Clio Media

Common Bonds. A History of Greater Vancouver Community Credit Union
A history of a remarkable credit union and the credit union system in British Columbia.

This book was published in June 2015 by GVC Credit Union. It features over sixty historical photos and includes an index and bibliography.

It was designed and produced by TAKE 5 Publications and printed in Canada by Friesens.

Back cover text:
Greater Vancouver Community (GVC) Credit Union is one of the oldest credit unions in British Columbia. Its antecedent, Rosary Credit Union (Charter No. 21, 1940), was among the first credit unions incorporated by provincial statute. It grew as St. Patrick's Credit Union (1941) and other parish credit unions in Vancouver and Burnaby came together as Greater Vancouver Catholic Credit Union (1966).

Over the years, twenty credit unions having distinctive common bonds were integrated into a successful and dynamic financial services co-operative that has an inclusive common bond.

The credit union industry in British Columbia today consists of autonomous organizations – including GVC Credit Union – that are affiliated with a central body. Their network is known as the credit union system.

The system began with financial co-operatives established to help working-class households recover from the Great Depression. By tracing the history of GVC Credit Union, we can chart the development of the credit union system in British Columbia from the 1930s to the present-day.

Cover image: Looking north from Vancouver City Hall, June 1946. Photograph courtesy of City of Vancouver Archives, CVA 586-4381.

The Author
Patrick A. Dunae is a British Columbia historian and the author of books about the history of credit unions on Vancouver Island. He lives in Victoria, BC.

ISBN 978-0-9937207-1-0