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Alberta & Prairies  + Canada + Quebec  + Finance  | 
Photo of a Canadian Western Bank branch located in Edmonton.

CWB Branches to be Rebranded as National Bank

Canadian Western Bank branches will be rebranded as National Bank, marking a major step in the Montreal-based lender’s expansion outside Quebec.

National Bank CEO Laurent Ferreira revealed the plan in an interview with the Globe and Mail.

On Monday, Montreal-based National Bank finalized its acquisition of Edmonton-headquartered CWB, Canada’s ninth-largest financial institution, for about $5 billion. The move significantly increases National’s presence in Alberta and B.C., Ferreira told the Globe.

Before the deal, 80% of National Bank’s personal and commercial business was concentrated in Quebec. With CWB under its umbrella, 40 per cent of its business now comes from outside the province, the Globe reported, citing Ferreira’s comments.

“We’ve always had to fight for business at National Bank, and CWB is the same story,” Ferreira told the Globe in the interview from Alberta.

He added that the acquisition is “perfectly aligned with what we’re good at, which is to fund businesses and work with entrepreneurs and family-owned businesses.”

“This is the DNA of National Bank of Canada, and CWB has built a fantastic franchise here out West, and it fits like a glove,” he told the Globe.

Some industry analysts have questioned whether a Quebec-based institution could effectively integrate an Alberta-based bank, citing cultural differences, according to the Globe. However, Ferreira dismissed these concerns, pointing to National Bank’s successful operations in diverse markets such as Atlanta and Cambodia.

“We’ve been established [in Alberta] since 1983, and we have a very strong presence in the oil and gas business,” Ferreira told the Globe. “The cultural similarities are strong because of what we believe in, in terms of what the most important values are, how we manage talent, our business model, and how we do things differently versus other institutions.”

National Bank also sees significant potential in CWB’s British Columbia operations. CWB’s existing portfolio includes $37 billion in loans, including many related to commercial real estate, across 65,000 customers and 39 branches in Western Canada and Ontario.

The rebranding of CWB branches to National Bank will take place over the next five months as clients are gradually moved onto National Bank’s platforms, Ferreira told the Globe.

The bank recently opened a call centre in Edmonton and plans to maintain executive and operational leadership in the city, the Globe reported.

National previously announced that it would maintain CWB’s head office in the Alberta capital.

Pictured: A Canadian Western Bank branch located in Edmonton.

Photo: Canadian Western Bank

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About Monte Stewart

Monte Stewart serves as Content Director - Canada for Connect Commercial Real Estate. Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Monte provides daily news coverage of major Canadian commercial real estate markets, including Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Calgary. He has written about the real estate sector for various media outlets and Avison Young since the early 2000s. In addition, he has covered sports, general news and business for several leading wire services and publications, including The Canadian Press, The Associated Press, The Calgary Herald, The Globe and Mail, Research Money, The Daily Oil Bulletin, Natural Gas World and The Toronto Star. Monte is active in his community as a youth basketball coach and raises funds for such charitable causes as Movember.

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