Laurentian Bank of Canada history, profile and history video
Laurentian Bank of Canada is a banking institution that offers diversified financial services across Canada. The bank also offers its products to a wide network of independent financial intermediaries through B2B Trust, as well as full-service brokerage solutions through Laurentian Bank Securities. It operates through five business segments: Retail & SME Quebec, Real Estate & Commercial, B2B Bank, Laurentian Bank Securities and Capital Markets, and Other. The Retail & SME-Quebec segment provides a full range of savings, investment and financing products, and transactional products and services offered through its direct distribution network, which includes branches, electronic networks, a call centre and a mobile sales force. This business segment also offers Visa credit card services, insurance products and trust services. As well, it offers a wide range of commercial financial services to small and medium-sized enterprises in Quebec. The Real Estate & Commercial business segment includes two areas of operations: Real Estate Financing and Commercial Financing. The Real Estate Financing offers finances for condominiums, office buildings, shopping centers and residential developments. The Commercial Financing offers finance for medium-sized enterprises in Quebec and Ontario. This segment also offers international services dedicated to the foreign trade activities of small and medium-sized businesses. The B2B Bank business segment is engaged in the financial intermediary market, offering personal banking products through a network of independent financial advisors. This segment’s products include investment loans, RRSP loans, mortgage loans, high yield investment accounts and self-directed accounts. The Laurentian Bank Securities & Capital Markets business segment provides full-service brokerage services to retail and institutional clients and manages bank-related capital market activities. This segment’s Institutional Fixed Income division has a particularly strong presence in government and corporate underwriting, as well as in secondary markets. Its institutional services group largely serves small- and mid-sized money managers and brokerage firms. The Other segment includes the activities of the Bank’s various corporate support sectors, mainly treasury, credit, finance, risk management, technology, operations, corporate affairs and human resources. Treasury operations such as securitization activities, liquidity management and other corporate activities are reported in this segment. Laurentian Bank of Canada was founded by Monsignor Ignace Bourget on May 26, 1846 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.“
“Laurentian Bank History
LBC ‘s history began in 1846 with the founding of the Banque d’Épargne de la Cité et du District, or Montreal City and District Savings Bank, by Monseigneur Ignace Bourget and a group of 15 prominent people from Montreal. The bank’s 60 honorary directors included Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, Louis-Joseph Papineau and Sir George-Étienne Cartier.
The institution was created to provide the working class with a means for saving. The bank accepted all deposits between one shillingand 500 pounds sterling, and at the end of its first fiscal year, the Montreal City and District Savings Bank managed over 500 active accounts and held total deposits of £29,350.
In 1972, it became the first chartered bank in Canada to link all its branches to a central computer. This connection enabled the bank to process savings account transactions, personal loan files and term deposits “on-line”.
Legislative revisions in 1975 allowed the Bank to open a branch in Granby, Quebec, its first branch outside the Montreal region. In 1980, the Montreal City and District Savings Bank obtained the right to expand its operations throughout Canada. This expansion led to the institution listing its shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange three years later, and in 1987, the bank was renamed Laurentian Bank of Canada, following its acquisition by the Laurentian Group Corporation.
In 2001, two branches in Saskatchewan were sold to Canadian Western Bank.
In 2003, it sold most of its branches outside of Quebec to TD Bank Financial Group. This included 57 retail branches with a $2 billion loan portfolio and $1.9 billion in deposits. TD paid $112.5 million.
In June 2009, it won a contract to operate bank machines in Montreal’s metro system. It installed 44 new machines that were operated under other banners in addition to 26 already in place. The 70 machines covers 63 different metro stations.”
*Information from Forbes.com and Wikipedia.org
**Video published on YouTube by “cnwgroup“