National Bank of Canada invests in technology, talent in Q4
The bank’s tech spend grew 9% to $61M during the quarter
National Bank of Canada (NBC) is set to continue its digital innovation strategy through hiring technology-focused talent.
“We will continue to invest in our people, focus on deepening our client relationships, capitalize on our momentum in digital innovation and leverage our collaborative models to drive growth across the country in the years to come,” Chief Executive Laurent Ferreira said Wednesday during the $299 billion USD bank’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings call.
THE BIG PICTURE: The Montreal-based bank is placing a heavy focus on talent acquisition and retention to boost its digital innovation strategies. Increased expenses were due to “retaining and attracting talent to support growth and technology investments,” according to Ferreira.
BY THE NUMBERS: NBC reported for its fiscal Q4 2022:
- Technology-specific spend grew 9% year over year to $61 million;
- Non-interest expenses were up 8% YoY to $964 million; and
- Total revenue climbed 6% to $1.7 billion.
NOTEWORTHY: Montreal-based NBC’s digitization efforts are to “enhance client experience” and invest in systems’ processes and cybersecurity, Chief Financial Officer Marie Chantal Gingras said previously during the bank’s Q3 earnings call.
The Royal Bank of Canada, too, upped its non-interest expenses in Q4 by 8.5% YoY to $5.3 billion due to technology costs and talent acquisition.
THE BOTTOM LINE: NBC’s investment in digitalization, tech personnel and cybersecurity will be ongoing, Gingras noted during the Q4 earnings call.
“Areas of investments in Q4 across the bank are consistent with what we’ve been doing throughout the year,” she said. “This includes investments in talent … consistent with technology investments. It also reflects steady investments in systems and processes to support business and client acquisition growth and to protect the bank and its clients.”
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