Mr. Chair, honourable members of the committee, thank you for having me today.
My name is Lucie Blanchet. I am Senior Vice-President, Strategy, Distribution, Solutions and Processes Retail Banking at the National Bank of Canada.
First, I'd like to say that we have carefully followed the events of the past few months in this country and elsewhere, the events that led up to today's testimony. We are sensitive to the thoughts that have been expressed. Our business model is based on trust established over time with our clients, and it must be renewed continuously.
Very briefly, in the next few minutes I would like to introduce you to the activities of the National Bank and the context it works in, the importance we give to the balance among stakeholders for the success of the Bank, and finally the primordial importance we place on ethics and integrity in our operations.
The National Bank was founded in 1859 in Quebec, and it offers integrated banking services to more than 2.3 million individual clients, and some 130,000 corporate clients. It manages assets of $239 billion. The National Bank has 445 branches and more than 100 stock brokerages.
Geographically, we conduct our activities mainly in Quebec, New Brunswick and Ontario. We also have a presence in certain other metropolitan centres in Canada, such as Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver.
The bank provides leadership in several areas, such as agriculture, technology, energy, real estate, health and government financing.
The bank is an important employer and provides work to more than 21,000 employees. Last year it was nominated for the 12th time as an employer of choice.
The bank is an active player in all of the communities where it is present. Last year it contributed over $25 million to various Canadian organizations. The National Bank's activities are conducted mainly in Canada, where 95% of its revenues are held.
Our enterprise evolves in a business context undergoing profound transformation. Our clients want to interact with us in a personalized way using the method of their choice at a time that suits them. Our ambition is to offer a distinctive experience based on accessibility, simplicity and the proactivity of our solutions. In order to do so, we have to continue to adapt and perfect the necessary agility to meet their expectations.
Our organizational culture is based on three pillars: balance amongst stakeholders, respect for our corporate values, and sound risk management. Reaching a balance among stakeholders is an omnipresent goal in our organization. This is directly reflected in our performance management framework. These stakeholders are our clients, our employees, our shareholders, our community and our regulatory tools. The balance among each of these parts allows us to assure the sustainability of our organization in the short, medium and long terms. This message is rigorously communicated to all levels of the enterprise.
We attach a great deal of importance to respecting our values: a client-centered approach, rigour, accountability and collaboration, in order to create a stimulating work environment for our employees. Risk management is also at the heart of our operations and it is an inherent part of our corporate culture.
Finally, ethics and integrity are crucial to our capacity to ensure the success of the bank and its long-term survival. As a frame of reference for our employees, they are the basis for the trust placed in our institution. All of our employees, from the moment they are hired, adhere to our code of ethics. This code specifies what is expected from each of our employees, our managers, and our administrators in the performance of their duties.
The bank has several mechanisms in place to allow clients and employees to report any ethical breach or undue pressure. Among the mechanisms in place for our employees are the managers of our different services, human resources, the compliance sector, the employee ombudsman, as well as an annual survey on our work environment.
For their part, our clients can count on the employees in all of our points of service, social networks, the client ombudsman, and several client satisfaction surveys to express any dissatisfaction or discomfort. These practices allow us to maintain a stimulating work environment and ensure a dialogue based on trust with our employees and clients. We are always open to suggestions on ways we might improve.
To conclude, we are sensitive to the circumstances that have led to today's discussion. The organizational culture of the National Bank is based on the balance among our shareholders, our values and the sound management of risk. That is the culture that will continue to frame the governance of our enterprise, our human resource practices, all of our operations, and the daily activities of our employees.
Mr. Chair, I would be pleased to answer questions.