The sign for National Bank Financial is seen in Toronto’s financial district.Charla Jones/The Globe and Mail
National Bank Financial Inc. has poached banking analyst Gabriel Dechaine from rival Canaccord Genuity Corp., filling a spot left open when fellow analyst Peter Routledge departed for a role in public service.
Mr. Dechaine, who is expected to cover financial services companies including banks and insurers for National Bank, has years of experience in sell-side research, having worked at the former Genuity Capital Markets as well as Credit Suisse Canada.
A University of Calgary graduate, Mr. Dechaine joins National Bank, which is Canada's sixth largest bank by assets, at a time when financial institutions have posted solid returns despite a difficult economic climate. But in 2017, big banks are facing the prospect of slower growth at home while adjusting to new, tighter federal rules governing mortgages and an array of potential regulatory changes such as lender risk sharing, bail-in debt and a review of the Bank Act.
Mr. Routledge, an influential voice among financial services analysts, could help shape those policies. He announced early this year that he was leaving the investment bank to take a new job as a senior advisor in the federal Department of Finance – the latest in a series of staff moves between financial services companies and the federal government over the last several years.