As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vancity Credit Union , our annual reports are rolled up into the corporate reporting of our parent company.
Learn more about Vancity, its performance, and where Vancity Community Investment Bank fits in to the bigger picture, through the annual reports on the Vancity website.
Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB) is a federally regulated Schedule 1 bank under the Bank Act (Canada) and is regulated by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada (OSFI). VCIB offers commercial banking services and products including deposits.
VCIB is a wholly owned subsidiary of Vancity Credit Union. VCIB annual reports are consolidated with those of Vancity. Information about Vancity and its performance is available through the annual reports on the Vancity website.
Regulatory Disclosures below are in accordance with OSFI regulatory requirements and are based on the Basel Committee of Banking Supervision Pillar 3 disclosure requirements.
Please see link below for current key metrics disclosure.
Capital Adequacy ensures that VCIB has sufficient capital to meet minimum regulatory requirements, to support its business strategy and protect it against unexpected losses. VCIB calculates its capital base as a percentage of the risk weighted assets and ensures minimum OSFI targets are not breached. In addition, VCIB defines Regulatory Capital risk as inadequate or insufficient capital available to meet regulatory levels required to support the strategy of the organization. The Bank uses the annual Board of Directors approved Capital Management Policy to manage Regulatory Capital Risk.
The Asset and Liability Committee (ALCO) monitors compliance with the policy on a regular basis, and the Board of Directors reviews compliance with the policy on a quarterly basis. VCIB manages its capital under guidelines established by OSFI and follows an Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment process (ICAAP) submitted to OSFI for review annually. Multiple stress tests are integrated into the capital planning process to determine capital requirements. Stress testing quantifies possible events or future changes in economic conditions that could have unfavorable effects on VCIB’s exposures. As a result of stress testing, management is informed about potential risks and their impact and considers these risks in capital planning and risk management practices.
Please see link below for current capital composition disclosure.
Leverage ratio measures the bank’s tier 1 capital relative to total assets. This ratio looks at tier 1 capital to judge how leveraged the bank is based on its assets. Tier 1 capital consists of assets that can be easily liquidated if the bank needs capital.
Please see link below for current leverage ratio disclosure.
VCIB defines Credit Risk as the risk of financial loss to VCIB if a customer or counterparty to a financial transaction fails to meet its contractual obligations. Credit risk arises primarily from VCIB’s loans and advances to customers. VCIB is also exposed to other credit risks arising from investments in debt securities and other exposures arising from its investment activities, including non-equity investment portfolio assets, derivatives and settlement balances with market counterparties.
VCIB’s credit philosophy is based on the view that our fundamental responsibility is to consider first and foremost the safety of the bank while being mindful that providing community impact borrowers with effective borrowing opportunities is a core business activity. VCIB manages, limits and controls concentrations of credit risk, where identified, to individual counterparties. Limits are also established specifically for single name/ group exposure; commercial real estate – total balances, non-affordable segment, and aggregate syndications; restricted loans, and clean-energy projects.
VCIB’s approach to enterprise-wide risk management, including lending activities, supports the three lines of defence governance model.
VCIB’s Lending Policy establishes the approach of the Bank to lending and applies to its lending activities. All of the Bank’s lending activities must be conducted according to the requirements and limits set out within the Lending Policy. The Lending Policy is reviewed annually by the Board.
Regular quarterly portfolio updates, including geographic and product type concentrations, risk rating distributions, and connection exposures are presented to the Executive and the Board. Standard reporting package is set, at minimum, as: Credit Stress Testing; Related Party Transactions; Credit Risk Report (comprehensive compilation of key areas of portfolio metrics); and Policy Exceptions.
A breakdown of VCIB’s loan portfolio by loan type, its credit risk weighted assets, and impaired loans are published by OSFI and are available through the following hyperlink:
Financial Data – Banks
Liquidity risk describes the risk that VCIB will encounter difficulty in meeting obligations associated with financial liabilities that are settled by delivering cash or another liquid asset as well as not being able to meet unexpected funding needs. Liquidity risk is inherent in any financial institution and could result from entity-specific circumstances and/or market events. Accordingly, VCIB has policies and procedures in place to manage its liquidity position, both to comply with regulatory requirements and adhere to sound business practices.
VCIB’s liquidity risk is subject to extensive risk management controls and is managed within the framework, policies and limits approved by the Board. On an annual basis, the Board, through the Audit Committee, reviews and approves the liquidity policy presented by management to ensure adherence to regulatory requirements. The Asset Liability Committee (“ALCO”) oversees the operational adherence to the liquidity policy. ALCO approves liquidity management processes and strategies presented by treasury and finance management in addition to overseeing adherence to minimum liquidity limits, eligibility requirements for liquid assets, investments with counterparties, funding diversification, deposit concentration and diversification limits.
Stress testing on liquidity is conducted annually as part of its risk oversight and the results would be used to inform and ensure that adequate liquidity risk limits are in place and current.
A liquidity contingency plan (LCP) exists for liquidity to satisfy funding requirements in the case of a general market disruption or adverse economic conditions. Proper execution of the LCP is the responsibility of the treasury department. The LCP outlines the appropriate steps to follow and stakeholders to notify. It is scenario tested annually, and the results are presented to the Board.
Key measures used by VCIB for managing liquidity risk are the ratio of liquid assets to total assets, as well as the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) and Net Cumulative Cash Flow (NCCF) with the latter two metrics quantifying liquidity survivorship reported to the bank regulator. For the purpose of measuring liquidity risk, liquid assets comprise the total market value of cash, Government of Canada or provincial treasury bills, debt securities with a government guarantee and a minimum DBRS Limited (“DBRS”) investment rating of A, government guaranteed mortgage-backed securities, banker’s acceptances and bearer deposit notes from Schedule I and II banks with a DBRS rating of R-1 low or higher, and corporate commercial paper with a DBRS rating of R-1 low or higher.
Vancity Community Investment Bank (“VCIB”) defines Operational Risk as the risk of loss resulting from regulatory non-compliance and detrimental impacts to its customers, resulting from people, inadequate or failed internal processes and systems, or from external events such as external fraud or cyber-crime.
The Operational Risk Management Framework (“ORMF”) outlines operational risk management actions, tools, and establishes the accountabilities for managing operational risks consistent with the Three Lines of Defense model.
Business unit leaders ensure operational risks are managed and mitigated within their respective areas and are responsible for implementing controls in alignment with the ORMF. Business leaders and their staff represent the first line of defense, Enterprise Risk Management (“ERM”) team as second line, is responsible to develop and sustain the Operational Risk Management Program including the ORMF, related procedures, reporting and escalation of risks, in support of the Chief Risk Officer (“CRO”). The CRO provides an independent perspective on operational risks and escalates emerging risks to Senior Management and the Board.
VCIB utilizes multiple internal controls to manage and mitigate operational risks. Internal controls include the following: Risk Appetite Framework, Enterprise Risk Management Framework, Operational Risk, Third-Party Risk Management, and Business Continuity Frameworks along with the Employee Code of Conduct and Information Security Policies as well as related operational risk procedures.
VCIB has a comprehensive Enterprise Risk Management Framework (“ERMF”) and reporting processes that includes appropriate board and senior management oversight. The ERMF governs how risks are identified, evaluated, managed, and reported. It defines the key risk dimensions to which VCIB is exposed to.
VCIB’s Risk Appetite Framework (“RAF”) is an integral part of the ERMF. The RAF, including Risk Appetite statements, is revised annually, reviewed by Senior Management, and approved by the Board. Performance against risk appetite, within each risk dimension, is monitored through assessing key risk indicators (“KRIs”) and their threshold levels. Management monitors performance against risk appetite and reports results on quarterly basis in the CRO Dashboard to Risk and ConductCommittee.
VCIB calculates operational risk to determine its Capital Adequacy Ratio by applying the appropriate calculation method mandated by OSFI. VCIB has also implemented an Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Process (ICAAP) that models and stress tests operational risk, helping determine appropriate capital levels.
Stress testing is an analysis conducted under hypothetical scenarios to test VCIB’s ability to withstand a stressed environment. It is expected to answer what could go wrong to place the Bank off course leading away from expected objectives. VCIB’s capital reserves are stress tested annually under ICAAP. The ICAAP informs internal capital targets that are sufficient to allow VCIB to endure all plausible, but unlikely negative shocks.
The combination of the above frameworks, policies, processes, metrics and stress testing activities, along with robust reporting methods and structures support informed decisions by Senior Leaders to provide early detection of risks and mitigating actions to be executed.
Vancity Community Investment Bank is committed to a number of voluntary codes of conduct and public commitments to protect consumer interests.
The primary objective of the Senior Complaints Officer (SCO) is to focus on fairness and transparency for all clients and partners involved in the complaint escalation process related to our products and services. The SCO Office is an impartial department directed to review complaints that remain unresolved after the completion of the first two steps of VCIB’s Complaint Process. This Office will investigate complaints and act as a go-between for our clients, partners, and the various business areas within VCIB, including our Impact Banking and Visa teams.
Once we receive all the necessary information to complete an initial review, the complainant will receive a summary of the details of our complaints resolution process and the complaint will be assigned to an investigator. Depending on the nature and complexity of the complaint, the investigation may require input from different departments. Once the complainant receives our response, they can decide to accept it or request further review from an external complaints body.
For 2023, the Senior Complaints Officer received no complaints. As a result, the average time to complete an investigation and the type of complaints data is not applicable for 2023.
Vancity Community Investment Bank is a member of CDIC and is a Certified B Corp TM
© Vancity Community Investment Bank.
