Nations, including the Haudenosaunee and the Treaty Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit/Toronto, ON – Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB), a subsidiary of Vancouver City Savings Credit Union (Vancity), today introduced a Unity Guaranteed Investment Certificate (Unity GIC) offering a 1-year investment at 3.00%. The new Unity GIC provides clients with a stable, fixed-rate investment vehicle that delivers both financial and community benefit.
As Canada’s first and only values-driven bank, VCIB is committed to driving positive social and environmental change within the communities in which it operates. Investments raised through VCIB’s Unity GIC will provide vital loans or financial relief to businesses and non-profits affected by COVID-19 to help them stay financially resilient at a time when they need it most.
“Our mission has always been to use the tools of finance to drive immediate and lasting social and environmental change in communities across Canada. This mission has never been more important than it is right now, when businesses and community organizations are having to make difficult choices to keep their doors open,” said Jay-Ann Gilfoy, Chief Executive Officer at VCIB. “By investing in VCIB’s new Unity GIC, clients can earn steady returns while at the same time building resilience in communities and businesses affected by COVID-19.”
A Schedule 1 Chartered bank, as well as a member of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC), VCIB will offer its Unity GIC for a non-redeemable 12-month term at a 3.00% interest rate. This interest rate represents a significant commitment from VCIB to both its clients and the communities it serves. In comparison, the bank’s one-year fixed-term Impact GIC currently offers an industry-competitive interest rate of 1.85% annually.
VCIB’s Unity GIC builds off a similar model – the Unity Term Deposit – launched on March 23, 2020 by Vancity, VCIB’s parent company. This week, Vancity’s Unity Term Deposit reached its goal of raising $200 million from the credit union’s members in British Columbia. Given this success, VCIB is now looking to continue this momentum on a national scale by positively impacting vulnerable communities and businesses across Canada.
The Unity GIC is only available to Canadian organizations, including businesses, non-profits and charities; it is not available to individual investors. While VCIB's other GIC products have a minimum investment threshold of $50,000, the Unity GIC will be available at a minimum of $25,000 to allow more organizations to participate. The maximum investment cap is set at $250,000. To find out more about VCIB’s new purpose-driven Unity GIC, please visit: www.vcib.ca/unity-gic.
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About Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB)
VCIB is an Ontario-based schedule 1 federally chartered bank. As Canada's first values-driven bank, VCIB partners exclusively with organizations that drive social, economic, and environmental change. The bank is committed to connecting these visionary enterprises with financial solutions that allow them to create, grow, and foster change. VCIB's primary focus is lending for social purpose real estate (affordable housing, co-op housing, co-working spaces, green and heritage buildings), as well as meeting the needs of non-profit organizations, foundations, and social enterprises. For more information, visit vcib.ca, tweet us at @BankVancity and connect with us at Facebook.com/BankVancity.
About Vancity
Vancity is a values-based financial co-operative serving the needs of its more than 534,000 member-owners and their communities, with offices and 59 branches located in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Victoria, Squamish and Alert Bay, within the unceded territories of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka'wakw people. With $27.4 billion in assets plus assets under administration, Vancity is Canada's largest community credit union. Vancity uses its assets to help improve the financial well-being of its members while at the same time helping to develop healthy communities that are socially, economically and environmentally sustainable.