Following the announcement that Conexus Credit Union will be closing its doors in nine small Saskatchewan towns, including Mossbank, the town of Mossbank was given the chance to be heard by Conexus executives June 10th.  They held a town-wide meeting, and Mayor Gregg Nagel said the turn out was impressive.

"We had an excellent turn out from our community.  We pretty well filled out community hall. I think that was somewhat a surprise to the Conexus people that were setting up, to find that much support".

Conexus' CEO Eric Dillon said the decision to close a branch is never an easy choice.

"We're just so very different because we're a cooperative and we're owned by the members.  So these decisions are the most difficult that we make as a Credit Union because we know the very special relationship that we have with members and communities.  These decisions are heavily debated, there's lots of information, there's lots of debate from our board, who again are elected by the members.  So you can appreciate that they don't take this lightly either. 

Dillion said the decision to close was based on how people access financial services now.

"We can't deny the fact that in some cases 90 or 95% of the things that our members are doing with us are not being done in the branches today.  So what we're trying to do is evolve to keep up with their needs."

Nagel said their message as a community is simple; they want the service to stay as.  However, they realize that may not be in the cards.

"They (Conexus) came with ratio numbers in comparison to those in other situations. I feel that they were purposely skewed to the advantage of this maneuver. But it is what it is, in terms of how they present their financial case. But we were certainly looking to Conexus to lead by example as far as their executive management team, to work to and listen to the community and say 'these people want face to face service in their community'.  That was the pressing point throughout the entire evening".

The future is of primary concern to the mayor and the people of Mossbank.

"We are not a dying community, and we want to make sure that that's heard loud and clear by whoever is listening.  In fact, we are a progressive community.  We are not big, and we are not going to get 4 or 5 times bigger than we are now, we recognize that, but we are not going to lay down and roll over because we're going to do what it takes. We are going to chase all of the avenues."

Their first avenue and choice, said Nagel, will be to negotiate with the top management of Conexus.  If a deal can't be reached the town may look elsewhere.

"And then, given that, we'll go out on the market, see what's available, and who's willing to support small town Saskatchewan.  That resonates throughout the community here, and I'm pretty sure it will resonate throughout the entire rural Saskatchewan community.  Whether they are a Conexus supporter or another one of the big Credit Unions, or even if they are autonomous, our communities need and want that type of service within the community."

The Mayor hopes the issue is not a done deal.  He says he received assurance from both the Chair of the Board and the CEO that more conversation will happen soon.  The best case scenario for Nagel would be in the next week or so.

In the opinion of the mayor, this is about survival.

"The minute you give up, your main street will just roll up and that will be the end.  It starts slow, one business, one person doesn't have a service.  Maybe they won't choose that town, or maybe I've got to move to another town or a larger centre.  And once it starts to snowball, then, of course, the value in the community starts to drop.  Your commitment to stay and shop local starts to drop.  And all of that begins to impact your town, and that's when you see the exodus.  That's the way that it could end up.  But we're hoping that it doesn't happen that way."