request for proposals final

Request For Proposals

For

Banking Services

Issued By

NORTH QUEENS BOARD OF TRADE

Issue Date: December 13, 2013

Return Date: January 08, 2014 12:00 noon (AST)

RFP # NQBOT 2013

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REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR BANKING SERVICES #NQBOT 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS 1.1 General Instructions 1.2 Objectives 1.3 Terms of Contract 1.4 Questions during Proposal 1.5 Submission of Proposal 1.6 Evaluation Criteria and Process 1.7 Contract Award 1.8 Termination of Contract 1.9 Liability 1.10 Important Dates 2.0 BIDDER QUALIFICATIONS 3.0 SERVICE REQUIREMENTS 3.1 Background Information 3.2 Location of branded full service ATM and night depository 3.3 Estimate of number of full-service ATM transactions 3.4 Electronic Banking Services 3.5 Line of Credit/Short-Term Borrowing Requirements 3.6 Other Services

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REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR BANKING SERVICES #NQBOT -2013

1.0 INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS 1.1 General Instructions The North Queens Board of Trade (NQBOT) represents the business and economic interests

of the village of Caledonia and surround area, consisting of a radius of 32 kilometres. The service area has a population of 1.504 households or 3,562 permanent residents and approximately 800 seasonal households or 1,894 seasonal residents. Full banking services are currently provided to the service area by the Valley Credit Union, who are consolidating their operations and will close their North Queens branch effective March 28, 2014. The combined liquid assets including registered and non-registered investments but not including insurance in the service area is estimated to be in excess of $16 million. The head offices of the Valley Credit Union are located at 5682 Highway 1 in the town of Waterville. Copies of the most recent audited financial statements have been included in this package. This document constitutes a Request For Proposal (RFP), which specifies NQBOT’s requirements for banking services. The information contained herein provides a format to facilitate bidder’s responses to this RFP. It is important that the format be followed closely to help maintain the decision making timetable. Responses must be presented in the same order as the requirements appear, section by section, and numbered accordingly, with acknowledgement of all clauses. All pricing information should be fully disclosed with all charges clearly defined, i.e. a per unit fee based on activity, a flat monthly or annual fee for specific services detailed. Please feel free to address any other potential services not specifically mentioned in this RFP that may be of benefit to the community as a whole.

1.2 Objectives The Board’s objective in the call for proposals is to select a financial institution to provide

banking services for the North Queens service area. 1.3 Terms of Contract The term of contract will be for five (5) years and will take effect on May 1, 2014. The

contract may be extended by mutual agreement. Ninety (90) days written notice must be given if either party wishes to terminate the agreement at the contract’s expiry date.

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1.4 Questions during Proposal Process Enquires regarding this RFP should be directed to Mr. Harry Delong, President, located at

the North Queens Board of Trade – (902) 682 – 3041. Questions will only be taken up to January 23, 2014.

Bidders finding apparent discrepancies of omissions in the RFP should notify Mr. Delong at

once. Bidders may during the bidding period, be advised by Addenda, of any additions, clarifications, deletions or alterations to these specifications. All such changes should be covered by the bidder’s proposal. Information used in the preparation of a proposal from other than this RFP and any written addenda (considered as the proposal documents) will not be considered as valid or official.

No further addenda will be issued by NQBOT after 12:00 noon, four business days prior to

RFP closing without providing an extension of time. 1.5 Submission of Proposal Submit five copies of the proposal, in seal opaque envelopes, and clearly marked RFP

RESPONSE – BANKING SERVICES addressed to: North Queens Board of Trade

P.O.Box 189 Caledonia, NS B0T 1B0

Attention: Mr. Harry Delong

President Proposals will be received at the Caledonia post office during regular business hours only,

up to 12:00 noon on January 08, 2014. Late submissions will not be accepted. Bidders remain solely responsible for the method of conveyance of their proposal to the

receiving point. Fax transmissions or any other electronic communications such as email are not acceptable.

NQBOT will not be responsible for any costs incurred by the bidders associated with the

preparation of responses to the RFP. Proposals received past the time stated above will not be considered, and will be returned to

the bidder unopened. Proposals will not be opened in public.

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All proposals will remain in force and will be irrevocable for ninety (90) days after the

proposal closing. Proposals shall be stipulated sums without escalator clauses or other qualifications. 1.6 Evaluation Criteria and Process Proposals will be evaluated against discrete criteria in the following categories: Electronic

Banking Services, Provision of a branded full-service ATM and night depository, Banking Service Charges (if any), Provision of weekly or by appointment auxiliary banking services (day-to-day, investment, mortgage, and insurance) and the Provision of affinity partner services. Consideration will be given to the bidder’s ability to provide information on innovative services and products providing cost effective alternatives to Valley Credit Union’s current operations.

A selection committee will review and evaluate the proposals. A maximum of three (3)

bidders may be invited to present their proposals for the purpose of providing clarification and answers to questions by the committee. If presentations are necessary they will be made on February 4, 2014 at a time and location to be confirmed. A recommendation for awarding of the contract will be made at the meeting of the Board of Directors on February 11th, 2014.

1.7 Contract Award NQBOT reserves the right to accept any proposal submitted, or reject all proposals. Any proposal submitted, that is not in complete compliance with the requirements of the

proposal documents may be accepted or disqualified, at the option of NQBOT. It is anticipated that the successful bidder will be notified by January 24th, 2014. Please outline in your proposal the assistance your bank is prepared to provide in order to

meet the scheduled May 1, 2014 date for the full implementation of services. 1.8 Termination of Contract NQBOT reserves the right to terminate the agreement with 30 days written notice to the

bank subject to the following: 1.8.1 the bank fails to preform in accordance with the specified service requirements as

set out in the RFP; 1.82 the bank fails to provide any product or service as defined under Section 3.0

without written explanation;

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1.83 the bank otherwise violates the provision of the RFP to a substantial degree. 1.9 Liability NQBOT will not be held liable for any actions of the bank/and or its employees. 1.10 Important Dates 1.10.1 Monday, December 30, 2013 – Last day for questions 1.10.2 Wednesday, January 08, 2014 – Proposal submissions due 12:00 noon (AST) 1.10.3 Tuesday, January 14, 2014 – Presentations if necessary 1.10.4 Friday, January 17, 2014 – Recommendations to the Board for awarding contract 2.0 BIDDER QUALIFICATIONS To be considered a candidate for the provision of banking services for NQBOT service area, bidders must: 2.1 be listed as either a “Schedule I” Canadian chartered bank or “Schedule II” bank; 2.2 maintain corporate commercial banking offices in the province of Nova Scotia; 2.3 maintain branch office network in close proximity to NQBOT member locations throughout

Lunenburg, Queens and Annapolis counties; 2.4 have the ability to provide a branded full-service ATM and night depository services for

NQBOT members. 3.0 SERVICE REQUIREMENTS 3.1 Background Information The current full service banking provider, Valley Credit Union, derives its North Queens branch

assets from two major sources: Primary Accounts – 800 primary day-to-day banking accounts with an approximately equal number

of secondary card holders on each account Business Accounts – approximately 55 registered business and non-profit accounts

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As a very conservative lender, the Valley Credit Union maintained approximately 93% of its $7 million assets in the form of deposits and held under $1 million in the form of loans or mortgages. A survey of NQBOT members has identified the need for approximately $3 million in new business loan and mortgage business by the end of 2014. 3.2 Location of branded full service ATM and night depository Until March 28, 2014, the Valley Credit Union will maintain its current branch in Caledonia. The

VCU has indicated that it is willing to quit its interest in the physical structure leaving behind a currently compliant ATM pad and enclosure, existing night depository, communications infrastructure, and regulatory compliant bank vault. The NQBOT is prepared to obtain the existing building and lease out either the entire structure or parts for a limited service off site for a nominal fee. In addition, NQBOT’s members require access to a night depository in order to deposit revenues received directly at the merchant level. These deposits are to be securely transported on a weekly basis to the financial institution.

3.3 Estimate of number of full-service ATM transactions The majority of the North Queens service area financial business will be conducted through a

branded full service ATM. A summary of day-to-day account activity and average annual volume estimates is as follows:

Resident Cash Withdrawals: 76800 Resident Bill Payments: 48000 Non-resident Cash Withdrawals: 6500 Business Deposits: 2485 3.4 Electronic Banking Services Most business and permanent residents have on-line access to a variety of electronic cash

management services allowing for the monitoring of their daily activities in each of their operating accounts. Current services utilized include daily balances and transaction reporting, cheque reconciliation. Electronic funds transfer for payments to some suppliers, foreign exchange reporting, disbursement auditor and deposit auditor.

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REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR BANKING SERVICES #NQ BOT -2013

3.5 Line of Credit/Short-Term Borrowing Requirements The North Queens Service area has experienced growth over the past five years necessitating the

construction of a new hardware store and mink farm as well as major additions to existing facilities. With the construction of a new fire hall, business innovation hub, and community forest management space, this growth is anticipated to continue through to the year 2025. NQBOT members will have completed capital projects over this time frame valued in excess of $10 million. A very specific cycle exists for the financing of these capital projects. Short-term financing must be used to fund projects during the initial and construction phase. Once the capital project has been completed, some form of long-term financing (i.e. debenture issue, fixed term loan) needs to be negotiated. As short-term funds are required, NQBOT members may obtain quotes and borrow from the bank with the best rate on the market at that time but will favour the local banking service provider. The term of borrowing typically will range from 30-90 days and the use of short-term money market instruments requiring the minimum amount of documentation and effort is preferred. Business members of the NQBOT and local residents will require Operating Line of Credit of approximately $1 million to cover daily cash requirements and short-term capital needs while daily deposits are being processed. Borrowing requirements for this purpose are not guaranteed to the successful bidder of this RFP.

3.6 Other Services The NQBOT will be interested in information and details of additional services available with

potential benefits to NQBOT.

request for proposals final

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