Valley First Mortgage Lender Profile
Generally for Okanagan, Thompson and Similkameen residents, including self-employed and seasonal earners and owners of rural, acreage or recreational property.
Who they are
Valley First is a regional banking division of Tru Cooperative Bank, formerly First West Credit Union, which became a federally regulated cooperative bank in April 2026 under the supervision of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions. The parent organisation holds approximately $20 billion in assets and serves over 283,000 members across British Columbia through four divisional brands. Valley First concentrates on the Okanagan, Thompson and Similkameen regions and operates from its regional office in Penticton. You deal with Valley First directly through its branches, while the parent maintains a separate broker channel of its own.
What they lend on, and who for
Valley First offers prime residential mortgages covering purchases, refinances, renewals and construction, together with personal loans, small business lending and insurance services through affiliated agencies. Because the Okanagan economy includes substantial agricultural, tourism and small business activity, the division regularly sees self-employed and seasonal income, recreational and acreage properties, and rural holdings that national lenders treat cautiously. Local underwriting discretion is a frequently cited advantage. If you would rather work through a mortgage broker, your broker deals with Tru Cooperative Bank's Mortgage Broker Centre rather than a Valley First branch, because broker files are handled centrally.
How to approach Valley First
You can contact Valley First 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 |
| Division of | Tru Cooperative Bank |
| Head office | 184 Main Street, 2nd Floor, Penticton, BC V2A 8G7 |
| Website | trucooperativebank.ca |
| Phone | 1-888-597-8083 |
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 Valley First
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 Valley First?
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 Valley First
Is Valley First a real mortgage lender?
Yes. Valley First is a credit union based in British Columbia, part of Tru Cooperative Bank (formerly First West Credit Union). Its own site is trucooperativebank.ca.
What kind of lender is Valley First?
Credit Union. 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.
Who owns Valley First?
Valley First is part of Tru Cooperative Bank (formerly First West Credit Union). Ownership matters mainly because it tends to determine the funding source and, on a fixed mortgage, how the break penalty is calculated.
Should I go to Valley First 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 Valley First 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 Valley First 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 Valley First lend?
Its head office is in British Columbia. 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 Valley First 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