Westoba Credit Union will close three branches: Glenboro, La Rivière, and the Portage Avenue branch in Winnipeg on March 4, 2022.

While Westoba's last three quarters were profitable, the three impacted branches were identified as not profitable through a five year trend analysis of financial performance, business metrics, and community demographics.

Jim Rediger, President and CEO of Westoba Credit Union, says, "We realize this is a change for our members and employees, and we are here to support them through this transition. Our teams are prepared to talk about the different ways members can bank, including information on both traditional and digital options."

Westoba has notified its employees of the change, mailed a letter to impacted members and will follow up with phone calls. All impacted employees have been offered employment opportunities elsewhere in the organization, and there will be no job loss as a result.

"It is important for Westoba to be nimble and adjust to remain profitable and aligned with where banking is going," says Garnet McBurney, Westoba Credit Union Board Chair. "The pandemic accelerated the member trend of switching to online and virtual banking, but a lot of the groundwork for this shift happened over the past number of years. Westoba's services continue to evolve to embrace these trends," continues McBurney.

 

Following the closings, Westoba will operate 13 branches across Manitoba, a corporate office in Brandon and a Virtual Services call centre located locally. Centralized in Brandon, Westoba has 17 locations (including the corporate office) throughout the province, employing approximately 200 people and servicing 37,000 members.