| 1859 |
The Bank’s history began in Quebec City in 1859 with the founding of the Banque Nationale, the first of the original financial institutions which, years later, following several takeovers and mergers, would form National Bank of Canada. Confederation was still eight years away when an act of the Parliament of the Union of Upper and Lower Canada, which included present-day Ontario and Quebec, sanctioned the establishment of the Banque Nationale. The petition requesting the Bank’s incorporation was presented by a group of Quebec City residents: Eugène Chinic, Isidore Thibodeau, Ulric-Joseph Tessier, Olivier Robitaille, Cirice Têtu, David Dussault and Prudent Vallée.
Dissatisfied with the way banks’ policies affected them, Francophone businessmen felt the need to establish a banking institution that they controlled and that was dedicated primarily to promoting their interests. Some members of the Anglophone bourgeoisie participated in the Bank’s share capital, but the Francophones retained exclusive control and held all the seats on the Board of Directors, with Ulric-Joseph Tessier, lawyer and Member of the Legislative Council, serving as Chairman. The new Banque Nationale opened its doors in May 1860, in the offices of the Caisse d’économie de Notre-Dame de Québec, located on Saint-Jean Street in Quebec City.
The name “Banque Nationale” has been maintained without interruption, except for slight changes, since the Bank’s beginnings. Active mainly in the Quebec City region and in Eastern Quebec, the Banque Nationale played a key role in regional economic development during the following 60 years. In 1907, it opened an office in Paris.
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| May 1859 |
The Bank receives its status as a corporation. |
| May 1860 |
The Banque Nationale welcomes its first clients in the offices of the Caisse d'économie de Notre-Dame de Québec, located on rue Saint-Jean in Quebec City. |
| 1861 |
Two years later, the Banque Jacques Cartier was established in the same way in Montreal. Following a reorganization in 1900, it changed its name to The Provincial Bank of Canada and gradually set up a network of offices throughout Quebec and in certain regions of Ontario, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. |
| 1862 |
Following a fire, the Banque Nationale sets up permanent residence on rue Saint-Pierre, which later becomes Quebec City's banking district. |
| 1874 |
Another early Canadian bank, the Banque d’Hochelaga, was founded in Montreal in 1874. Despite its modest beginnings, at the turn of the century it was expanding rapidly. Following the First World War, competition was strong between the Banque Nationale, The Provincial Bank and the Banque d’Hochelaga, all more or less equally successful in serving the same Quebec market. It was suggested publicly at times that merging these banks would make them more effective in promoting economic development in Quebec. |
| 1878 & 1885 |
The Bank registers losses as a result of difficulties caused by economic crises. |
| 1924 |
A severe recession shook the Banque Nationale in the early 1920s. Negotiations for its merger with the Banque d’Hochelaga led to an agreement which created the Banque Canadienne Nationale, later known in English as the Bank Canadian National (BCN). The success of this merger was due in part to assistance provided by the Province of Quebec through special legislation. The Provincial Bank had declined the invitation to join forces with the other two banks.
Subsequently, the BCN and The Provincial Bank safely weathered the hardships of the Depression, as did the Canadian banking system as a whole.
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| 1968 |
Working closely with other banks, Bank Canadian National launches the first credit card to be issued by Canadian banks: Chargex. |
| 1970 |
As a result of the 1924 merger, the Bank Canadian National was twice the size of its closest competitor, The Provincial Bank, giving it greater prestige and favouring its faster growth. The Provincial Bank once again took on a more aggressive character which eventually led to its takeover of several other institutions. In 1970, it merged with The People’s Bank, a commercial bank established in 1968 to continue the work of the much-respected Quebec Savings Bank founded more than a century earlier. |
| 1976 |
Instituting a national expansion program, The Provincial Bank also took over the Unity Bank of Canada, based in Toronto, and in 1979, acquired Laurentide Financial Corporation Ltd. of Vancouver, a well-known Canadian finance company. |
| 1978 |
The Provincial Bank of Canada (soon to merge with Bank Canadian National to create the National Bank) joins forces with Bell Canada to construct two immense office towers—to become the Head Offices of both companies—on de La Gauchetière street in downtown Montreal. |
| November 1979 |
By the late 1970s, the Bank Canadian National and The Provincial Bank had grown into major banks with respective assets of nine and six billion dollars. Although both still had a large part of their operations concentrated in Quebec, they had been actively developing business on a national and international scale during the preceding decade. At this point, they agreed to consolidate their forces in what was to become one of the largest mergers in the history of world banking, amalgamating to form National Bank of Canada.
In this way, the newly-formed bank could reduce expenses through increased volume and eliminate duplication of efforts in the traditional markets. By uniting the substantial resources at its disposal, National Bank was better able to compete with the other major Canadian and international banks in providing first-quality banking and financial services to meet the whole spectrum of client needs.
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| 1983 |
National Bank moves into its new Head Office. |
| 1985 |
National Bank acquires The Mercantile Bank of Canada. This transaction helped it strengthen its presence in the commercial loans market and accelerate its plans to expand into Ontario and Western Canada. Following the deregulation of financial services that started in this period, National Bank began to establish subsidiaries in 1987 and made acquisitions that would allow it to become active in sectors such as securities brokerage, insurance and wealth management, as well as mutual fund and retirement plan management. These transactions also helped it grow its presence outside Quebec in selected niche markets.
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| 1987 |
National Bank Securities Inc. is founded to provide discount brokerage, mutual fund and immigrant investor services. |
| 1988 |
The brokerage firm Lévesque Beaubien becomes a National Bank subsidiary. A year later, Lévesque Beaubien merges with Geoffrion Leclerc to become Lévesque Beaubien Geoffrion. |
| 1992 |
National Bank merges the activities of its wholly owned subsidiary National Bank Leasing Inc. with its own operations. |
| 1993 |
National Bank sells its lease financing operations to GE Capital and acquires the assets of General Trust of Canada, a company specializing in trust activities since 1927. |
| 1994 |
National Bank, through its subsidiary Natbank, opens its first U.S. branch in Pompano Beach, Florida. |
| 1995 |
A second Natbank branch and head office are opened in Hollywood, Florida. The same year, the National Bank launches National Bank Life Insurance Company. |
| 1996 |
National Bank acquires two Ontario trust companies, Family Trust Corporation and The Municipal Savings and Loan Corporation. It founds National Bank Financial Services (Investments) Inc., as well as the subsidiary NBC Clearing Services Incorporated. |
| 1996 |
On August 31, 1996, National Bank assets exceed $50 billion. |
| 1997 |
In an attempt to be accessible to as many clients as possible and to remain at the forefront of technology, the National Bank launches its website. It also concludes an agreement to acquire a US $75 million stake in an investors' group led by the firm Infisa S.A. with a view to investing in banks as well as brokerage, insurance and pension fund management firms in a number of Latin American countries. |
| 1998 |
National Bank and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec join forces to create Alter Moneta, a lease financing company. |
| 1999 |
National Bank concludes the purchase of First Marathon, a Toronto-based brokerage firm. First Marathon and the Bank's subsidiary Lévesque Beaubien Geoffrion Inc. merge their operations to form National Bank Financial, a new Canadian investment services company. The Bank also creates a new subsidiary, AssurNat Management Inc., to offer direct general insurance to clients in Quebec.
The Bank announces the formation of National Bank Discount Brokerage Inc. to take over the InvesTel discount brokerage service, thereby leaving National Bank Securities, which until then had administered InvesTel, free to concentrate exclusively on the National Bank Mutual Funds family. |
| 2001 |
In order to standardize its brand image with consumers, National Bank continues its strategy of including the National Bank name in the name of its various subsidiaries. AssurNat changes its name to Assurances Banque Nationale, and the subsidiary General Trust of Canada becomes National Bank Trust at year end. |
| 2002 |
National Bank Financial, a National Bank subsidiary, acquires the U.S. based investment bank Putnam Lovell Group Inc. Putnam Lovell's and National Bank Financial's Global Financial Institutions Groups now operate as a single business unit; this unit, as well as all other Putnam Lovell operations, operates under the marketing banner of Putnam Lovell NBF, through offices in New York, Toronto, and London.
In the same year, National Bank acquires mutual fund manager and distributor Altamira. The acquisition of this leading brand name significantly expands the National Bank's presence outside Quebec in the area of wealth management, doubles its mutual funds under management, broadens its offering of products and services and increases profitability. |
| 2006 |
National Bank assets exceed $100 billion. |
| March 2006 |
Computershare acquires the shareholder management services of National Bank Trust. |
| June 2007 |
Réal Raymond, President and Chief Executive Officer since 2002, retires. He is succeeded by Louis Vachon, formerly President and Chief Operating Officer. |
| 2008 |
National Bank adopted the new identity of "National Bank Financial Group" in order to better communicate the Bank’s evolution and scale as an integrated group that provides comprehensive financial services to consumers, small and medium-sized enterprises and large corporations in its core market, while offering specialized services elsewhere in the world. National Bank Financial Group offers a full array of banking services, including corporate and investment banking. It is an active player on international markets and, through its subsidiaries, is involved in securities brokerage, insurance and wealth management, as well as mutual fund and retirement plan management. National Bank Financial Group is the sixth largest bank in Canada and the leading bank in Quebec where it is the partner of choice among SMEs.
It has branches in almost every province in Canada as well as numerous representative offices, subsidiaries and partnerships, through which it can serve clients in the United States, Europe and other parts of the world. |
