"Our liquidity is trust, not cash": Credit Unions and the Rural Social Economy

Abstract

Rural communities in Canada currently face significant challenges associated with restructuring. The purpose of this paper is to better understand the role that social economy organizations (SEOs) may play in rural revitalization. Specifically, we propose that credit unions (CUs) represent significant assets to the development process. Our study reviewed eight rural CUs in British Columbia and Alberta in order to examine their role in local reinvestment. Our findings indicate that CUs possess social economy characteristics that hold potential as both sources of competitive advantage and resources for rural local development. However, limitations in capacity and awareness of the social economy prevent this potential from being effectively and strategically engaged. Keywords: credit union, local reinvestment, rural revitalization, social economy organizations