(Montreal) Laurentian Bank remains a Quebec company and the financial institution’s new strategic plan will not change this membership, assures Rania Llewellyn, its President and CEO.
“Our roots are in Quebec and our head office remains in Montreal,” said the manager in an interview with The Canadian Press a few days after the unveiling of her new strategic plan. Nearly 50% of our employees are in Quebec. ”
Mme Llewellyn was hired in October 2020, to give new impetus to the declining Montreal bank. This appointment made her a pioneer as the first woman, an immigrant moreover, to head a Canadian bank (the former director of the Mouvement Desjardins, Monique Leroux, ran a financial cooperative).
The fact that she made a career in Toronto, where she still resides, and that she did not speak French at the time of her appointment, however raised concerns about a possible exodus of a Montreal financial institution.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE LAURENTIAN BANK
Rania llewellyn
The strategic plan does not foresee a decrease in the Quebec character of the bank, judge Mme Llewellyn. “What’s good for Laurentian is good for Quebec. The more we grow, the more fantastic it will be for Quebec. ”
Laurentian has set itself the objective, in particular, of increasing the size of its commercial loan portfolio in the United States, which would increase from 14% to over 18% of loans in 2024. The weight of the commercial portfolio in Quebec would remain relatively stable, going from 46% to 45%. “We also want to grow elsewhere in Canada, but Quebec remains our largest and most important market. ”
The bank also announced in November that it would reduce its office space in Montreal by 50%, but it will also do so in its two other offices in Toronto and Burlington. This should not be seen as a decrease in the size of the workforce in Quebec, she specifies. “It’s really for our employees who told us they wanted to work no more than two or three days a week in the office. We wanted to give them more flexibility. ”
ESG criteria (environmental, social and governance), whether in its activities or in its product and service offering, is an important part of the strategic plan. “On ESG criteria, we align well with the values of Quebecers. ”
Laurentian Bank announced last Friday that it will no longer finance activities in the oil, gas and coal sector. The move has no financial impact on the institution, as these sectors accounted for less than 1% of its commercial loan portfolio, but it offers a selling point that could attract a younger clientele.
French courses
Upon his appointment, Mr.me Llewellyn had promised to learn French. During an interview in English, she says she continues to take classes with a private tutor. The leader, who lived in Kuwait and Egypt before immigrating to Canada in the early 1990s, points out that English is not her mother tongue.
The presentation of a speech entirely in English by the CEO of Air Canada, Michael Rousseau, who had said not to see the usefulness of learning the language, had raised a wave of indignation at the beginning of the month of November.
For his part, Mme Llewellyn says he understands the importance of the French language for Quebecers. “I have lived in different countries and I understand that when you are in someone’s backyard you have to understand what is important to them. Yes, I understand why, it is important and I am determined to improve my French. ”
Realistic goals?
Investors reacted well to the unveiling of the strategy last Friday. With its plan, Laurentian wants to generate growth in adjusted earnings per share of more than 5% in fiscal 2022. It hopes to reach a pace of 7% to 10% in the medium term.
To achieve this, the bank will have to catch up with its technological backwardness in its retail activities, which are a source of irritants for customers. The previous strategic plan unveiled by its predecessor in 2015 did not yield the expected results. By launching its mobile app in seven months, the new management has shown that it can put things right, says Mme Llewellyn.
Meny Grauman of Scotiabank believes the lack of flashy goals is good news in itself. “Laurentian has a history of unveiling ambitious targets that it is unable to achieve, which is why we welcome these targets, even if they are not exciting,” said the analyst in a note published Monday. The important thing for us is that they are achievable and that they could even be surpassed. ”