Laurentian Bank Ends Review Without a Sale, Will Go It Alone

  • CEO Llewellyn shakes up management team, promotes Provost
  • Banks are facing higher capital requirements, a hurdle to M&A

A Laurentian Bank branch in Montreal

Photographer: Graham Hughes/Bloomberg
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Laurentian Bank of Canada ended its strategic review without finding a buyer and plans to carry on as an independent firm with a slimmer management team. The company’s shares plunged.

The Canadian bank announced in July it was examining its options. It hired JPMorgan Chase & Co. to run the process and considered a number of possibilities, including a sale of the whole bank or parts of it. Instead, it will try to ramp up its current strategy, which includes growth in commercial lending and technology upgrades.