Peace Hills builds trust across Country

Posted on January 18, 2011 11:56:00am by Okanagan Business Examiner

Peace Hills Trust, owned by the Samson Cree Nation of Alberta, was the first aboriginal wholly owned financial institution in Canada. Founded 30 years ago in Alberta, Peace Hills Trust is established throughout western Canada with branches located in or urban centres, often on reserve land.

Peace Hills Trust, owned by the Samson Cree Nation of Alberta, was the first aboriginal wholly owned financial institution in Canada. Founded 30 years ago in Alberta, Peace Hills Trust is established throughout western Canada with branches located in or urban centres, often on reserve land.

“We operate like any other bank,” explains Tony Shirt, Assistant Vice President of Corporate Marketing and Business Development. “We are not just a bank for First Nations customers many of our customers are non-First Nations.”

“We’ve grown with the success of our customers. As their capacity has grown, we have mirrored that and grown our customer and asset base,” adds Shirt. 

The company’s head office is in Hobbema, about 100 kilometers south of Edmonton. In the 30 years since the Samson Cree provided the capital to launch the company, it has grown to more than 120 employees, who serve 20,000 customers.

In addition to the head office Peace Hills has three other locations in Alberta, two in Saskatchewan, one in Manitoba and, in British Columbia, one location in Kelowna.

In the beginning days, there was a strong focus on helping to develop First Nations communities. That relationship building has brought a wealth of experience to Peace Hills Trust says Scott Baldwin, Assistant VP of the B.C. Region. “Most of our lenders are quite experienced and quite comfortable in dealing with First Nations lending on and off reserve.”

In British Columbia, the branch has done off and on reserve lending for commercial projects including hotels, casinos, and shopping centres. “We did a nice shopping centre in Duncan for the Cowichan band, in partnership with another financial institution,” says Baldwin.

Baldwin also says, “We have forged alliances with other financial institutions. We can come into a deal, do our own analysis, and while we may not be the lead banker, we do take a share of the risk and the profit.”

A clear advantage Peace Hill Trust brings to building on reserve and serving First Nations is their expertise in the legislative and cultural challenges faced by each reserve. “While many issues are becoming more standardized there is still a lot of variance and challenges in accessing capital. We are able to meet many of those challenges.”

In the past year Peace Hills Trust expanded their capacity to act as a corporate trust for First Nations. 

With its very conservative lending policies Peace Hills Trust was able to come through the recent recession relatively unscathed. Shirt credits a strong, independent adjudication process with the smooth sailing. “We are interested in the overall growth of the company on a long term basis, and the attributes and foundational policies which create that growth.”