Building on its success in Alberta and British Columbia, Canadian Western Bank has opened its doors to serve the small and medium business community in the Greater Toronto Area.
One common predicament among entrepreneurs is the lack of attention they may be getting from their banking and financial institutions. With the big banks being so stretched, accommodating everything from huge corporations to individual investors, smaller-business owners often feel overlooked by their advisors.
That’s why Canadian Western Bank (CWB) was created in Edmonton in the early 1980s. “We were started by a group of entrepreneurs who didn’t feel comfortable with the level of service and advice they were receiving,” explains John Butler, Assistant Vice-President and Market Lead in Markham for Canadian Western Bank. “In true entrepreneurial spirit, they decided to open up their own. That’s how CWB was formed, and this spirit of entrepreneurialism has remained constant throughout our culture as an organization.”
Over the past almost 40 years, CWB has continued to grow its network of banking centres in Alberta and has expanded to provide full-service business and personal banking to clients across British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Today, CWB's expansion continues into Ontario. Before even opening its first banking centres in Mississauga, and most recently in Markham, CWB had cultivated a strong client base in Ontario through its partner companies CWB Franchise Finance, CWB Maximum Financial, CWB Equipment Financing, CWB National Leasing and CWB Optimum Mortgage. The positive market response in Ontario proved that GTA business owners wanted a more specialized banking partner.
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So, what sets CWB apart? “First and foremost, the culture. It is tangibly different in that CWB prides itself as being a people-first organization. We really do care about health and well-being and work-life balance, and it’s certainly what separates us and allows us to attract great, experienced talent in today’s market.”
Another clear differentiator is the number of accounts that each account manager looks after, says Butler. “At the bigger banks, it’s not uncommon to have some account managers juggling in excess of 100 to 120 relationships. That would never happen at CWB. We know that account managers can’t do their best work under those conditions, and they can’t give the level of personal attention that’s necessary to their clients. We find that’s the number-one reason clients choose to make the change and come to CWB. Each of our clients is like a very big fish in a small pond, rather than a tiny fish in an ocean where my account managers are constantly changing. Our ability to provide the type of service that clients want is a function of who we are, and that’s how we compete.”
With the market ripe for this banking model, CWB spent the past six years building a plan for expansion into Ontario. After a number of strategic financial acquisitions, CWB opened its first banking centre in Mississauga, Ont., in September 2020, then a second in Markham this past July. “When the Big Five banks open a branch, they will primarily look for heavy residential and retail growth areas. We take a completely different approach because we are primarily a bank for entrepreneurs. We open in commercial/industrial business areas because that’s our market. By the end of the first year in Ontario, we received a tremendous response from the market,” says Butler.
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As Butler explains, small- and medium-business owners are excited about having an opportunity to work with a knowledgeable, strategic team that can give them personal, frequently in-person, attention, and who can do things like structure long-term financing to match their assets and consolidate their financing to save money and increase cash flow.
His message to small- and medium-business owners? “Those who know us, love us. Give us the time and opportunity to get to know you and your business,” says Butler.
To learn more, visit www.cwbank.com or visit the new Markham banking centre at 7303 Warden Ave., Unit 100A, Markham, ON L3R 5Y6.
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