Members of a local group say they’re working to bring a new credit union to their Inverness Co. community after the closure of their branch.
Brian Peters, the chair of the committee to save Margaree’s credit union, says they conducted a survey, and they’ll use the results of that survey to build a business case.
He says they plan to use that business case to attract a new credit union branch to Margaree Forks.
Peters tells The Hawk they don’t expect East Coast Credit Union reps would be interested in a return even with a business case, but the area can still support a credit union.
“History has shown that once a branch has closed, it’s almost never reopened, so we feel that our recourse at this point is to approach other credit unions,” he says. “We think they made the wrong decision, and as a committee, we do have some optimism, but at this point it’s too early for us to say anything definitive.”
Peters says they’re in talks with experts on how to build the best business case before they take it to potential partners.
He says it’s important to keep a brick-and-mortar branch in the area.
“Despite the fact that people do more and more stuff online, the face-to-face teller relationship is still necessary for doing some essential things.”
Peters says they hope to have survey data analysed, and the business case completed by the end of August.
He says he doesn’t expect an agreement with any potential new credit union partner before the end of the fall.
