northlands
Senior Member
Agreed. I see little reason this will be positive for Edmonton whatsoever, and frankly it’s a major loss and a damn shame. Especially for downtown.
Manulife Place Renovations | 145.99m | 36s | AIMCo | MdeAS
- Thread starter Daveography
- Start date
Canadian 001
Active Member
Well Manulife place is gonna have to Go for plan C
and Cancel this Renovation
So thats TWO Cancelled Projects Due to CWB's either Changing their minds or being Bought Out
Time for Downtown Vacancies to get EVEN HIGHER
and Cancel this Renovation
So thats TWO Cancelled Projects Due to CWB's either Changing their minds or being Bought Out
Time for Downtown Vacancies to get EVEN HIGHER
occidentalcapital
Senior Member
It does say western HQ is staying here. Some may have missed that.
That being said, it would have been far better if CWB bought out National Bank rather than the other way around.
That being said, it would have been far better if CWB bought out National Bank rather than the other way around.
ChazYEG
Senior Member
I don't see anything that indicates that this will happen. National Bank seems to be planning on maintaining the course for CWB for the foreseeable future, so I don't see why this would be the case, for Manulife
CaptainBL
Active Member
And what exactly does "HQ is staying here" mean?
Maybe they retain a mailing address? Maybe they retain their Edmonton execs until they retire then eliminate those functions or roll them up into Montreal or Calgary rolls?
I have worked on several large M&A deals across corporate north America and what you are reading is called corporate speak.
I wouldn't be so naïve about what you are reading into. Them keeping a HQ couldn't mean many different things but a Quebec based business with a large established business in Calgary buying an Edmonton based business likely doesn't bode on the positive side for Edmonton and its downtown.
occidentalcapital
Senior Member
executive and operations - from press release.
CaptainBL
Active Member
And can you tell me exactly what that means? How many executives? For how long? Are new executive roles going to still run through Edmonton or are they now legacy roles until the current executives retire?
Again, that could mean a lot and is typically from my experience the vague statement equivalent of "we care for our employees"
David A
Senior Member
Lots of wild speculation here about all kinds of things some of which have already been contradicted. National Bank is buying CWB to expand its modest western presence, not contract it, so it could well be this move goes ahead.
David A
Senior Member
Yes, but I suppose better than having one of the big 5 buy it. In some ways this helps boost National Bank to compete against them with more of a western presence.
So overall the loss of HSBC was bigger, but banking in Canada is definitely being consolidated now and I don't see anyone new coming in to compete against the behemoths in the near future.
Gronk!
Senior Member
I want to see National Bank close down its ICE District location and open a snazzy new location in Manulife Place where CWB was intended to open.
Yeggy
Active Member
I would be AMAZED if the gov’t approves this.
There is a lot of history of deep sixing mergers in Canada’s already concentrated banking system.
There is a lot of history of deep sixing mergers in Canada’s already concentrated banking system.
EdmTrekker
Senior Member
ATB Financial should buy CWB out and then ATB Financial should be sold off to Albertans and BColumbians. HO stays put.. My response to a post on SS.
“
Quote:
Started in Edmonton. "In 1988, the Bank of Alberta merged with Western & Pacific Bank to form Canadian Western Bank (CWB)." "When the bank commenced operations in 1984 it was led by Canadian Business Hall of Fame member Dr. Charles Allard[1][3] and Eugene Pechet,[1][3][4] starting with three employees working out of a boardroom located in one of Pechet's hotels in Edmonton, Alberta.[4] The Government of Alberta supported the newly formed Bank of Alberta by investing in 5% of its shares.[5]
Wiki:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_Alberta
Too bad ATB Financial was not put on the market by the UCP before CWB was shopped around. Then there would have been some muscle in a Western based bank.
'n March 2019, Finance Minister Joe Ceci revealed the Government of Alberta had received a detailed offer from Scotiabank to purchase ATB Financial; however, the amount offered to privatize ATB was not provided by Ceci.[67] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATB_Financial “
“
Quote:
Originally Posted by YegFan  just like other acquisitions, they will eventually vacate Edmonton and set up shop in other cities. While CWB is small, it is a major tenant in downtown Edmonton and one that is not easy to replace over the years. |
Wiki:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_Alberta
Too bad ATB Financial was not put on the market by the UCP before CWB was shopped around. Then there would have been some muscle in a Western based bank.
'n March 2019, Finance Minister Joe Ceci revealed the Government of Alberta had received a detailed offer from Scotiabank to purchase ATB Financial; however, the amount offered to privatize ATB was not provided by Ceci.[67] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATB_Financial “
David A
Senior Member
I don't think selling ATB to Scotia or some other big bank would have helped Canadian Western Bank, but perhaps that is not what you mean.
Of course there has been a different government now for some time since Ceci was the Finance Minister, so I am surprised selling of ATB did not come up again more seriously since then.
But maybe CWB wasn't really that interested in buying ATB or it would have been too much of a stretch given its size. Now, if there is no other remaining Alberta bank to buy it, then the sale of ATB becomes even more unlikely.
If instead you privatize it, you could lose control with what happens after, so it could end up eventually owned by one of the big 5 eastern banks whose large masses tend to gravitationally capture everything. Years ago we used to have two fair sized phone companies headquartered in Edmonton, after privatization now there are none.
Of course there has been a different government now for some time since Ceci was the Finance Minister, so I am surprised selling of ATB did not come up again more seriously since then.
But maybe CWB wasn't really that interested in buying ATB or it would have been too much of a stretch given its size. Now, if there is no other remaining Alberta bank to buy it, then the sale of ATB becomes even more unlikely.
If instead you privatize it, you could lose control with what happens after, so it could end up eventually owned by one of the big 5 eastern banks whose large masses tend to gravitationally capture everything. Years ago we used to have two fair sized phone companies headquartered in Edmonton, after privatization now there are none.
edm13
Active Member
This is not going to end well. National paid top dollar for CWB and will need to realize synergies asap. All duplicated corporate type positions will likely be eliminated (think treasury, accounting, etc). I can see a lot of people being packaged out. I think the jobs will bleed over time until we are left with the more relationship type positions, like commercial bankers who deal in the local market. This will be sad, as of course these are above average paying jobs that will vanish. And also mean even less opportunities available for local talent. I’d be happy to be wrong
northlands
Senior Member
Give it probably 6-9 months from acquisition completion and it’ll be news of corporate hit squads at the Edmonton HQ targeting “redundancy”. CWB is probably the 2nd largest private sector employer in downtown. I don’t want to be a doomer but this feels like one of those things that still stings downtown in 10, 20 years.