Canadian Western Bank

The CWB head office, in Edmonton.

Canadian Western Bank was formed through the 1988 merger of two banks: the Bank of Alberta (founded 1984), and the Western & Pacific Bank of Canada (founded 1982). It was led by Bank of Alberta co-founders Charles Alexander Allard and Eugene Pechet.

In 1993, it acquired Western Canadian branches of Metropolitan Trust. In 1994, Canadian Western Bank and North West Trust Company amalgamated as Canadian Western Bank. In 1996, it acquired BC Bancorp (chartered in 1967), and purchased the Aetna Trust Company, which was renamed Canadian Western Trust Company. In 2001, it acquired the Kelowna and Regina branches of the Laurentian Bank of Canada.

• Acquisitions:
  • Western Canadian branches of Metropolitan Trust, 1993
  • Acquired BC Bancorp (chartered 1967), 1996
  • Aetna Trust Company, 1996 - renamed Canadian Western Trust Company 1996
  • Kelowna and Regina branches of Laurentian Bank, 2001
  • Canadian Direct Insurance Inc. (CDII), 2004
  • Valiant Trust Company, 2004
  • Branch of National Bank of Greece (Canada), 2005
  • National Leasing, 2010
  • Maxium Group, 2016
  • iA Investment Counsel Inc., 2020

Today, CWB has expanded to become CWB Financial Group, which comprises 10 banking, lending, wealth and trust companies.[2] Its loan book is almost equally represented across BC, Alberta and Ontario.[3] As part of its expansion plans, CWB has opened a branch in Mississauga, Ontario, just west of Toronto.

The Edmonton skyline at night; the CWB head office is also visible.

Canadian Western Bank's operating affiliates include:[4]

• Motive Financial (100% ownership) – high-interest savings accounts, GICs, and TFSAs. Before 2017, it was called Canadian Direct Financial.
• Canadian Western Financial Ltd. (100% ownership) – mutual fund dealer.
• Canadian Western Trust Company (100% ownership) – personal and corporate trust services. Optimum Mortgage is a division of Canadian Western Trust Company and offers residential mortgages via a network of mortgage brokers.
• National Leasing Group Inc. (100% ownership) – commercial equipment leasing.
• Valiant Trust Company (100% ownership) – specialty trust services including stock transfer, corporate trust, escrow and employee plan services.
• Adroit Investment Management Ltd (76.5% ownership) – investment and wealth management.

Canadian Western Bank is a member of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC). It also belongs to the Cirrus, Interac, Mastercard, and The Exchange interbank networks.

Motive Financial is the virtual banking division of CWB. It offers various services, including high-interest savings accounts, GICs, and TFSAs. Motive serves customers in all provinces except Quebec. Accounts can be opened online. Deposits and withdrawals can be made using The Exchange ATM network. Debit-card purchases can be made using the Interac network. Transfers to and from other banks may be done by electronic funds transfer (EFT), by Interac e-Transfer, or by writing cheques.

Because Motive offers no in-branch services, it is able to offer higher interest rates than conventional banks.

• List of Canadian banks
• Canadian Western Bank v Alberta

• Official website
• Motive Financial