Wealth One Bank of Canada
Wealth One Bank of Canada is a Canadian Schedule I bank founded in 2016 with a focus on providing services to Chinese-Canadians. It provides banking services online and through retail offices in North York and Markham, Ontario, and in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Wealth One was established with $50 million from four key investors. Its principal goal is to get deposits from Chinese Canadians and provide mortgages.[1] It offers a range of personal and business banking services.
Wealth One Bank of Canada received the Letters Patent on July 22, 2015 from Canada's Minister of Finance, is a federally chartered Schedule I Bank under the Bank Act, and is regulated by the Office of the Superindendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI).
The bank is a member of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Its Chief Executive Officer and president is Charles Lambert, had worked at the Royal Bank of Canada and the Bank of Nova Scotia.[2]
The bank was founded by Shenglin Xian, who is also a chief investor. According to Lambert, Xuan's "... view was that there were some opportunities to be able to service the Canadian Chinese community in a culturally sensitive way, by understanding their culture and being able to speak the language...." Xian attracted other investors, including Yuansheng Ou Yang and Mao Hua Chen, who became directors of the bank.[3]
On November 24, 2016, The Globe and Mail reported that the founder and a chief investor of the new bank, Shenglin Xian, was fined for mishandling client insurance claims and faced allegations that he persuaded Chinese immigrants to buy expensive indurance policies they could not afford. The Globe also reported that another key investor, grocery entrepreneur Yuansheng Ou Yang who is a director of the bank, misrepresented his credentials on the bank’s website. It claimed he had served as a member of the National People’s Congress, which is the parliament of the People's Republic of China, and the People’s Political Consultative Conference, a political advisory board to the Chinese government. Four of the directors of the bank, including the chairman and chief executive, acknowledged the website information was incorrect.[4]
References
- ↑ Globe and Mail, "The murky beginnings of a new Canadian bank" by Robert Five and Steven Chase, Nov. 24, 2016
- ↑ Vancouver Sun, "New bank targets Chinese Canadians" by Dan Fumano, September 8, 2016
- ↑ Bloomberg.com "Newest Canadian Bank Aims to Woo Country’s Chinese Families", by Doug Alexander, September 6, 2016
- ↑ Globe and Mail, "The murky beginnings of a new Canadian bank" by Robert Five and Steven Chase, Nov. 24, 2016