The pathfinder symbolizes the pursuit of previously unexplored opportunities. The essence of this spirit, in 1791, contributed to the founding of what is now the province of Ontario.

Exactly 200 years later, an Ontario-based financial institution dedicated to the same innovative pursuit of new opportunities, celebrated its 20th anniversary as, according to the Report on Business magazine, “the best little trust company in Canada.”

The Municipal Trust Company is a retail subsidiary of Municipal Financial Corporation, a management holding company headquartered in Barrie, Ontario. The company was founded in 1971 by lawyer-businessman Maxwell L. Rotstein and lawyer-author Nancy-Gay Rotstein.

Municipal Trust completed its first year of operations with one branch, a half-dozen employees and $3.5 million in assets. Twenty years later, it operates 27 branches in 25 communities, employs nearly 600 people, enjoys a record of consistently positive earnings and manages assets of $1.3 billion.

Like the pathfinder of old, Municipal Trust identified and pursued previously unexplored opportunities, this time in the field of financial services. These opportunities have taken three forms: geographic; demographic; and quality customer service.

The geographic opportunity presented itself in Ontario’s smaller cities and towns. In 1971, the Board of Directors recognized a number of these stable and prosperous communities were bypassed by larger and urban-centred banks and trust companies. Accordingly, there was little alternative to — and little competition for — the existing financial institutions in those markets.

Municipal Trust was launched in order to fill this vacuum. In fact, Municipal was the first to establish a trust industry presence in a number of the smaller yet fast-growing centres of south-central, eastern and southwestern Ontario.

Municipal Trust also discovered and pursued a demographic opportunity in the financial services marketplace. The company realized years ago that the customer base was undergoing profound change. In particular, opportunity existed to provide the increasing number of senior customers in the company’s target communities with specialized financial products and services. Municipal Trust thus became one of the first financial institutions in Ontario to cater specifically to this growing and important segment of the market.

A third unique business opportunity lay in the area of customer service. It was clear even in 1971 that many customers were unhappy with the service provided by other financial institutions. Municipal Trust was founded on the belief that quality customer service is essential to marketing financial services and to customer loyalty. The company, since then, has become known for providing the high level of personalized service and community involvement necessary to attract and maintain discerning customers. As a result, Municipal Trust established the strong and lasting customer relationships which have earned it a reputation as “the hometown alternative” to other financial institutions.

The right markets, the right products and the right service. These factors have enabled Municipal Trust to prosper in a short period of time. The com-pany’s future innovations will be shaped by the qualities responsible for its record of success. Chief among these is the commitment to identify and pursue new opportunities...to continue as a pathfinder in the financial services industry.