Page 20 - Crossroads: September 2015 | Issue 9

20
For internal use only
Crossroads
A story of change and growth
MUFG timeline: BTMU Canada continues to evolve
It should be no surprise that Canada is one of the 10 largest economies in the world. With an abundance of natural resources and a highly educated workforce, the Great White North has been a solid source of business opportunity for decades dating to the end of World War II.
BTMU’s history in Canada stretches back more than 60 years to when Tovan Investments opened an office in Vancouver in 1954. Initially, the business managed investments for Japanese individual and corporate clients. over the next few decades it developed eastward with new offices in Toronto and later Montreal.
In 1981 the bank converted into a Schedule II bank as a subsidiary, a status
it retains today. As the bank evolved, it became further integrated into the local market, and by the mid-1980s a new division to deal exclusively with Canadian corporate clients was formed.
The bank changed again following the creation of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi in 1996, and finally again in 2006 with the formation of MUFG, when BTMU Canada, as it is known today, was also formed. The increase in scale and presence solidified BTMUC’s status as the premier Asia- based global bank in Canada, a distinction it continues to hold.
Change on many fronts
Once again the bank is going through a period of fundamental change, but this time it’s from the inside out. Some of the larger changes include opening a new
Clockwise from upper left: Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary