Dear Members, Partners, and Community,
Looking back on 2025, Mainstreet has much to be proud of. This year, we saw the strategy we set in motion in 2022 truly take hold and begin delivering meaningful value. Member and employee satisfaction remained high, and we made strong progress in strengthening our risk, learning, and finance capabilities. We also continued strengthening how we manage and deploy our balance sheet, positioning us on the cusp of our next stage of scale. Our relationship with our regulator and deposit insurer, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRAO), remains constructive and positive, and we are well positioned to continue scaling our credit union.
This work enables us to live our purpose of investing in our members’ financial well-being. In 2025, we partnered with the Financial Wellness Lab at Western University to better understand the science behind financial wellness in Canada and to make a measurable impact within our membership. We also continued to prioritize comprehensive financial planning, resulting in more than 321 new financial plans being completed for members this year.
Financial Progress and a Clear Path Forward
Our performance in 2025 reflects the disciplined approach we have taken as an organization. We now assess our financial strength through a long-term, scalable lens, helping us better understand the health of our income statement, the optimization of our balance sheet, and the efficiency with which we deploy capital.
This year, we saw encouraging progress in margin improvement, with financial margin increasing to $25.5 million from $20.8 million in 2024 as our longer-term assets naturally repriced and funding costs eased. A shift in our asset mix also boosted revenues, with interest revenue increasing to $53.1 million from $48.7 million the prior year. We were also able to keep expenses well managed despite ongoing investment and inflation pressures. Together, these results enabled us to return more than $1 million to members and communities through dividends and community contributions.
As a result, and supported by our strong financial results in 2025 (see attached financial statements), we expect to see our operating income continue to climb on both an absolute, and as a percentage of assets basis through 2030.
Early in 2026, we also completed a subordinated debt issuance that strengthened our capital position and is allowing us to scale more quickly while maintaining strong capital and liquidity buffers.
Facing Challenges Head-On
2025 wasn’t all smooth sailing. We had to keep a close eye on our expenses and make some tough calls to stay on track. The economy presented some unexpected pressures - tariffs and uncertainty meant we had to stay nimble and rethink some plans as things shifted.
On top of that, we increased our non-specific allowance because of what we were seeing in the broader market, even though our own member loan portfolio stayed solid. It was a precaution, not a reaction to any cracks in our own books.
Overall, it took a lot of discipline and teamwork to keep things moving in the right direction. We’re stronger for it, and ready for whatever comes next.
A Stronger Strategic Position
2025 was also a year of meaningful strategic progress. We continued to invest in the systems, capabilities, and governance needed to execute Mainstreet’s long-term 2026–2030 strategy. This included:
Becoming more efficient and disciplined in how we use our balance sheet
Improving our ability to scale in the future
Improving risk management, particularly second line of defence
Strengthening our treasury, capital, and funding strategy
Refining our understanding of member economic participation through segmentation and profitability insights
Evolving Governance in a Changing Environment
The role of the Board continues to evolve alongside our strategy. The Board’s oversight focuses on long-term competitiveness, capital strength, and building scale, not just the decisions of today, but the impact of the next decade. In an environment where governance expectations continue to rise and big moves happen quickly, this shift has made us stronger, more agile, and better prepared.
Strengthening the Second Line of Defence
We also advanced our internal audit philosophy this year. Instead of focusing narrowly on risk findings or transactional testing, we expanded our approach to strengthen the second line of defence. This means looking at long-term value creation, improving control
environments proactively, and ensuring we have the right frameworks and behaviours to support Mainstreet’s future growth.
This evolution reflects a more mature, proactive view of risk, and reinforces our commitment to sustainable performance, not just compliance.
Community, Connection, and Care
Mainstreet’s identity as a community partner stays at the heart of everything we do. Our branches, employees, and partnerships continue to reflect our belief that a credit union should be more than a place to bank; it should be a place to belong.
In 2025, our brand presence and community involvement deepened across all our markets. We continued investing in local initiatives, strengthening financial wellness, supporting small businesses, and ensuring our members have access to advice that genuinely improves financial lives.
Looking Ahead
We’re preparing for a major upgrade to our digital banking experience. Early work is underway to replace our current online banking platform, with implementation planned for 2026. The upgrade will make it easier and more secure for members to manage their finances. Internally, we’re rolling out Connected Mainstreet, a project to modernize how our teams access information and collaborate. These changes and the many others planned are all about making things simpler, even more competitive, and ready for the future.
As we enter 2026, we do so with focus, optimism, and confidence. Building on our strong results in 2025, we expect even stronger performance in 2026. The work we have done this year has strengthened our foundation, clarified our long-term direction, and prepared us for the next stage of growth.
To our members: your trust is what drives us to keep your financial wellbeing front and center.
To our employees: your dedication to our members and teamwork helped us navigate a challenging year.
To our Board and regulators: your oversight and guidance ensure we remain strong and resilient.
Together, we are building a stronger, more resilient, and more connected Mainstreet, one that can improve the financial wellbeing of members and communities for generations to come.
With gratitude,
Chris Inniss
Chief Executive Officer
Jen Denys
Chair, Board of Directors
