Caisse Populaire Alliance expanding to West Ferris

Caisse Populaire Alliance expanding to West Ferris After West Ferris recently lost its only bank branch, a new financial institution is stepping in. Brittany Bortolon reports.

A neighbourhood in North Bay is celebrating the fact a bank is about open a new branch in the area.

West Ferris lost its only bank branch recently and many residents were feeling inconvenienced and left out.

Now new financial institution is coming to the rescue.

Over the years, the West Ferris area of the city has been striving to grow residentially and in terms of local businesses.

Now, Caisse Populaire Alliance is stepping up to the plate and hoping to help revitalize the neighbourhood

“We saw an opportunity to service an underserviced area of the community and we said ‘this is the time to do it.’ People need a financial institution and that was prompting our decision to move forward with it.” said Norm St-Amour, regional manager for Caisse Populaire.

The institution says the new branch will mean West Ferris residents will once again have access to financial services right in their own backyard.

“When we realized that all the banks were out of the region, that they were coming out of Ferris, we realized there was a lot of people, 12,000 people, that didn't have access easily to a financial institution.” said Pierre Dorval, Chief Executive Officer of Caisse Populaire.

With the growing number of families living in the area, city officials say this is only the beginning for what's to come in West Ferris.

“There's no question that having a financial institution close by is one of those check boxes when you look at different locations, but there's other stuff coming down the pipe for this area, so this is a perfect fit. And it's the number one choice for young families who wish to buy a house, all the amenities here, the one thing we were missing is a financial institution.” said North Bay Mayor Al McDonald.

The new branch, expected to open in the spring of 2019, will take over the former Scotiabank location in Nipissing Plaza and will offer services in both French and English.