National Bank of Canada is the country’s sixth largest financial institution, with a growing presence across Canada. In June the bank put another marker down for growing its national reach by announcing an agreement to acquire Canadian Western Bank. When completed, it will add a further $37-billion in loans across 65,000 customers and 39 branches in Western Canada and Ontario.
Energy and renewables are a significant part of the forward plan. As of October 31, 2023, the bank has made $11B in capital available to finance North American renewable energy projects, and plans to go further.
Mark Williamson, managing director, head of energy and project finance with National Bank of Canada, notes that the organization has deliberately placed itself at the forefront of energy transition.
“We started this business in the early ‘80s on the oil and gas side and have amassed a wealth of technical and energy market expertise that’s essential to support our clients,” he says. “Today, we look at the market as a pair of bookends. On one side, there’s legacy traditional oil and gas, and on the other, there’s renewables. Between those, we have a portfolio of clean tech businesses, each with unique value propositions. We will continue to support energy businesses across this entire spectrum.”
A partner in the transformation of Canadian energy
Williamson notes that Canada needs all the power it can generate to support electrification, digitization, decarbonization, friend-shoring of manufacturing and population growth.
“The demand side is growing tremendously across North America,” he says. “We aim to support the expansion of energy by supporting businesses in their goals to grow production and reduce their environmental footprint at the same time.”
The bank’s Calgary energy team numbers 90 professionals, with others based in Toronto and Montreal, in addition to advisors in New York. Together they support the financial needs of traditional oil and gas, renewable lending and advisory services for clean tech clients.
The institution’s renewable energy lending portfolio has increased substantially during the past dozen years, including the financing of approximately 150 renewable energy projects across North America. Most recently, the bank was part of the lending team that financed two major renewable projects — the 150-megawatt Lanfine Wind power project in Alberta, and the SunZia Transmission and SunZia Wind clean energy projects in New Mexico, the largest clean energy infrastructure project in U.S history.
The bank has also funded projects with Blue Earth Renewables, a Calgary-based company, since its inception in 2010. With financial support, the company has become a leading clean-energy power producer.
“We continue to look at newer technologies, such as opportunities in hydrogen, carbon capture, energy storage and even the deployment of small modular reactors in the future,” Williamson says.
Like many of its clients, National Bank of Canada has embarked on a journey to achieve net-zero in its financing and operations activities by 2050.
“We understand our clients’ realities as the expectations from a multitude of stakeholders — clients, board members, and members of the public — are growing,” says Paul Gill, vice president & head, Western Canada, private & commercial banking with National Bank of Canada “This can include expectations under ESG and also ensuring the business complies with evolving government regulations.”
Gill explains that this client-focused view of the bank’s service offerings inspired it to change the way it does business in order to better serve entrepreneurs.
“Small and medium businesses are the backbone of the Canadian economy, and this is especially true in Western Canada.” The bank offers business and personal lending, treasury and cash management services, risk management solutions, wealth advisory, financial planning and an M&A team under the same roof to meet the needs of both businesses and business owners.
Financing the future of Alberta’s businesses
“We're a challenger in Western Canada in general, and in Alberta specifically, with our commitment to being a 360-degree coverage provider to our clients,” he says. “That commitment was really the catalyst for the bank’s decision to merge commercial and private banking — so we can focus on entrepreneurs and their families more holistically. We’re not a transactional banker. We want to build relationships with clients through the lifecycle of entrepreneurship to set them up for success.”
As the bank continues to grow across Canada, its focus remains on building long-term partnerships with local customers — even during challenging economic environments. The acquisition of Canadian Western Bank is about deepening the connection to and expanding services for customers in the west.
“When we promise to do something, we deliver and when we’re asked to do something that requires a bit more thoughtfulness, we’ll be transparent with our clients and reach a satisfactory conclusion,” Gill says. “If you’re an entrepreneur with a good idea, we encourage you to knock on our door to see how our expertise and support can help you.”
Both Gill and Williamson affirm that the bank continues to be bullish on Alberta’s economic future.
“We’re blessed with natural resources and advantages,” Gill says. “Alberta has also built a strong ecosystem of highly-skilled entrepreneurs who have been tackling a range of challenges for decades and continue to explore new technologies. And lastly, we're fortunate to have strong access to capital markets through banks like ours that are focused on these businesses. It’s a perfect mix of opportunity and capability.”