Our Role
Our role as a deposit guarantor
The money you deposit and the interest you earn at an Alberta credit union is safe and secure – up to any dollar
amount. Backed by the Government of Alberta, our guarantee is comprehensive. 100% of all deposits held in Alberta credit union chequing, savings and foreign currency accounts are guaranteed, as are registered and non-registered term deposits of any length.
It is important to note that our guarantee does not cover non-deposit investments like common shares, investment shares or self-administered savings plans.
Three levels of protection
The Alberta Credit Union Act establishes the legislation that provides a three-level system of deposit protection.
Level one – credit union capital
Each credit union is required to build and maintain adequate levels of capital – comprised primarily of retained earnings. Common and investment shares (if any) owned by the credit union members are also part of capital.
Level two – credit union deposit guarantee fund
Alberta credit unions fund the deposit guarantee through regular assessments. The Deposit Guarantee Fund is managed by the Credit Union Deposit Guarantee Corporation and invested in high quality, liquid investments.
Level three – the Government of Alberta
The Government of Alberta ensures that the
Corporation’s obligation to Alberta credit union
depositors is carried out.
Our regulatory
role
We take our obligations to Alberta credit union depositors seriously. We’re committed to cost effectively guaranteeing the repayment of all deposits held with Alberta credit unions by regulating credit unions and Alberta Central and enforcing the Alberta Credit Union Act.
Our risk-based approach to regulation includes activities to review, advise, and direct credit unions on sound business practices. Our oversight practices are designed to assist credit unions to avert or alleviate financial difficulties and stabilize any credit union in financial difficulty. In addition, we establish credit union loan approval limits and provide adjudication for loans that exceed those limits.
Alberta Credit Unions
How we fufill our
regulatory role
We use international and national best practices to establish our regulatory oversight framework.
We publish a comprehensive Standards of Sound Business and Financial Practices and regulatory requirements through guidelines and guidances.
Our continuous monitoring and assessment of Alberta
credit unions and Alberta Central is conducted through on- and off-site activities that include reviews of:
- capital, liquidity, solvency, and overall financial positions.
- board and management governance practices.
- enterprise risk management practices.
- internal control frameworks.
- compliance with the Alberta Credit Union Act.
How we manage
unclaimed balances
The Alberta Credit Union Act establishes the requirements for managing inactive deposit accounts transferred to us as unclaimed balances from Alberta credit unions.
Every January, we publish an advertisement in the Edmonton Journal and the Calgary Herald newspapers to provide a notice that the list of unclaimed balances is updated on our website.
If you believe you have an inactive account with a balance exceeding $100, you should contact your credit union to see if it has been transferred to us.
Deposit principal and interest balances are transferred to us from Alberta credit unions once a year. We accrue monthly interest on the balances at a rate prescribed by the Alberta Minister of Finance. Beneficiaries are entitled to both principal and accrued interest at time of payment.
List of inactive deposit account holders with unclaimed balances under management
2024 Alberta Credit Union Unclaimed Balances
2023 Alberta Credit Union Unclaimed Balances
2022 Alberta Credit Union Unclaimed Balances
Note that a full list of unclaimed balances currently under management will be posted by March 31, 2025.
To make a claim download the application form below and send by mail to the attention of: Finance, Suite 2000, 10104 – 103 Avenue NW Edmonton, AB T5J 0H8
All claims are subject to validation.