CCUA Preparing for Federal Election
With a federal election call almost certain to come as soon as late summer, CCUA is preparing campaign engagement activities. We will be contacting all major federal parties’ campaign platform teams with a recommendation to include a review of financial sector tax policy in their election commitments, to level the tax policy playing field between us and the large banks. We are also preparing materials for credit unions to use directly to engage with local candidates on national issues of concern during the campaign. Please stay tuned for further developments on this throughout the summer as the anticipated official election call draws nearer. We need your help to contact local candidates across the country to get credit union issues on the agenda for the (highly likely) federal election campaign to come!

Survey on Federal Government Relations Programming
As a part of CCUA's ongoing review of its advocacy processes, we are reviewing our federal advocacy programming (such as Hike the Hill and Hike the Hill at Home) to ensure that it supports credit unions in engaging in federal advocacy and remains effective in the post-COVID digital environment.

CCUA is soliciting input from members interested or engaged in federal advocacy via a survey here. The survey will remain open for several weeks. The survey results will inform a report on proposed changes to federal GR programming, to be presented this Fall.

2020 Credit Union Financial Data Now Available
The 2020 credit union level financial data is now available on the CCUA Credit Union Benchmarking Tool. If you haven’t already done so, join the over 500 employees from 182 credit unions, who have already registered for the benchmarking tool. The tool is available to all credit unions free of charge and has no limit to the number of employees that can register. The tool helps users compare their credit unions’ key financial metrics, including balance sheet activity, profitability ratios, credit risk and capital adequacy with those of a user-selected group from across the country. You can register directly at https://cuip.ccua.com . If you have questions or would like more information, please contact Sandra Brizland.

Canada Recovery Hiring Program Applications Open
The Canada Recovery Hiring Program (CRHP) applications are now open. The CRHP which will slowly replace the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy over the summer is designed to cover part of eligible employees’ wages. More details on the program and the application can be found here. If you have any questions about the CRHP please contact Rachel Barry.

CMHC Returning to Pre-July 2020 Mortgage Underwriting Criteria
In July 2020 CMHC implemented temporary changes to its underwriting practices for mortgage loan insurance. Due to these changes, CMHC’s market share declined, which is an important consideration as a healthy market share helps them fulfill the financial stability aspect of their mandate. As a result, effective July 5, 2021, CHMC has returned to their pre-July 2020 underwriting practices for homeowner mortgage loan insurance, specifically:

• CMHC will consider a Gross Debt Service (GDS) ratio up to 39% and Total Debt Service (TDS) ratio up to 44% for borrowers who have a strong history of managing their payment obligations.
• At least one borrower (or guarantor) must have a credit score that is greater than or equal to 600 at the time of the request for insurance.
• CMHC will continue to consider the overall strength of the mortgage loan insurance application, including alternative methods of establishing creditworthiness for borrowers without a credit history.

For more information on these changes see here.

New 5-year National Financial Literacy Strategy
The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) launched this week a renewed financial literacy strategy for Canada titled Make Change that Counts:  National Financial Literacy Strategy 2021-2026.

CCUA contributed to the renewed strategy by participating in stakeholder roundtables and submitting a written response on behalf of credit unions. CCUA’s response can be found here.

If you have any questions, please contact Indi Madar.

Updated Credit Union Agriculture Lending Market Share Information
Statistics Canada has released its updated information regarding outstanding farm debt for 2020.  The CCUA’s agricultural market share report has been updated, and can be found here.  Credit unions with questions regarding the statistics in the report can contact CCUA’s Sr. Data Analyst, Sandra Brizland.