Borrowing

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North Peace Savings offers the flexibility and protection you need in a personal loan, at a highly competitive rate.

Loan decisions are made locally, so your funds are available quickly and conveniently when you need them. For example, a pre-approved vehicle loan from North Peace Savings empowers you to make the best deal possible with the seller.

Loans may be secured by your purchase (such as the collateral of your vehicle), deposits, or made on the strength of your signature. Life and disability insurance coverage are also available for pennies per day. Whatever your situation, one of our financial advisors would love to meet and find a loan that is right for you.

We offer both variable and fixed rates and can help you choose the term that most suits your needs.

Personal Loans
Car and Light Truck Loans
Recreational Vehicle Loans

Let North Peace Savings help you secure the basics and plan for the extras. Or, if you're considering a loan for your business, visit our business loan page.

How to apply

Call 1-877-787-0361 or click here to book an appointment with one of our Advisors today!

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Borrowing Resources

Borrowing money is an important part of our everyday lives. We borrow to buy a home. We buy things on credit. We take out loans to invest or to go to school.

Today, access to credit on reasonable terms is readily available. Your ability to borrow is valuable to the realization of personal and family goals. So, you owe it to yourself to use credit wisely. All that's required is some basic financial planning, self-education about the cost of credit and a responsible attitude to your legal obligations.

Borrower's Responsibilities

When you agree to borrow money from a lender, you enter into a legal contract. It’s your responsibility to ensure that you fully understand this contract before you sign it. Your signature tells the lender that you agree to meet your obligations by repaying the loan according to the contract.

Can't Make a Loan Payment?

It can happen to anybody. So if you are unable to make a monthly payment, here’s what you should do:

Contact the creditor immediately, before the payment due date. Your call demonstrates your good faith. Most creditors are willing to make alternative arrangements if your situation has changed.
Don't wait until the due date has passed or until the creditor calls you. Waiting puts you at a disadvantage when dealing with your creditor and that’s the last thing you want.
Ask for a grace period. If it's a one-time occurrence, your creditor may give you a grace period, allowing you time to get your financial affairs in order.
Renegotiate your loan terms. If your situation has permanently changed, your creditor may extend the term of the loan. That will spread your payments over a longer period of time, giving you room to breathe each month and reduce your stress.

Consequences Of Ignoring Your Loan Obligations

A loan is a legal obligation. If you fail to meet the terms of the loan agreement, your creditor has the right to take court action against you to recover the balance of the debt. This could happen in several ways.

If the loan is secured by a chattel mortgage, the creditor is entitled to take possession of the property that you have signed over as security. The creditor can then sell the property and apply the proceeds against the outstanding balance of the loan.
If there is no chattel mortgage on the loan, or if you did not pledge any assets as security, the creditor can obtain a court order. A court order grants access to other goods that you own, which similarly can be sold to compensate for the default.
If your spouse or some other person co-signed your loan application, the creditor will usually transfer the demand for payment to that person.
If you were the sole signer, your creditor may resort — again by court order — to garnishing your wages. This means that the money you owe to the creditor will be paid directly by your employer. Until the full amount of the debt is repaid, your earnings will no longer pass through your hands.

You can probably prevent these consequences by being proactive and taking the steps outlined above. If your financial difficulties are serious and you cannot resolve them yourself, then you should consider credit counselling. These services are available through your lending institution or through an independent agency.

Bankruptcy - The Last Resort

If you are in over your head and can’t work out an arrangement with your creditors, then as a last resort you can declare personal bankruptcy. Bankruptcy will free you from most, if not all, of your debts. But it’s a painful experience and you’ll pay a very high price for this freedom. All of your assets other than your personal essentials may be sold by a bankruptcy trustee. Other than the money to cover the trustee's fees, the proceeds from the sale will be distributed to your creditors. What’s more, a bankruptcy stays on your credit record for a number of years. It will take considerable time and effort on your part to restore your credit rating. Bankruptcy is a drastic step, and may cause you and your family a great deal of hardship.

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Buying On Credit

Credit cards can provide flexibility and help you manage your money. If you pay off your balance every month, they’re a convenient way to buy things interest free. But before you buy anything on credit, you should ask yourself these questions.

Questions to ask yourself

Do I really want or need the item, or am I just buying on impulse?

If I buy on sale now will the money I save be more than the interest charges I will pay by buying on credit?

If you use a credit card for the purchase, you will avoid an interest charge only if you pay the balance in full when your next statement falls due. If you take out a loan, interest charges begin immediately.

Before you buy on credit, calculate the time it will take you to repay the amount and the interest cost. If the interest cost exceeds the savings from the price reduction, you would be wise to wait until you can afford to pay cash.

If the item is expensive, will paying cash for it cut too deeply into my current savings? Or, will the loss of interest on my savings be greater than the interest cost on a loan?

If I wait until I’ve saved enough to pay cash, will the price increase substantially in the meantime?

By making a long-term credit commitment, how secure and stable is my current financial situation?

For most people, a purchase such as a house is possible only by means of a mortgage. It’s a long-term commitment to making what are often substantial monthly payments. In determining how much you can afford to pay each month, be sure you leave yourself some "breathing room". If your employment situation should change and your monthly income is decreased, will you still be able to meet your monthly payments?

Using credit can benefit you in many ways. But if loan or credit repayment is not carefully budgeted, it can lead to financial strain, possibly even to the point where you are unable to make your payments.

Before using credit, you should determine how much you can realistically afford.

How Much Debt is Okay?

Some argue that any debt is too much. Others say that you should have only good debt (for investing) and no bad debt (for spending). In reality though, debt is simply a financial tool that you should use wisely to avoid getting in over your head.

There are several measures you can use to determine whether you’re carrying too much debt. One we rely on is known as the total debt service (TDS) ratio. As a general guideline, no more than 40% of your monthly gross income should go towards mortgage loan payments and other monthly debt obligations.

Realistically, the amount of credit you can afford depends on your personal situation. If your current employment is not secure, you will probably want to take on less credit than the recommended guidelines. On the other hand, if you have no other obligations, such as a mortgage, and your source of income is reliable, you may want to take on more credit, depending on your goals.

The Right Credit Level For You

The Right Amount to Borrow

To find out whether can afford to repay a loan, take the difference between your income and your expenses. This is your discretionary income. From this amount, you'll need to first deduct your minimum monthly savings. It's a good idea to also deduct additional savings to help you meet some of your financial goals. These might include buying a house or a new car or building an emergency fund.

What's left over defines how much new credit you can afford to take on. If you're only just meeting your monthly bills, an unexpected expense could mean a serious financial setback.

If you are already paying off debt, which should be included in your expense summary, you may not be in a position to use additional credit until your existing obligations are repaid.

How We Assess Your Loan Application

When you apply for a loan with us, we will look at your application and your personal information to help us find out

whether it would be responsible for us to lend to you
the appropriate level of credit to offer you

We also look at your credit report and determine your credit-worthiness. A credit report informs us of your past performance in meeting your financial obligations. To check your credit report and learn more about credit scores, visit the Equifax Canada website.

The entire process usually takes no more than three business days.

Your character is an important consideration

If you've never had a loan, charge account or credit card, you won't be on file at the credit bureau. This makes it difficult for us to assess your credit-worthiness, since no history or track record is available.

Your credit history is an important factor, but we also make some judgments about you as a person. In doing so we consider whether you

Have good character
Are a responsible person
Manage your chequing account well
Have some savings put away

These are all indicators of some sense of financial management.

We also consider your ability to repay the loan. Collateral or security on the loan will be a consideration as well. If you can offer good security, the risk is reduced or eliminated for us. Taking all of these factors into consideration will let us make a sound decision about lending you money.

You have options if your application is turned down

If, for some reason, your application is declined, treat it as a learning experience.

Ask us why. It may be that the loan wasn’t approved because you already have too much debt. In that case, we most likely feel that one more monthly payment will cause you to reach your breaking point. This may be a disappointing outcome, but it’s usually for the best in the long run.

Reassess your situation. If your loan wasn’t approved, it’s best to reassess your situation and, perhaps, wait until you’ve reduced some of your current debts before taking on more.

Get help from a friend or relative. If your loan application was rejected because of lack of collateral, you might want to consider having a relative or close friend co-sign the loan for you.

But don’t expect to get an automatic "yes" to this request. Co-signing a loan is not to be taken lightly. A co-signer agrees to take on all the responsibilities of your loan in the event that you are unable to meet the monthly payments. So, your co-signer will want to be certain that you are capable of handling the loan and that you are honest and trustworthy.

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Borrowing

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