Banque Canadienne Nationale

Banque Canadienne Nationale

Industry	Bank
Founded	1859 (as Banque Nationale)
Defunct	1979
Fate	Merged into National Bank of Canada
Headquarters	Montreal, Quebec , Canada

The Banque Canadienne Nationale (French pronunciation: [bɑ̃k kanadjɛn nasjɔnal], lit. 'Canadian National Bank') was a bank based in the province of Quebec, Canada. It was formed in 1924 from the merger of the Banque d'Hochelaga and the Banque Nationale, and operated until 1979, when it became part of the National Bank of Canada.^[1]

History

In 1859, several prominent Quebecers founded the Banque Nationale in Quebec City as a banking institution controlled by French-speaking businessmen.^[2]

In 1924, the Banque Nationale, which was struggling financially while caught-up in a serious recession,^[3] merged with the Banque d'Hochelaga (founded in Montreal in 1874) to create the Banque Canadienne Nationale (BCN, Canadian National Bank).^[4][5] The Quebec provincial government, under Alexandre Taschereau, issued $15 million in bonds to facilitate the merger.^[6]

Like the other Canadian chartered banks, BCN issued its own paper currency until the Bank of Canada Act of 1934 created the Bank of Canada and it relinquished this right.

In 1968, Banque Canadienne Nationale was one of the four original banks to form CHARGEX Ltd. through a licence from BankAmericard, providing Canada with its first interbank credit card.^[7]

In 1979, Banque Canadienne Nationale and the Provincial Bank of Canada (Banque provinciale du Canada), another Quebec-based bank, joined to form the National Bank of Canada.^[4][8]

See also

• List of Canadian banks
• 500 Place D'Armes

References

1. Nos banques à charte et nous-- : Banque canadienne nationale, Banque provinciale du Canada (in Canadian French). Conseil d'expansion économique. 1961. OCLC 48163144.
2. Jean-Marie Lebel. Le Vieux-Québec: guide du promeneur. Les éditions du Septentrion; 1997. ISBN 978-2-89448-083-0. p. 72–.
3. Legacy: How French Canadians Shaped North America. McClelland & Stewart; 8 November 2016. ISBN 978-0-7710-7241-3. p. 86–.
4. Sawyer, Deborah C. (20 October 2014). National Bank of Canada. Retrieved 2017-02-14. ...Banque Canadienne Nationale (founded in 1859 as the Banque National; merged 1924 with Banque d'Hochelaga and new name adopted 1925) and The Provincial Bank of Canada (founded in 1861) {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
5. Québec, 1900-2000: le siècle d'une capitale. Éditions MultiMondes; 2000. ISBN 978-2-89544-008-6. p. 79–.
6. Les grands débats parlementaires, 1792-1992. Presses Université Laval; 1994. ISBN 978-2-7637-7357-5. p. 292–.
7. Sean Hickey. Confessions of an International Banker. Trafford Publishing; 8 March 2013. ISBN 978-1-4669-7380-0. p. 46–.
8. Canada Since 1945: Power, Politics, and Provincialism. University of Toronto Press; 1989. ISBN 978-0-8020-6672-5. p. 299–.

• Banque canadienne nationale, 1874-1974: cent ans d'histoire. Banque Canadienne Nationale; 1974.