Wabigoon Lake invests in First Nations Bank of Canada
Mike Stimpson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Source: Thunder Bay Source
With a $12.8-million investment, Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation has become one of the six largest shareholders in the First Nations Bank of Canada (FNBC).
The equity investment in the Saskatoon-headquartered bank was announced last week at the Assembly of First Nations Special Chiefs Assembly in Ottawa.
It gives the First Nation a 10 per cent stake and a seat on FNBC’s board, Wabigoon Lake Chief Clayton Wetelainen said.
“We see the bank as an investment opportunity that will provide us with financing of infrastructure projects with their partnership with the Canadian Infrastructure Bank and Business Development Bank of Canada,” he told reporters in a recent media scrum in Thunder Bay.
“We see the growth of this bank, it’s going to start to rapidly increase with the new management or the management structure in place now.”
The Treaty 3 nation’s investment is the latest in a string of Indigenous investments in the FNBC. Indigenous investors in B.C., Alberta, Yukon and Saskatchewan put $19 million into the bank in August.
Bank president and CEO Bill Lomax said in a news release from the bank that Wabigoon Lake’s investment is “a powerful statement of confidence in the future of FNBC.”
“This investment reflects our nation’s commitment to building long-term economic strength and supporting institutions that align with our vision for economic development and self-determination,” Wetelainen said.
“We are proud to join other Indigenous shareholders in shaping the future of FNBC and contributing to a financial institution that understands and prioritizes the needs of Indigenous communities.”
Now 90 per cent Indigenous-owned, the First Nations Bank provides personal and business banking, lending, investment and trust services with branches and ATMs as far north as Pond Inlet, Nunavut, and as far south as Walpole Island in southwestern Ontario.
Wabigoon Lake’s other recent investments include a majority stake in the Ganawendan Aki Environmental consulting firm and ownership of the 70-suite Studio 6 hotel under construction in Dryden.
The Anishinaabe community is the host First Nation for the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s underground nuclear waste repository project.
