FROM TOUGH TIMES TO INSANELY BUSY TIMES, CWB HAS ALWAYS BEEN THERE READY TO HELP ABOVE AND BEYOND. ” –CWB Client
We are committed to building on our inclusive culture and creating opportunities and growth for strong talent in an organization where skill and performance is recognized, rewarded, and celebrated. We placed within the top 25 on this year’s Best Workplaces TM in Canada for the second year in a row and we were recognized by Waterstone Human Capital as having one of Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures TM for the fourth time, earning a place in their hall of fame. A WINNING TEAM AND INCLUSIVE CULTURE
CWB has been recognized for these awards as our teams continue to go above and beyond for our clients in challenging environments by rapidly adapting to changing conditions. In 2024, we will celebrate our 40th year with our talented teams providing exceptional service to our business owner clients with full-service business and personal banking, specialized financing, comprehensive wealth management offerings, and trust services.
POSITIONED FOR CONTINUED MOMENTUM
We delivered another year of very strong growth in Ontario supported by our existing full-service banking centres in Mississauga and Markham. Our teams have grown loans in the province by an average of 11% annually over the last five years (figure 1). Next year, we plan to open new banking centres in Toronto’s financial district and in Kitchener to continue to build brand awareness in Ontario and capitalize on a significant growth opportunity. General commercial lending to business owners is our core strategic target for growth as it represents a broad section of the Canadian economy that we believe is underserved by other banks. To capitalize on the opportunity to increase our market share in this segment, we continue to enhance our capabilities through an expanded partnership with Brim Financial to offer new business credit cards and are preparing to launch a commercial digital cash management and payments platform for our commercial clients in the near future. With this strategic focus we have delivered 10% general commercial loan growth in the last year, with strong results across the country. This performance has supported 13% average annual loan growth in this category over the last five years (figure 2). Our strategic effort to convert our clients from single product to broader full-service relationships has supported 11% annual growth of branch-raised deposits 1 over the last five years, while we have grown total loans 7% annually over the same period.
The changes we made late in fiscal 2023 streamline our operations to drive priority activities that take full advantage of our investments in modernized technology, digital capabilities, and further leverage our enhanced credit decisioning tools and processes. With these changes I am confident in our ability to deliver strong financial performance in a potentially volatile environment, while our teams continue to deliver an unrivalled experience to business owners and their families. In closing, I would like to express my gratitude to our clients for providing our teams the opportunity to be a trusted partner to support their success, and to our shareholders for their continued commitment and support. I would also like to thank each of our team members for their efforts during a challenging environment. Through their efforts we have built a strong, resilient bank and are well positioned to create value for all our stakeholders going forward.
Chris Fowler President and Chief Executive Officer
(1) Non-GAAP measure – refer to definitions and detail provided on page 16.
4 | CWB Financial Group 2023 Annual Report
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