Citizens Bank, an online banking subsidiary of Vancity, a Canada-based credit union, entered into an agreement to sell the majority of the bank’s retail loans to Toronto-Dominion Bank. The bank aims to focus its operations on Visa card services, and foreign exchange services for non-retail members.
Reportedly, Citizens Bank will leave the personal banking marketplace. The sale includes Citizens Bank residential mortgages, personal loans and real estate secured lines of credit. The changes following the sale include: Citizens Bank will become a non-deposit-taking bank focused on Visa credit card services, and foreign exchange services for non-retail members. Moreoever, its three branches in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto will close in December of 2009.
The bank has added that they will continue their serivces for its memebers who has mortgages or loans with them until the conversion of their accounts transferred to TD Canada Trust, which is expected to complete in early 2010. Savings and chequing account members can transfer their accounts to Vancity freely or to another financial institution of their choice, term deposits not in RRSPs or other registered accounts will be serviced until they mature and then paid out; registered savings plans will need to be transferred to another financial institution of the member’s choice. However, members with group insurance on credit products will continue to have coverage for the period Citizens Bank is servicing the business until conversion in early 2010 and in commercial lending, its employees will continue to service existing loans outside of British Colombia and new loans will be underwritten by Vancity within British Colombia.
