ATB Financial

The Alberta Treasury Branches, popularly known as ATB Financial, represents a financial institution owned by the Canadian Province of Alberta. They differ from the rest of the other banks in the country by not being a chartered bank, but a local government business of the crown corporation type.

ATB Financial, the largest financial institution in Alberta, does business only in the Province and is fully supervised and run by the local government. Its mission is to deliver first-class services with the help of dedicated associates. Moreover, ATB aims at maintaining financially sound and effective organization, based on ethics, discipline, and self-efficiency.

After many failed efforts on the part of the local government to take over the control of Alberta’s banks (due to opposition from the federal government), ATB was finally established in 1938 by the first Canadian Ministry of Social Credit. The launch of the financial institution was marked by the opening of its first branch in Rocky Mountain Horse in September of the same year. In 1980, ATB Financial was rocked by a controversy when two businessmen with known political ties defaulted on large loans. It became a crown corporation in 1997, after a series of changes such as the appointment of an independent board, carried out by the government with the goal to reform the institution.

Through a province-wide network of branches, today ATB Financial offers financial products and services to private citizens and businesses. Among its products are mortgages, student, consumer, business and other loans, consumer credit and credit cards, mainly through Master Card, saving and checking accounts, insurance, travel protection, online and phone banking. Travel insurance includes 24-hour emergency assistance, medical expenses in case of emergency, baggage and accident insurance, and trip cancellation or interruption. The travel insurance covers up to $5 million emergency medical assistance. The Agri-Industry financial services, intended to provide funding for Alberta’s farmers, have been a top priority for ATB Financial since its establishment. The corporate financing is geared towards the food processing industry, energy production, and the forestry sector of the Province.

Investment products are also a major part of the services offered by ATB Financial and include tax-sheltered savings accounts, registered retirement savings plans, guaranteed investment plans, mutual funds, and college investment funds. ATB Financial is one the fifteen financial institutions in Canada that take part in the country’s Large Value Transfer System, which provides safe and secure electronic transfers of large amounts of money.

At the end of the first quarter of 2009, ATB Financial has reported a net income of $6.4 million and assets of $26.5 billion. Also by April of the same year, the institution had deposits of $23.8 billion, loans of $22.8 billion, and equity of $1.8 billion.

ATB Financial is a member of the Canadian Payments Association, the Interac Association and Interac Network, the New York Cash Exchange (NYCE), MasterCard Canada, the Alberta Regional Network (ARN) and Cirrus.

ATB Financial boasts 164 branches around the country with nearly 5, 000 employees, providing financial services to over half a million customers in 244 Albertan communities. In 118 of them, ATB is the only operating financial institution. Furthermore, the institution continues to open new branches on the territory of Alberta. New ones have opened in Calgary Stampede Station, Edmonton Windermere, Edmonton Hollick Kenyon, and Grande Prairie Southview, among others. Its headquarters are in Edmonton with headquarters’ address: 9888 Jasper Ave NW, Edmonton, Alberta T5J 5C6, Canada.

ATB Financial has been voted one the Provinces top employers and one of the 35 best companies to work for. The institution also prides itself for its customer services and client relations, as well as charitable programs, incentives and contributions.