"That's the size of a small bank," he said. "In 10 years, I think there will be quite a few less credit unions in Manitoba. If there were 10 or 20, that wouldn't surprise me."

"I think it's realistic. If not one credit union (in a province), there may be one credit union that provides the franchise. Before the end of my career, there will be a franchise model that will permit members to know what they'll get at every credit union outlet," he said.

"It's an inevitable process. As a little guy with one or two branches, you might have been fine in the past but you can't cut it with that model anymore," he said. "Just as the days of the Mom and Pop corner store selling clothes, hamburgers or Aspirin are behind us, the days of one- and two-branch financial institutions have really come to a close."