Desjardins CEO Guy Cormier assures that he does not take lightly the closure of ATMs or service centers in regions of Quebec.
• Also read: Caisse Desjardins: Members receive $106 million in discounts
In September, 822 citizens of Berthier-sur-Mer sent a petition to the president against the closure of their branch. He signed the registered letter but did not reply.
“I’m not going to tell local governments where to put our 1,700 ATMs and our 750 service points,” Guy Cormier admitted to the Journal on Thursday in a corridor of the Palais des Congrès in Montreal on the sidelines of a conference at the Canadian.
“Our biggest challenge is to properly transition our physical service offering. “You have to find the right balance,” he admits openly.
“At the same time, billions of dollars” are being invested in technology and security.
“I listen to the member who wants physical services as much as the member who wants the best app in the world,” he says.
Even in 2023, Desjardins remains more present than its competitors thanks to its counters and branches throughout Quebec.
It’s not 1970
The leader of the angry Berthelois, the former judge and federal deputy Pierre Blais, has two arguments.
Desjardins made a profit of $3 million in the region in 2022 and Berthier-sur-Mer is not in decline, the village is gaining new residents every year.
“It would cost them $5,000 to keep it alive,” said the 77-year-old former minister, who is used to reviewing annual reports.
Desjardins’ boss is not insensitive: Closing a service point is an extremely difficult decision that no one likes to make.
But “you don’t stay in business for 123 years without adapting,” says the youngest president in the movement’s history.
There are the Desjardins of 1970. Then there are the ones of 2020. And yes, it is important to support the members – the old ones – “who contributed to the growth of Desjardins.”
“I have to find the right dose,” says Guy Cormier.
Today there are 724 Desjardins service centers compared to 1,122 in 2015.
Can you share information about this story?
Write to us or call us directly at 1 800-63SCOOP.