Desjardins Mortgage Lender Profile
Generally for Quebec and Ontario buyers and homeowners with conventional, fully documented finances who want a member-owned cooperative lender.
Who they are
Desjardins Group is the largest cooperative financial group in Canada. It was founded in Levis, Quebec in 1900 by Alphonse Desjardins and his wife Dorimene. It is owned by its members rather than by outside shareholders, and it works on a one member, one vote basis through a federation of local caisses. Desjardins reported total assets of $510.2 billion at the end of 2025 and serves more than ten million members and clients through a network of 189 caisses and branches across Quebec and Ontario, alongside insurance, wealth management and business banking subsidiaries.
What they lend on, and who for
Desjardins is a prime residential lender and the dominant mortgage provider in Quebec. It offers insured and uninsured fixed and variable rate mortgages, its Versatile Line of Credit home equity product, construction and secondary residence financing, and mortgages on rental properties. Its core borrower is a conventional, fully documented applicant; it is not an alternative or credit-repair lender. Most mortgages are written through advisers in the caisses and through Desjardins mortgage representatives, though the group also accepts applications submitted by mortgage brokerage networks. Lending is concentrated in Quebec and Ontario rather than across the country.
How to approach Desjardins
You can contact Desjardins yourself; nothing stops you. What you cannot easily find out is what they will actually accept. Which of their products sit outside the federal stress test, how they read income that does not arrive on a T4, and what they will approve as an exception — none of that is published in full anywhere, and it moves.
A licensed broker who places files with lenders like this every week knows those criteria, and more usefully knows how to structure a file so it lands inside them rather than just outside. On anything that is not a straightforward salaried purchase, that structuring is most of the difference between an approval and a decline. It costs you nothing on a prime mortgage — the lender pays the broker when it funds.
| Lender type | Credit Union |
| Operated by | Fédération des caisses Desjardins du Québec |
| Head office | 100 avenue des Commandeurs, Levis, QC G6V 7N5 |
| Website | desjardins.com |
| Phone | 1-844-626-2476 |
Get notified 90 days before your renewal
Your lender contacts you at 30 days, when you have no time to shop. We reach you at 90 — early enough to lock a hold and personalize your offers.
Borrower ratings for Desjardins
In today’s world, reviews dictate the service industry. Brokers have taken the hit for bad lenders. We bring the consumer experience to light to help borrowers decide.
How quickly did they issue a commitment and get to funding?
Was the rate you got competitive for the product you qualified for?
Could you reach someone, and did they resolve things?
Portal, e-signing, document upload, online account — did it work?
Were the terms, fees and penalties clear before you signed?
Worked with Desjardins?
Score them on the five things above. We confirm every review by email before it publishes, and we publish the bad ones too.
Questions about Desjardins
Is Desjardins a real mortgage lender?
Yes. Desjardins is a credit union based in Quebec. Its own site is desjardins.com.
What kind of lender is Desjardins?
Credit Union — categorised in our directory as Credit Union (Cooperative). Provincially regulated, which means they are not bound by the federal stress test. That makes them the right answer for a specific and quite common kind of file.
Should I go to Desjardins directly or through a broker?
You can approach them yourself. The reason most people do not is that a lender's real criteria — how income is read, what is accepted as documentation, what will be allowed as an exception — are not published, and they change. A broker who works with Desjardins regularly knows them and knows how to present a file to fit them, which on anything other than a simple salaried purchase is usually what decides the answer. On a prime mortgage it costs you nothing either way, because the lender pays the broker when it funds.
Would Desjardins approve me?
No profile page can answer that, and any site that tries is guessing. It turns on how your income is earned and how much of it a lender will count, your credit history, the property itself, and how much you need against what it is worth. Those are the questions a licensed broker asks before naming a lender — and they will tell you which ones realistically fit, this one included, and which would price it better.
Where does Desjardins lend?
Its head office is in Quebec. Lending areas change and are not always the same as where the lender is based — confirm current coverage with the lender or a broker before planning around it.
Would Desjardins take your file?
Send us the details and a licensed broker will tell you which lenders fit — this one included, and the ones that would price it better.
Send us the file