How we began

Gulf and Fraser Fishermen’s Credit Union began in 1940 as North Arm Credit Union. A small group of people from the commercial fishing industry met in a kitchen and discussed their challenges getting credit from commercial banks. Together they pooled $79.13 to start the credit union. That was the beginning of a long history of coming together to make something better, to bring more choice to the hard working people of BC.

In 1948, we changed our name to Gulf and Fraser Fishermen's Credit Union, and quickly became known as GAFF.
We now refer to ourselves as Gulf & Fraser. Five years later, in 1953, we expanded our boundaries to include any and all fishing industry workers and their relatives in BC. We now welcome all members, regardless of their connection to the fishing industry.

Did you know? Our members are from over 40 different credit unions that now make up Gulf & Fraser!

Through our members’ trust in Gulf & Fraser over the years we have joined together with other BC credit unions and created the scale we need to enhance our services, to have a voice in the province, to operate more branches, to make banking easier for you.

In the past two decades, we have joined together with five credit unions:

1. United Savings Credit Union – 2004

2. Aldergrove Credit Union – 2021

3. Mount Lehman Credit Union – 2022

4. VP Credit Union – 2022

5. Grand Forks District Savings Credit Union - 2023

United Savings members hail from BC’s union forces

A significant milestone for Gulf & Fraser included our merger with United Savings Credit Union in 2004. Before joining us, United Savings Credit Union had already merged with 35 other credit unions including Burnaby Savings, City of Vancouver Employees, dairy workers, transportation industry employees, beer workers and many more. Upon joining with Gulf & Fraser, United Savings added Fleetwood, Main Street, New Westminster, and South Burnaby branches to our branch network.

Aldergrove Credit Union unites branch network west to east, adds expertise

Joining together with Aldergrove Credit Union allowed us to complete a route of branches from West Vancouver through the Lower Mainland and into the Fraser Valley. The merger brought a significant increase in capital and resources and enabled us to hire more employees and enhance our service offering to members—including our Member Rewards Program, inspired by a similar program at Aldergrove Credit Union.

Mount Lehman Credit Union connects Abbotsford families

The merger with Mount Lehman Credit Union meant that Gulf & Fraser expanded further into the Fraser Valley with a branch located in the beautiful farmland of Abbotsford.

VP Credit Union brings in upstanding members

The merger with VP Credit Union brought people who work in law enforcement into our membership. This merger increased our membership and added to the credit union's capital to allow more investment in technology.

Grand Forks District Savings Credit Union moves us further east

The merger with Grand Forks District Savings Credit Union brought 8,000 members living in Kelowna, Grand Forks and the Boundary Region into Gulf & Fraser. This incredibly engaged membership saw the value in merging and remaining strong for future generations.

This merger allowed Gulf & Fraser to continue to grow and move closer to realizing our goal to create a provincial credit union.

Strength in leadership leads to longevity

It was the vision of our Board that led us to join with our credit union peers and become the strong and vibrant credit union we are today. We are grateful for the foresight and thoughtful planning of our past Board Chairs and Directors.

Gulf & Fraser Chair of the Board 2009 - 2003

• 2009 - 2014 - Vince Fiamengo
• 2015 -2021 - Lewis Bublé
• 2022 - present day - Floyd Yamamoto

Last serving Chair of the Board of credit unions that merged with Gulf & Fraser

• Chair of United Savings Credit Union (ending 2004) - Ed McIntosh
• Chair of Aldergrove Credit Union (ending 2021) – Bev Dornan
• Chair of VP Credit Union (ending 2022) – Mario Giardini
• Chair of Mount Lehman Credit Union (ending 2022) – Chris Bodnar
• Chair of Grand Forks District Credit Union (ending 2023) – Michael Strukoff

Step back into the past days of our 82 year old credit union

Watch a video on our history and how Gulf & Fraser has evolved over time.

Why merge?

The financial services marketplace is changing

Today’s increasingly complex and competitive landscape is creating heightened pressures for credit unions to explore new ways of working together and creating value for members. These pressures include an ever-changing need for new technology, a varying economic environment, increased regulatory and reporting requirements, innovative new market entrants, the increasing war for talent and evolving member expectations.

The continued long-term viability of the credit union model depends on credit unions being able to respond and adapt to this increasingly complex and competitive environment. Collaboration is not enough

Although collaboration has created benefits in the past, the gains have often not met expectations or truly helped address the many challenges credit unions, and particularly smaller credit unions, experience.

A different approach and way of operating is needed for these like-minded and similarly sized credit unions, to remain relevant to their members, and significantly increase their scale and influence.

Now is the right time to bring organizations together.

Credit unions to stay strong in BC by joining together

In changing times, having the voice and the financial resources to make necessary investments is needed to adapt and remain financially strong for our members, employees, and communities. In recent years, the BC credit union system has lost market share to the banks – the larger credit unions however have experienced increased growth.

By increasing in scale we help secure our place in your community as your member-owned credit union, built in BC, for people in BC.

Following so much change, we are now in the midst of transformation and a lot of that is internal behind the scenes as we continue to offer high standards of member service in our branches.

We are evolving into a credit union that is wiser from our collective knowledge and experience and ready to take on new challenges, while standing tall with you, our members

Potential to merge with Interior Savings

What if we could expand our branch network north to the interior and beyond? As you know, we have been working with Interior Savings Credit Union on a potential merger. We are confident that we have strong alignment and promising potential for a partnership that will better serve our collective membership, employees, and communities through scale and combined resources.

The merged credit union would create a network of 50 plus branches along with insurance offices, from Vancouver to the Interior including the Okanagan, Thompson, Boundary region, Prince George, and Northern BC areas, offering personal, business, commercial, insurance and wealth management solutions and advice.

Members will be invited to vote on the merger with Interior Savings later in 2023. See this website for more details on this potential merger.

We've connected with you – living, working and investing in our communities for over 80 years.

1940

BC fishermen open North Arm Credit Union. The credit union is later named Gulf and Fraser Fishermen’s Credit Union

1940s

Boat loan program offers opportunities for fishermen and sets the standard for other credit unions

1941

First loan granted: $65 to fund a new automated washing machine

1950

Personal chequing accounts give members easier access to their money – deposits quickly grow

1953

Membership now open to everyone in the fishing industry and their families

1960

Milestone: $2 million in assets

1964

Women entitled to open a bank account without obtaining their husband’s signature

1965

Milestone: 25 years in business

1968

The credit union opens a head office and its first branch, the Hastings Branch

1968

First to offer bursaries to UBC and SFU students, establishing a trend of supporting education

1968

100% Deposit Protection – creation of a provincial deposit guarantee for all credit union depositors

1970s

Membership open to all!

1976

The credit union provides one of its first mortgages to a financially independent woman

1979

The credit union opens its second branch and welcomes the Steveston community of Richmond 

1990

Milestone: 50 years in business

1995

The credit union opens the Richmond Centre Branch

1998

The credit union merges with Elco Credit Union which represents BC Hydro employees

2002

Gulf and Fraser Fishermen’s Credit Union changes its operating trade name to "G&F Financial Group" (G&F)

2004 

The credit union opens branches in Surrey (Nordel) and Port Coquitlam

2004

G&F Financial Group merges with United Savings Credit Union, adding four more branches to the network

2006

The credit union opens a branch in Cloverdale

2008

Milestone: $1 billion in assets

2012

G&F expands services with the Member Hub and two new branches

2013

First credit union in BC to implement Interac^® Flash (tap to pay) for all members

2015

Milestone: 75 years in business

2016

G&F opens the Brentwood Branch in Burnaby

2018

Milestone: $2 billion in assets

2018

G&F opens the West End Branch in Vancouver, and Metrotown Branch in Burnaby

2020

Milestone: 80 years in business

2020

G&F opens the G&F Hub and a flagship branch in Burnaby

2020

Milestone: $1 million raised for the United Way of the Lower Mainland (2001 – 2020)