When most people think of financial institutions, they think of cold, unfeeling, Ebenezer Scrooge-types reaping huge profits off legions of Bob Cratchits that come through their gilded doors.
But one lender in Fort Coulonge is part of a movement to put the customer first and shareholder profit as a secondary concern.
The Caisse Populaire Desjardins in Fort Coulonge has been serving the community since 1944. It’s staff were presented with a Business Achievement Award at the Pontiac Chamber of Commerce’s annual awards gala in February in this year’s feature category of Financial Services.
“It’s very nice, because sometimes we get recognized among our peers through Desjardins, but having that recognition in your own community is a good feeling because it shows that the community really appreciates you,” said General Director Stéphane Labine. “I thought it was nice. This year is the first time they’ve had that specific category, for finance.”

Labine is a certified financial planner that has been with the branch for 22 years. As of last year, he also manages the location in Chapeau, overseeing 15 employees between the two. He explained the difference between a Caisse (Credit Union) and a typical bank.
“Everyone that has an account here, they’re all members, so they all have a share in the Caisse. They’re the ones that make decisions like that at our annual general meeting. That’s how we function,” he said.
“We’re not like a bank. What we want is to share our profits with the community, instead of sending the profits to Montreal or Toronto to the shareholders,” he continued. “It’s managed locally and it’s controlled by it’s members.”
He added that they also offer a wider range of products and services than most typical banks.
“Desjardins has the most services under the same roof than any other institution in Canada,” he said. “For instance, like insurance, life insurance, property insurance, mortgages, investments. It’s a banking service, but it’s based on service not profit.”
Labine started out managing business loans as a part of an organization now known as the SADC. He said he took the opportunity to work in Fort Coulonge because he’s from the area and wanted to work in his community.
He attributes the Caisse’s win to their high standards of customer service, as well as the amount that they are involved in the community.
“I know we have this service because of our internal survey,” he explained. “People don’t know about that but everybody that comes here for services gets a call from an independent [service] that’s going to ask them what they think, and I know we score very well on that.”
He added that this year alone, they will be giving back over $300,000 to various charities and organizations in the community. Everything from school bursaries, to the local fire departments and music festivals.

“We also have a very interesting program that we give money to, it’s called ‘My Finance, My Choice,’” he said. “It’s for younger people to help them better manage their finances. It’s through the Carrefour Jeunesse Emploi. We’re partnered with them.”
Looking ahead to the future, Labine said that they are currently looking at different options for the future of their Pontiac locations, including some sort of amalgamation. He emphasized that these were just options, and the final decision would be up to the members.
“We always want to be present in the community, physically. We’re doing a market study about where would be the best place for the Caisse to be located,” he said, explaining that the Fort Coulonge branch is quite advanced in age. “Right now the building needs a lot of work done. We need more space and we need to freshen things up.”
When asked what he likes about his work, Labine was quick to answer.
“The basic thing is to be working with people, I like the employees, the customers,” he said. “Being from the community, I think it’s important to give the best services possible and to make the community more rich.”