Editing ATB Financial (section)

===Oil and gas boom and bust===

The Alberta economy grew significantly in the 1970s and early 1980s due to the rising price of oil. Total loans issued by the Treasury Branches grew from $10.6-million in 1950 to $1.9-billion by 1981.{{sfn|Ascah|Anielski|2018|p=13}}

However, despite significant growth, prosperity would not last forever. All Alberta industries suffered in the early 1980s owing to high interest rates, low world commodity prices, and the [[National Energy Program]]. The Treasury Branches were no exception, posting the first of six consecutive years of losses in 1983.{{sfn|Alberta Treasury Branches|1999|p=54}} Other regional financial institutions suffered at this time with the collapse of the [[Canadian Commercial Bank]] and the [[Northland Bank]] in 1985.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bank failure blamed on 'triple whammy' |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LnlkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MX8NAAAAIBAJ&pg=1172%2C3433736 |access-date=March 28, 2021 |work=[[Calgary Herald]] |agency=The Canadian Press |date=November 26, 1985 |location=Edmonton |page=E2}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Clark |first1=Marc |title=Anatomy of a failure |journal=[[Maclean's]] |date=November 3, 1986 |page=41 |url=https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1986/11/3/anatomy-of-a-failure |access-date=March 28, 2021}}</ref> By 1989 the Treasury Branches had an accumulated deficit of CA$150 million.{{sfn|Alberta Treasury Branches|1999|p=54}}

ATB was the subject of scandal in the late 1980s after clients such as [[Peter Pocklington]]'s Gainers Foods<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.atb.com/dev/news/details.asp?id=57| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20031217002803/http://www.atb.com/dev/news/details.asp?id=57 |archive-date= December 17, 2003 |title=Alberta Treasury Branches and the Edmonton Oilers sale|work=atb.com |date= October 2, 1997 | access-date= April 4, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/article728538.ece |title=Peter Puck's last stand |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091105050024/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/article728538.ece |archive-date=November 5, 2009 |access-date=June 29, 2013 |last=Jang |first=Brent |work=[[Globe and Mail]] |date=December 23, 2008}}</ref> and the Ghermezian Brothers' [[West Edmonton Mall]] defaulted on loans.

The Treasury Branches did begin to innovate in the early 1980s as well, joining the [[Canadian Payments Association]] in 1983 allowed the institution to clear cheques, and the Branches developed an interest rate shielding policy for agricultural customers and delivered special payments on behalf of the government's residential mortgage loan program.{{sfn|Alberta Treasury Branches|1999|p=56}} In 1984 the Treasury Branches offered [[Foreign currency account|US dollar savings accounts]] in partnership with [[Citibank]].{{sfn|Alberta Treasury Branches|1999|p=56}} [[Automated teller machine]]s were introduced in 1989 and in 1990 the Treasury Branches became the first Canadian financial institution to offer telephone banking services.{{sfn|Alberta Treasury Branches|1999|p=56}}<ref>{{cite news |title=Any Time Banking offered |work=[[Calgary Herald]] |date=March 31, 1990 |page=F16}}</ref>