IndustryInsiders: Rania Llewellyn joined Laurentian Bank with a mission to turn around an institution that was struggling to grow, but to also make major workplace culture changes. All while keeping Bay Street happy with the bank's financial performance
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As Llewellyn takes on the task of putting the company on more solid footing, she’s also introducing more modern philosophies such as allowing employees to work mostly remotely and not requiring new hires to have prior Canadian experience. Staying nimble and adjusting the business strategy along the way is key to making it work, she said, as is communicating that strategy to Bay Street, even if it means the bank’s turnaround isn’t linear.
He’s expecting loan growth to slow, and said a potential recession will prove difficult for the banking sector. “It took me a while to launch it. The analysts were all over me, saying, you know, ‘When is it coming? When is it coming?’ And to be honest, as a new CEO, I felt a lot of pressure,” she said.
More often than not though, Laurentian has been meeting, or exceeding, quarterly financial estimates since Llewellyn took the reins.in its fiscal second quarter, helped by its commercial banking and capital markets units and by keeping a lid on costs. “I think I've had mentors and I've had people who have helped lift me up on their shoulders and I feel that it's an obligation and it's an honour for me to be able to pay it forward.”Rather than aspiring to join the ranks of Canada’s biggest banks, Llewellyn envisions Laurentian as being the “best alternative” to the Big Six.