New banking centre opens in Igloolik

Igloolik has a new community banking centre.

The First Nations Bank of Canada opened the branch at the hamlet’s Co-op store Nov. 18, making it the eighth community banking centre operated by the company in Nunavut and N.W.T.

“The community banking centres are designed to provide banking services to smaller markets that are typically underserved and don’t have other banking locations or services in the community,” said Leigh Solomon, First Nations Bank’s vice-president of retail banking, in an interview.

The Igloolik community banking centre, staffed by two employees, provides services including account openings, loans, credit card options and financial advice to the hamlet’s 2,000 residents.

Services that require more paperwork such as credit, loans and mortgages, can be started at the community banking centre but will be managed at one of the bank’s larger retail branches in Iqaluit or Yellowknife, Solomon said.

The branch’s opening in Igloolik was delayed due to a fire in January 2021 that destroyed the co-op store, which was rebuilt and reopened two years later.

“By having a local presence in the community such as Igloolik, the bank hopes to play a role in building financial literacy and independence for the members of this community,” said Solomon.

The move is part of a 2018 agreement between First Nations Bank of Canada and shareholder Arctic Co-operatives Ltd. to expand services to underserved northern communities.

Currently, First Nations Bank of Canada has no plans to open new locations in Nunavut or Nunavik, said Solomon.

“However, that’s not to say that we won’t consider it as we understand the need of banking services in these communities,” he said, citing the bank’s “strong partnership” with its other major shareholder in the territory, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.-owned Atuqtuarvik Corp., an investment and loans firm.

The expansion of First Nations Bank of Canada into Nunavut was part of a deal signed in 2007 with Atuqtuarvik, which included the purchase of 20 per cent of the bank’s shares.

The bank’s Indigenous shareholders also include groups from the Northwest Territories, Yukon, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta and Quebec which own more than 80 per cent of the bank.