Western Financial Group (Western) and Coast Capital Savings Credit Union (Coast Capital) announced today that they have reached an agreement on the sale of Coast Capital Insurance Services Ltd. (CCIS) by Coast Capital to Western.

CCIS is a subsidiary of Coast Capital and currently offers property, casualty, commercial, life and disability insurance products through 32 retail insurance offices and a call centre. The life and disability insurance business of CCIS will remain with Coast Capital. Western is the largest and fastest growing insurance brokerage in Western Canada, and the purchase of CCIS locations across the Lower Mainland and southern Vancouver Island will complement the 29 branches in 22 communities they currently operate throughout British Columbia.

“We’re very proud to be able to bring Coast Capital Insurance Services into our family of companies. It is a tremendous organization that has the same commitment to community as we do,” said Scott Tannas, President and CEO of Western. “This is the largest deal we’ve negotiated to date and will help us solidify our presence throughout the B.C. market. We look forward to building on the traditions of great service and community support that Coast Capital has established.”

“At Coast Capital we’re proud of all that our insurance subsidiary and its employees have accomplished. When we decided to concentrate our resources on our core banking business, our goal was to find a partner who could help CCIS grow further and reach its full potential,” said Tracy Redies, CEO of Coast Capital. “Coast Capital and Western have similar values and a commitment to our people, our customers and our communities. In Western, we saw a strong entrepreneurial spirit and customer service focus which we believe will help build the CCIS business, and their dedicated focus on insurance will provide more opportunities for employees. Most importantly though, this allows more banking and insurance services to be offered to our collective customers as we look for more opportunities to expand our businesses and serve customers in our markets.”

Under the terms of the agreement between Western and Coast Capital, CCIS branches will continue to operate under the CCIS name and branding for at least two years. Western will continue to employ all of CCIS’s 242 staff members while working with Coast Capital to enhance banking and insurance offerings to both Western and CCIS customers. The deal is expected to close in July 2013.

Western Financial Group is a subsidiary of Desjardins Group (Desjardins), the largest co-operative financial group in Canada. Desjardins and Coast Capital have developed close ties over several years which were further enhanced with the signing of a memorandum of understanding in April 2013 regarding principles of co-operation to share expertise in products and services which will benefit both organizations.

“Desjardins Group welcomes this important acquisition that will reinforce Western Financial Group’s leadership role in Western Canada’s insurance market,” said Monique F. Leroux, Chair of the Board, President and CEO of Desjardins Group. “This opportunity also builds on our partnership with Coast Capital Savings as we look for more opportunities to bring the great benefits of the financial services co-operative model to more Canadians.”

Western Financial Group is a subsidiary of Desjardins Group, the leading co-operative financial group in Canada.

Above photo: Western Financial is partners with the City of Cranbrook in Western Financial Place.

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