Public | |
Traded as | : LB |
Industry | Chartered Banks |
Founded | 1846 |
Founder | Ignace Bourget |
Headquarters | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
Area served
|
Canada |
Key people
|
François Desjardins (President & CEO) |
Products | Personal and commercial banking products; brokerage |
Services | Banking and brokerage |
Revenue | $915.5 million (2016) |
$187 million (2016) | |
Number of employees
|
3,600 (2016) |
Divisions | Laurentian Bank, B2B Bank, Laurentian Bank Securities, LBC Capital, LBC Financial Services |
Website | www.laurentianbank.ca |
The Laurentian Bank of Canada (LBC) (French: Banque Laurentienne du Canada) is a financial institution founded in 1846 whose activities extend across Canada. The Bank caters to the needs of retail clients via its branch network based in Quebec. The Bank also stands out for its know-how among small and medium-sized enterprises and real estate developers owing to its specialized teams across Canada. Its subsidiary B2B Bank is, for its part, one of the major Canadian leaders in providing banking products and services and investment accounts through independent advisors and brokers. Laurentian Bank Securities offers integrated brokerage services to a clientele of institutional and retail investors.
LBC's history began in 1846 with the founding of the Banque d'Épargne de la Cité et du District de Montréal, 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.
In 1965, the Bank listed its shares on the Montreal Stock Exchange. 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 three years later, and in 1987, the bank was renamed Laurentian Bank of Canada.
In 1988, after more than a century (1871-1988) at 176 Saint-Jacques street, the institution's head office moves to McGill College avenue.
In 1993, the Bank acquired General Trust Corporation and purchased most of the Société Nationale de Fiducie’s assets from the brokerage firm BLC Rousseau, thus creating Laurentian Bank Securities (LBS).
In 2000, it acquired all Sun Life Trust Company stock in a transaction that resulted in the creation of the new B2B Trust subsidiary, now known as B2B Bank.
The bank merged with Eaton Trust Company (in 1988), purchased Standard Trust's assets (1991), acquired La Financière Coopérants Prêts-Épargne Inc., and Guardian Trust Company in Ontario (1992), acquired General Trust Corporation in Ontario, and purchased some Société Nationale de Fiducie assets and the brokerage firm BLC Rousseau (1993).
In 1993, the Desjardins-Laurentian Financial Corporation became the new majority shareholder of Laurentian Bank of Canada, following the merging of the Laurentian Group Corporation with the Desjardins Group. The bank purchased the Manulife Bank of Canada’s banking service network and the assets of Prenor Trust Company of Canada in 1994.