The Canadian Western Bank’s first Eastern branch in Mississauga, on Oct, 31, 2021. In June, CWB and National Bank of Canada announced an all-share merger that will combine the Alberta lender that specializes in commercial banking with Quebec’s leading bank.Canadian Western Bank’s acceptance of a $5-billion takeover was influenced by a juicy acquisition premium and Laurentian Bank of Canada’s failure to sell itself last year, according to merger filings.
CWB’s board determined that it was unlikely any other bidder would be willing and able to propose a transaction that rivalled National’s, and weighed what happened to “another similarly sized Canadian bank.” At the time, the Big Six banks were salivating over the chance to acquire HSBC Canada, then the country’s seventh-largest lender, because its parent company had put the Canadian division up for sale., including National and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, were out of the running. Wasting little time, National turned around and attempted to make its own deal.