Core Banking
With over 80 years’ experience, BlueShore’s commitment is to align with our clients’ aspirations by providing a full range of financial services, delivered in our boutique Financial Spa® environment.
Despite the significant challenges presented by rising interest rates, BlueShore and our clients enjoyed a successful year in 2022. We grew our retail lending portfolio by $108.9 million or 3.9%, maintained health and safety precautions for staff and clients, and continued to provide expert advice and support to help our clients.
We also opened our new Lynn Valley Financial Spa® branch, bringing premium our West Coast design and client experience to the Lynn Valley community. All BlueShore Financial branches create opportunities to provide our five-star client service, have productive in-person financial conversations, create strong relationships, and offer expert solutions to help our clients meet their financial goals.
The results from independent research conducted by Ipsos show that BlueShore continues to significantly outperform other financial institutions with respect to overall value. 81% of BlueShore clients agreed that “my financial institution improves my financial well-being,” compared to 59% at other financial institutions. Our advisors are valued for their recommendations, knowledge, and experience.
BlueShore's continued digital service improvements and in early 2023, introduced 2-Step Verification for Online Banking to further increase security. BlueShore remains committed to enhancing our clients’ user experience by providing a high-tech, high touch approach to banking, including the planned launch of a number of innovative digital initiatives in 2023.
Commercial Services Group
BlueShore’s Commercial Services Group focuses on supporting the growth, success, and overall financial wellness of our business clients. In 2022, we grew our commercial lending portfolio (excluding leasing) by $48.6 million or 3.1%, driven primarily by commercial mortgage growth.
BlueShore’s Commercial Services Group possesses in-depth knowledge of the local economic and business environment and is able to offer responsive turnaround times, competitive rates and flexible terms designed to meet client needs for commercial, multi-use, and industrial developments. It also offers financing for development and new construction tailored to the needs of owner-occupants, investors, and real estate developers.
In addition, the Commercial Services Group serves and provides expert advice to entrepreneurs, incorporated businesses, partnerships, clubs and associations, and self-employed individuals. Products include demand and term deposits, operating loans, commercial mortgages, insurance, and cash management services. Client referrals to BlueShore experts are also provided for all personal banking needs, such as wealth management, insurance, and financial planning.
BlueShore Leasing
BlueShore Leasing provides lease financing primarily to businesses in BC. It maintains a portfolio diversified across multiple industries and equipment classes. Industries of primary focus include manufacturing, construction, transportation and warehousing. Leased equipment ranges from industrial trucks and heavy machinery to common property upgrades for post-construction strata facilities. BlueShore Leasing’s diverse portfolio mitigates the risk of cyclical industry- or sector-specific downturns.
BlueShore Leasing’s portfolio decreased by $13.3 million or 18.4% to $59.1 million in 2022 (2021, $72.4 million) as we focused on selective opportunities within our target area.
Wealth Management
BlueShore’s Wealth Management business helps our clients achieve financial wellness by creating unique wealth management plans to meet both financial goals and personal aspirations.
2022 was a very difficult year in both equity and bond markets, with the S&P 500 down 18.1% and the Total Bond Index down 13.1%. Despite these challenges, BlueShore’s clients continued to trust us to improve their financial well-being, with strong net sales of $82.5 million from account originations and client asset consolidation. Overall, Assets Under Administration contracted by $168.0 million or 10.0%, ending the year at $1.5 billion (2021, $1.7 billion).