Imperial Bank of Canada
Niagara District Bank, 1853-1875The Niagara District Bank was established in 1853 and began operations in St Catharines. This was the fourth, and only successful, attempt to establish a bank to serve the citizens of the Niagara region. The bank carried on a steady but small business with just 3 branches and twelve employees. The Niagara District Bank merged with Imperial Bank of Canada on July 2, 1875. The Imperial Bank of Canada had opened recently and the purchase of the Niagara District Bank helped the Imperial establish a position in Ontario. |
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The Weyburn Security Bank, 1910-1931The Weyburn Security Company was founded in 1902 to take over the operations of another company, which had been established to purchase 50,000 acres of land and engage in a large settlement plan. The Security Company soon began to offer financial services, such as banking, general insurance and mortgage loans. The business was successful; however, in order to compete with the chartered banks operating in the area, it obtained a bank charter under the name Weyburn Security Bank in 1911. While it continued to operate solely in Saskatchewan, the bank grew to include thirty branches. Had it not been for the Great Depression, it may have remained a separate entity. However, in 1930, it was no longer paying dividends and the directors were concerned for its continued solvency. On May 1, 1931, The Weyburn Security Bank merged with the Imperial Bank, which did not have any representation south of Regina. |
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Barclays Bank (Canada), 1929-1956Barclays Bank (Canada) was established in 1929 by Barclays Bank Limited, a prominent British bank. Because Canadian law required that all banks operating in Canada be Canadian-owned, Barclays set up an investment company in Canada, which in turn provided the capital to start up the new bank. Barclays Bank (Canada) began operations in Montreal and soon after opened an office in Toronto. With the stock market crash and the ensuing depression, the bank suffered financially in its early years. More capital had to be acquired from London in order to open new branches in urban centres across Canada. World War II and the resulting foreign exchange restrictions made it difficult to obtain further capital from England. Consequently the bank decided to approach the Imperial Bank of Canada about a merger. The Imperial found this to be a favourable proposal and the two banks merged on February 1, 1956. |
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