Canada Daily

Laurentian’s Split Spells the Demise of Another Small Canadian Bank

Plus: Was Build Canada Homes overhyped?
A Laurentian Bank branch in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.Photographer: Graham Hughes/Bloomberg

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National Bank of Canada has unwrapped a Christmas gift. Montreal’s Laurentian Bank is practically giving away its retail bank and small-business lending unit to its much larger crosstown rival. Laurentian’s more valuable parts, namely its commercial lending business, are being taken over by Fairstone Bank in a C$1.9 billion ($1.4 billion) deal.