Steinbach Credit Union (SCU) Mortgage Rates & Reviews

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Steinbach Credit Union (SCU) was founded in 1941 in Steinbach, Manitoba. It is a cooperative which used to be the largest single-branch credit union in Canada. Steinbach Credit union opened a branch in southwest Winnipeg in 2003 and another branch in east Winnipeg in 2010. Currently, SCU, with over $8 billion of assets under management and around 100,000 members, is one of the largest credit unions in Canada.

SCU offers a full suite of financial services. SCU’s products include banking services, that is, chequing accounts, savings accounts, and GICs. SCU also offers registered accounts (tax shelters), including TFSA, RRSP, RRIF, RESP and RDSP.

SCU’s lending products include fixed-rate mortgages with terms from 1 year to 5 years, open and closed mortgages with variable-rate, and capped variable-rate mortgages, in addition to different lines of credit. In SCU’s capped variable rate mortgage, increases in your interest rate are capped at 1% during the five-year term of the mortgage. SCU also offers business accounts, US dollar accounts, US dollar GICs and trades USD vs. CAD.

Finally, SCU partners with Cumis and Credential Financial (which is part of the Aviso Wealth group of companies) to offer many insurance products to its members. These insurance products include personal insurance through Credential and loan insurance, mortgage insurance, home insurance and travel insurance through Cumis.

Steinbach Credit Union was founded on the model of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool to fund the growth of Steinbach businesses. Credit unions are staffed by their members, and because they are not for profit, they can often provide better rates to their members, even though, at times, they might pay member bonuses.

The membership elects the board of directors based on the one-member, one-vote philosophy during the annual general meeting. Before using Steinbach credit union services, one should pay a $5 member share fee and become a member.

Steinbach is provincially regulated, so it can only offer a mortgage in Manitoba. Steinbach asks mortgage seekers to come to an in-person meeting and bring their identification, proof of income and list of assets and liabilities for pre-approval. Its in-person services are practically limited to those living in and around Steinbach, Manitoba and those living in and around Winnipeg, Manitoba. Fortunately, SCU also accepts electronic signatures.

SCU offers a variety of mortgages, including

1. Home mortgages: This product is for the purchase of one's principal residence.
2. Renovation mortgages: As the name suggests, this product is for home improvements. If the renovation mortgage exceeds $100,000, the money would be released in tranches. Each tranche would be released after an appraiser completes the corresponding milestone’s inspection.
3. Self-build mortgages: In a self-build mortgage, you need a minimum of 20% down payment and can have a maximum amortization period of 30 years. You would have 18 months of interest-only payments before you have to start paying principal and interest. This mortgage is used when you plan to do most of the building work yourself, yet you might hire tradespersons for parts of the work.
4. Contract-build mortgages: Contract-build mortgages are used when you plan to hire contractors to do the bulk of the building, yet you might perform some of the work yourself. Contract build mortgages are similar to self-build mortgages in that they need a minimum of 20% down payment and can have a maximum amortization period of 30 years. You would have 18 months of interest-only payments before you have to start paying principal and interest. A contract-build mortgage similar to a renovation mortgage (over $100,000) provides funding in stages as building milestones are reached.
5. Rental property mortgages: SCU permits each member to finance up to 6 rental units for up to $1.25 million.
6. Vacation property mortgages: SCU seems to treat mortgages for vacation properties similar to home mortgages for your principal residence.
7. New-to-Canada mortgages: New to Canada mortgage is for those who have been in Canada for less than seven years and hold a permanent residence, work permit or study permit. This product requires a minimum of 25% down payment and can only be used for purchasing a primary residence. This mortgage can be approved without income verification.

Steinbach Credit Union (SCU) branches