Home Truths
 Bill Kershaw,
North Vancouver
North Shore Credit Union
In the late 1980s, Bill Kershaw relocated his family from near Duncan, on Vancouver Island, to North Vancouver. But there was a problem. Housing prices across the Lower Mainland were rising dramatically, beginning a real estate boom that lasted throughout the 1990s. The housing market on the Island, however, was depressed, with little sign of a recovery in the immediate future. Bill realized that he would need help with his mortgage, and went to his bank, a large, international financial institution where he had been a client for many years. He was turned down.
"They weren't interested, even though I'd been with them for a long time," says Bill, a married school teacher with three grown sons. "I went into the North Shore Credit Union, and they were very helpful. They gave us the financial support we needed to purchase a new home while our old home was still on the market. They also allowed me to pay off my mortgage in large increments when I had the money."
Why did the credit union give Bill a green light when his longtime bank wouldn't?
"I don't know. Maybe it's because the credit union is more interested in people."
Subsequently, one of Bill's sons got an idea to open up a downtown nightclub. He didn't have the means to drum up initial financing so, on his behalf, Bill approached the North Shore Credit Union for a loan to get things started. The first nightclub was a success, and more followed. Today, as a result, Bill has negotiated a $250,000 line of credit.
When people think about buying homes or starting businesses, they usually consider approaching a bank first. But as Bill Kershaw discovered, in a province with a high ratio of entrepreneurs and small business owners, not to mention high real estate prices, credit unions make a tangible, beneficial difference to economic stability. That's because BC's credit unions recognize that responsible people with initiative, not account balances, are our economy's greatest asset.
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