Lévis, August 11, 2022 – For the second quarter ended June 30, 2022, Desjardins Group, North America’s leading financial cooperative group, recorded surplus earnings before member dividends of $477 million, down $458 million from the same quarter of 2021. This decrease in surplus earnings was mainly due to a rise in the cost of claims in the Property and Casualty Insurance segment. This primarily reflected an increase in road traffic, which had fallen considerably in the comparative period as a result of the pandemic. In addition, the second quarter of 2022 was marked by a rare weather phenomenon known as a derecho, which affected Quebec and Ontario, and by a major event (windstorm and flooding) that had no equivalent in the second quarter of 2021. Surplus earnings also fell as a result of greater investment in particular in projects provided for in the strategic orientations, especially in relation to security and the digital shift, and to a rise in spending on personnel to support the growth of Desjardins Group’s activities. This reduction in surplus earnings was partially offset by increase in net interest income and other operating income1.
For the second quarter of 2022, the provision for member dividends was $109 million, up $19 million or 21.1% from the same period in 2021. Sponsorships, donations and scholarships come to $36 million, including $12 million from caisse Community Development Funds. This amounted to a total of $145 million returned to members and the community1, up $35 million or 31.8% from the same period in 2021.
“This quarter was marked by a sustained increase in our operating income1, as well as growth in our business sectors and in our assets, which have surpassed the $400 billion mark for the first time,” said Desjardins Group President and CEO Guy Cormier, “Desjardins has a strong financial foundation that allows us to invest massively in strategic projects such as security and our digital shift. It also lets us develop innovative solutions to meet the needs of our members and clients, like our virtual assistant using natural language processing in Quebec French, which received the public's favourite award at the Octas 2022”.
For the first half of fiscal 2022, Desjardins Group recorded surplus earnings before member dividends of $996 million, down $737 million from the same period of 2021. This decrease in surplus earnings was mainly due to a rise in the cost of claims in the Property and Casualty Insurance segment. This primarily reflected an increase in road traffic, which had fallen considerably in the comparative period as a result of the pandemic. This decrease in surplus earnings was mainly due to a rise in the cost of claims in the Property and Casualty Insurance segment. This primarily reflected an increase in road traffic, which had fallen considerably in the comparative period as a result of the pandemic. In addition, the first half of 2022 was marked by a rare weather phenomenon known as a derecho, which affected Quebec and Ontario, and by two major events (windstorm and flooding) that had no equivalent in the first half of 2021. Surplus earnings also fell as a result of greater investment in particular in project provided for the strategic orientations, especially in relation to security and the digital shift, and to a rise in spending on personnel to support the growth of Desjardins Group’s activities. This reduction in surplus earnings was partially offset by an increase in net interest income and other operating income1.
Supporting a green economic and social recovery
Desjardins is contributing to regional development and the economy through the GoodSpark Fund, which has set aside $250 million to stimulate social and economic activity in communities, and the Momentum Fund to support businesses.
Since the creation of the GoodSpark Fund, Desjardins has committed a total of $150 million to 689 projects. Meanwhile, the Momentum Fund has also supported 1,314 businesses for a total outlay of more than $8 million.
Desjardins is also working to help members and clients transition to a low-carbon economy. In May 2022, it announced the addition of 10 new fossil fuel-free responsible investment funds to its range of Desjardins SocieTerra Funds. Desjardins now has nearly 30 SocieTerra products.
Giving back to the community
Desjardins has been more involved than ever in people's lives and continues to support initiatives on diversity, inclusion, cooperation, financial literacy and healthy lifestyle habits. Here are some ways that Desjardins has been making a positive difference in people's lives since the second quarter of 2022:
- Support for the Immigration Support Centre, which assists more than 2,000 temporary foreign employees with their immigration processes from the time when they are hired until they obtain Canadian citizenship.
- First economic web conference for the general public with Desjardins’s Chief Economist (in French only) on economic and financial forecasts to help investors make more informed decisions.
- Participation in the Vehicube School Tour to get elementary school students moving, an initiative of Le Grand Défi Pierre Lavoie. The Vehicube bus has visited more than 1,200 schools.
- For the 9th year in a row, Desjardins is on Corporate Knights magazine’s list of the Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada. This award recognizes Desjardins Group’s commitment to reducing energy and water consumption, its efforts to increase diversity in management and its excellent pension plan.
Innovating
Desjardins is constantly innovating to meet the needs of its members and clients. Here are just a few examples of innovations for which Desjardins was recognized in the second quarter of 2022.
- Desjardins won awards at the 2022 OCTAS (in French only), organized by Réseau Action TI:
- The People’s Choice award for the virtual assistant using natural language processing in Quebec French;
- The Jury’s Choice award for the quality of the French used in all 3 technology solutions presented; and
- The business solution award for its digital mortgage pre-approval platform.
- Once again, Desjardins Group’s Economic Studies was ranked #1 worldwide for the accuracy of its economic and financial forecasts in Canada, according to international firm Focus Economics Economic Studies also took first place worldwide in this category in 2017 and 2018.
1. For more information on non-GAAP financial measures and supplemental financial measures, see "Non-GAAP financial measures and other financial measures" on pages 10 to 12.,