Cooperative Finance at a Crossroads: Strengthening System Design for What’s Ahead

Editorial | Tolga Yalkin, July 14, 2025

Global credit union leaders are meeting in Stockholm this week for the World Council of Credit Unions’ Conference, united under the theme, “The Future is Cooperative.”

That future is being shaped not just globally, but in British Columbia, where credit unions have long offered something distinct: community-based service, local governance, and member ownership. Yet that model is under strain, and it raises important questions.

Across B.C., the system remains mission-driven, but key indicators show growing pressure. Membership is not increasing, market share in core products has declined, and technology capabilities are uneven. Shared infrastructure has eroded. Mergers continue, but largely in response to stress. Meanwhile, rising expectations in cybersecurity, conduct, and compliance are outpacing many institutions’ ability to keep up.

When a system faces this kind of pressure, it raises an essential question: is its structure—the number, scale, and interconnection of financial institutions—still suited to today’s environment, and ready for what tomorrow will demand?

That question matters—not only for credit unions, but for the broader public interest. While BCFSA does not direct the strategy of credit unions, our responsibility is to help ensure a financial system that is fair, stable, and competitive. And structure plays a pivotal role in enabling—or undermining—that outcome.

Over the past year, we’ve engaged credit union leaders across the province in a focused dialogue. The message from them is increasingly clear: a certain degree of scale is now a precondition for institutional resilience.

That’s not about size for its own sake. It’s about having the internal capacity—technical, operational, and strategic—to manage today’s risks and meet tomorrow’s expectations.

Two structural approaches have gained traction.

The first is bringing institutions together into a smaller number of credit unions that can invest in capabilities, attract specialized talent, and deliver services at scale. The second is a model that preserves local autonomy while operating through centralized platforms, shared services, and aligned governance frameworks.

Neither path is perfect, but both offer serious responses to systemic risk and create the conditions for cooperation.

Because the real question isn’t whether credit unions can continue to exist. It’s whether they can thrive: staying relevant to new members, expanding their reach, and deepening their impact in a competitive, fast-changing environment.

That’s where structure matters most. Done well, it becomes an enabler of innovation, clarity, and trust. Done poorly—or not at all—it becomes a drag on resilience, a barrier to relevance, and a source of fragility.

Now is the time for deliberate decision-making and forward planning—to strengthen the system’s foundations before pressure forces reactive responses. The future can still be cooperative, but only if it is shaped deliberatively, not left to chance.