It’s business as usual for Drumheller banks and financial institutions following the flooding late in June.
Following the flood, rumours surfaced that residents looking to get a mortgage were having difficulty if the house in question was located within the Government of Alberta’s designated floodway.
At a meeting on August 28, Associate Minister Kyle Fawcett explained Drumheller was a special case, due to the extensive flood mitigation, and flood hazard maps were slated to be remapped. 
Banks are waiting to see exactly what the province’s regulations regarding Drumheller entail.
“The province’s decision to exempt Drumheller from the development ban recognizes the significance of the community's flood mitigation infrastructure; This is a good policy, it’s an important first step towards creating a business as usual environment for Drumheller,” said Rob Bennett, Executive Vice President, ATB Financial Retail Financial Services.
“ATB is working quickly to review our mortgage guidelines for Drumheller specifically but my team needs to understand more details about the recent announcement and we are working quickly with insurers, specifically CMHC and GenWorth to understand how they will partner with us in the Drumheller area.”
The Royal Bank of Canada is also monitoring the situation and taking each mortgage on a case-by-case basis.
“We continue to work with our clients in the aftermath of this devastating flood and continue to accept mortgage applications in the impacted areas,” said Pamela Brown, Senior Manager, Corporate Communications with RBC.
“We are evaluating each application and client on an individual basis. We are also working closely with the Alberta Government as the province evaluates people’s needs, keeping in mind any constraints arising from the Alberta Disaster Relief Program.”
Otherwise, everything is being treated as normal by banks and financial institutions.
“Everything is business as usual here,” said Patsy Stokalko, branch manager of the Drumheller Chinook Credit Union.
The Drumheller Scotiabank says it has made no changes to its application process in the wake of the flood.
“As of right now, nothing has changed. The government has revamped what they said about Drumheller, so we don’t know what will be in a flood zone,” said Cathy Fournier, customer support at the Drumheller Scotiabank.
