National Bank of Canada Unveils Growth Plan Built on CWB Integration

National Bank of Canada has outlined a growth plan built around the integration of Canadian Western Bank, stronger commercial lending, and a deeper push into private banking. According to Judith Ménard, head of commercial and private banking, the bank is seeing solid momentum in loans, deposits, and cash management, despite trade uncertainty and a cautious credit stance.

The integration of CWB remains on track, with revenue and expense synergies meeting or beating targets. Commercial banking posted very strong loan and deposit growth in the third quarter, supported by specialty, mid-market, and larger corporate clients.

Private Banking 1859 is a key differentiator for National Bank, with a Net Promoter Score of 78 and 2,500 additional common clients shared with commercial banking. The bank is using AI across front-office and back-office work to lift productivity, rather than treating it as a separate initiative.

Management sees a large opportunity in business transfers and succession planning, with nearly half of Western Canadian mid-market business owners expected to retire within the next decade, resulting in CAD 1.3 trillion in expected wealth transfer.