Business View Magazine Feb 2023

120 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 2 COMMUNITY ST BANKING T ITS HEART RCH CREDIT UNION: With strong connections to the Estonian & Latvian communities, Northern Birch Credit Union puts the financial needs of itsmembers first AT A GLANCE NORTHERN BIRCH CREDIT UNION WHAT: A leading credit union with strong cultural and communities roots WHERE: Branches in Southwest Ontario and downtown Toronto WEBSITE: https://www.northernbirchcu.com/ or Northern Birch Credit Union, its members always come first. As a cooperative financial institution, the credit union only answers to its members, who are also its owners. With that in mind, Northern Birch is committed to putting its members’ needs at the heart of its business model. Boasting three branches located throughout southern Ontario, Northern Birch also offers a strong community and cultural history. That’s because Northern Birch was founded through the merging of the former Estonian & Latvian Credit Unions in Toronto. Brought together through a shared cultural focus, the two ethnic credit unions merged and became Northern Birch Credit Union at the start of 2020. As separate credit unions for many decades, the Estonian and Latvian credit unions had established roots dating back to post- World War II immigration in and around Toronto. Today, Northern Birch remains a pillar of the Estonian and Latvian communities with a strong emphasis on cultural heritage, service, and financial health. Many of its members go back multiple generations, but the credit union is growing among other demographics too and is open to all Canadians. Because of its community focus and the personal attention provided to members, Northern Birch Credit Union can boast of very high member engagement scores. As a credit union rather than a bank, there are no investors or pure shareholders to impress. “We know our members and communities extremely well,” says Northern Birch Credit Union President and CEO Anita Saar.“Not only F