I must announce that the National Bank has unilaterally decided to terminate, mid-way through our contract, its 20-year partnership with the Réseau des ingénieurs du Québec. In a year when the Bank celebrates its 150th anniversary and extols the quality and value of its contribution to the development of Quebec, this decision unfortunately illustrates quite the opposite and is a source of considerable disappointment. Before explaining how we intend to turn this contract cancellation into an opportunity for our members, I am duty-bound to provide you with information to help you understand this issue.

First, it should be recalled that this business partnership with the engineers was first negotiated in 1989 and eventually renewed until 2011. It sought to offer engineers favourable conditions with regards to credit, mortgages and banking charges. Among others, thanks to our unrelenting efforts and the solidarity of the engineers, the National Bank was able to develop, among the ranks of Quebec’s 57,000 engineers, a choice clientele, which has shown its loyalty over the years. In return, the Bank supported the efforts of the RéseauIQ by paying a royalty based on the volume of transactions on our members’ credit cards. While, for the Réseau IQ, this contribution is significant, it accounts for only a small portion of the profits earned by the Bank from the business generated by engineers.

It should be noted that the RéseauIQ collects no fees from its members and receives no contribution from the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (OIQ). It is financed mainly by royalties generated by various business partnerships. These royalties are our oxygen and help build an effective group well equipped to promote our interests. It is also thanks to these royalties that the RéseauIQ can contribute significant amounts to the OIQ, to help it carry out its mission of protecting the public.

So what happened with the National Bank? Quite simply this: last September, believing that our clientele was a given, the National Bank issued a six-month notice, as provided for in the contract, announcing that it intended to terminate the partnership ahead of time.

Obviously, we did not shout it from the rooftops. We believed, in good faith, that we could reason with our partner and renegotiate a mutually beneficial contract. While such negotiations are never easy, we proposed several alternative solutions. As we usually do, we presented our arguments in a strong and respectful manner, without making our discussions public. In short, we acted in a manner that has served the interests of our members for many years. But the Bank has staunchly maintained its intention to cut us off and refused to recognize the contribution of the RéseauIQ and its members to its annual profits, which as we all know, are hardly negligible.

So where do things now stand?

We are further asking our members to inform all their colleagues of the fact that the National Bank is no longer our partner and that the use of the National Bank’s products no longer benefits the RéseauIQ and the development of specific services for engineers.

We have removed the National Bank’s logo from all our communication tools.

Furthermore, we have mandated our negotiating team to intensify efforts to conclude, with another major financial institution, a partnership that is as advantageous as possible for our members while allowing the RéseauIQ to fulfil its role. Work is already well underway in this regard.

Finally, we are asking you, personally, to prepare to express your solidarity and promote our collective interests by transferring as many of your financial products, starting with your credit card, to the RéseauIQ’s future business partner.

I would like to assure you that we intend to turn these unfortunate events into an opportunity to take the quality of the financial services we offer to a new level, to extend the range of services and use the power of our group to develop our clientele. We will keep you informed of events as they unfold.

Until then, if you would like to know how the National Bank intends to manage your personal financial products or if you would like to share with them your comments with regards to their decision, we invite you to contact your branch manager directly or call the Bank’s customer service department at 1 888 835-6281.

I'd also like to remind you that your Réseau is always open to your ideas and opinions, which you can share with me at _dmel_cHJlc2lkZW50QHJlc2VhdUlRLnFjLmNh_fmel_.