Back in 1897, Alfred Desjardins was distressed when he heard about a Montreal man forced to pay $5,000 interest on a loan of $150. Ordinary folk wanting small loans were spurned by big banks and so turned to loan sharks. Desjardins, a former journalist with a keen interest in finances, decided to do something about it. Why not start a ‘co-operative savings’ society where citizens could extend loans to each other, using their collective savings for mutual benefit?
Desjardin’s vision took off. More than a century later, the Caisses Desjardins du Québec is the largest credit union in North America and the sixth largest financial institution in Canada, with more than 5.8 million members, $172 billion in assets, 42,600 employees and nearly $80 million ploughed back into community sponsorships, donations and bursaries.
