Pacific & Western Bank of Canada

London ON – (May 14, 2007) Pacific & Western Bank of Canada was announced today as the next recipient of the Featured Company Award presented by the London Economic Development Corporation (LEDC) and the City of London.

Company President and CEO Mr. David Taylor will receive a commemorative plaque from Mayor Anne Marie DeCicco-Best at the city council meeting on May 14.

Pacific & Western Bank of Canada is a branchless Schedule 1 Canadian chartered bank with its head office in London, Ontario. As a publicly traded company on the TSX (PWC), and with over half of its staff employed in London, the Bank is approaching $1.5 Billion in assets.

Just after acquiring managing control of the Trust company in 1993 and moving its head offices from Saskatchewan to London, David Taylor, President and CEO, embarked on his vision of developing the first-ever technologically-based branchless financial institution in Canada. This concept of a technology-driven, non-traditional financial institution had more naysayers than supporters since, in 1993, there were few branchless banking models to use as a reference and small trust companies and banks were failing at an alarming rate. Despite this volatile period, Taylor was a visionary with a plan for Pacific & Western; he would forgo bricks and mortar to invest resources in computer technology to deliver a low-risk, low-overhead approach, which, ultimately, would solve the efficiency puzzle in the banking industry.

The bottom line is that Pacific & Western is now the single most efficient chartered bank in Canada, with operating costs of less than 1% of total assets – as compared to the average for Schedule 1 banks which currently exceeds 2.5% of total assets. These overhead savings translate into very competitive rates for its clients.

“The Bank is proud to spotlights its’ over 60 London-based project financings totaling more than $160 Million, where these clients employ in excess of 1,200 Londoners” said David Taylor. “Pacific & Western’s Account Managers oversee portfolios ranging from $2 million right up to $60 million, and this number is growing as does our vibrant home of London.”

Pacific & Western specializes in financing investment grade corporations and government entities. On the corporate side, the Bank offers credit facilities, operating capital, project financing, equipment leasing, capital lease financing and purchases receivables. On the public sector side, the Bank focuses on Private-Public Partnerships, financing municipalities, universities, school boards and hospitals, as well as provincial and federal government agencies.

“We are very fortunate Pacific & Western chose London for its new Canadian head office. They are a company that has demonstrated significant dedication to this community through philanthropy, extraordinary volunteer commitments and support of our local business community,” said LEDC President & CEO, John Kime, “We are pleased to be able to recognize their contributions with this award.”

Together with the City of London, the LEDC announces one featured company each month.

For more information, please contact:

Lesley Cornelius
Acting Director, Marketing and Communications, LEDC
Tel: 519-661-5010

David Taylor
President & CEO, Pacific & Western Bank of Canada
Tel. 519-675-4206