Message from the Chairman of the Board and General Manager

Signalling that the worst of the crisis is behind us, economic conditions that began to improve in 2009 continued to look brighter in 2010. While the recovery remains hesitant, Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins succeeded in posting sound results as at December 31, 2010 with net income of $18.7 million for a return of 2.0%.

 

For the fourth consecutive six-month period, per share value advanced to $9.91 as at December 31, 2010, an increase of $0.18 over $9.73 at the end of fiscal 2009. For information purposes, shareholders who invested seven years earlier obtain an annual after-tax return of between 8.5% and 9.6% taking into account their income tax credit of 50%.

 

The Company's return is due mainly to the contribution of Investments impacting the Québec economy and Other investments. Assets allocated to Investments impacting the Québec economy, which earned a 6.8% return in 2010, are focused on the Company's mission of promoting the economic development of Québec cooperatives and regions. Other investments, established to provide security for the Company's returns and consisting primarily of bonds, money market instruments and preferred shares, generated a return of 4.4%.

 

Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins shares maintained their popularity in 2010 with subscriptions reaching $181.0 million. Also of note, the Company announced on January 7, 2011 that the $150 million authorized capitalization for the issue that went on sale in April 2010 had sold out well before the February 28, 2011 deadline. Share redemptions totalled $85.8 million as at December 31, 2010, raising the Company's net assets to almost $1,020 million and bringing the number of shareholders to 111,476.

 

We are proud of the Company's results. They are proof of our constant support for Québec SMEs and cooperatives. And we salute the work of Desjardins Venture Capital in keeping us on course toward our five strategic goals - ensuring sufficient capitalization to meet business objectives, supporting the cooperative movement by promoting employee-shareholder cooperatives, primarily in business buyouts, becoming a reference in the area of business transfer financing, growing our shareholder base, and achieve overall performance to fully realize our mission.

 

The vitality and performance of Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins definitely spring from the convergence of many factors, such as the skill of our manager, Desjardins Venture Capital, and new agreements and strategic partnerships formed throughout the year. But one thing is certain - we owe this success primarily to the strength of the Desjardins caisse network and to the unstinting efforts of the group savings representatives and the financial planners in selling our shares.

 

André Lachapelle Chairman of the Board

Bruno Morin General Manager