''VersaBank'' is a Canadian chartered bank that was founded as a trust company in
Saskatoon
Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...
,
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
in 1980. It later moved its head offices to
London, Ontario
London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...
, and on August 1, 2002, it was granted a Schedule I Canadian chartered bank licence by the Canadian federal government, the first in approximately 18 years. The bank is publicly traded as VBNK on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and on the Nasdaq.
History
Beginning in 1993, the existing Pacific & Western Trust, a small trust company with six branches and a need for capital investment, was reconfigured into the world's first branchless, electronic bank. By 2013, the bank became Canada's tenth largest publicly traded bank when it began trading on the
Toronto Stock Exchange
The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX; french: Bourse de Toronto) is a stock exchange located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the 10th largest exchange in the world and the third largest in North America based on market capitalization. Based in t ...
. In 2017 the bank completed a revision of its ownership structure that included a merger with its largest stockholder, PWC Capital, reported to be "the first merger between a Schedule 1 bank and a holding company operating under the Canadian Business Corporations Act".
The bank's deposits are raised digitally by way of a comprehensive broker network situated throughout Canada. In 2016, there were over 120 deposit broker firms raising its deposits, including many of the in-house brokerage firms of the big six Canadian banks. Its lending portfolio consists of commercial and corporate lending, real estate and development financing, and an innovative, electronic receivable purchase program.
In May 2016, the bank changed its name to VersaBank because Versa is the prefix for versatile and because Pacific & Western had little direct relevance given the Bank’s national and virtual focus.
[Barry Critchley]
"Under the radar VersaBank, formally Pacific & Western Bank of Canada, posting strong metrics"
''National Post
The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...
'', June 3, 2016.
See also
*
Discovery Air
Discovery Air (DA), founded in 2004, was a specialized aviation company that operated primarily in Canada.
History Acquisitions and growth
In 2004, Discovery Air was created by David Taylor. It was incorporated by the Pacific & Western Bank of C ...
*
List of Canadian banks
References
External links
Official site
{{Authority control
Banks of Canada
Companies based in London, Ontario
1980 establishments in Saskatchewan
Companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange
Banks established in 1980
Online banks