National Bank unveils Quebec headquarters as it expands outside Quebec

The skyscraper will bring together 11,000 employees who previously had been spread across five sites

National Bank of Canada is reinforcing its presence in Montreal with the opening of a statement-making head office as it looks to expand dramatically outside of the French-speaking province.

Canada’s sixth-largest lender will celebrate the official opening of its new headquarters Thursday, unveiling a 40-storey tower dubbed National Bank Place, among the city’s tallest. It took almost six years to build and cost about $500 million.

The skyscraper will bring together 11,000 employees who previously had been spread across five sites. The capital markets division, with its trading floor and investment-banking team, will remain in Montreal’s Sun Life building.

“Having our headquarters in Montreal is something that is unique amongst the Big Six banks,” National Bank chief executive Laurent Ferreira said in an interview, referring to the fact that all of its larger rivals have their main corporate offices in Toronto. The project was initiated by former long-time chief executive Louis Vachon. “Our goal, even if we’re headquartered in Montreal, is not just the Montreal focus, it’s Montreal, Quebec and Canada,” Ferreira said.

National Bank is in the process of an ambitious takeover of Edmonton, Alberta-based Canadian Western Bank and now seeks to close that all-stock transaction, which was valued at $5 billion when first announced in June, earlier than planned.

“Things are moving along very nicely, and discussions with the Competition Bureau make us feel that we’re moving a little faster than anticipated at the announcement,” Ferreira said, adding that it was too early to speculate on exact timing. “We’re feeling confident that we’re going to be able to do this earlier than end of 2025.”

The deal would add about $42 billion of assets for National Bank, boosting the total to more than $480 billion. But it will still remain significantly smaller than its next-largest competitor, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, which has more than $1 trillion.

Asked about combining its culture with CWB, Ferreira said both banks have entrepreneurial roots and a history of serving businesses that were struggling to access credit. National Bank was created 165 years ago by French-speaking businessmen because they were poorly served by English-dominated banking institutions.

“The fighting spirit is definitely present in both banks,” Ferreira said.

Assuming it completes the CWB deal, its largest acquisition, Ferreira said National Bank’s focus will be on organic growth, with an emphasis on Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.

“Right now, commercial lending, private banking and wealth is our priority outside of Quebec,” he said.

Bloomberg.com