Howard Wesley Classification
Posted by Bill Molesworth
President Mike introduced Howard and welcomed him to the community and the club.
Howard said the second person he met in Midland was Fred Hacker who extended the invitation to Rotary. Howard was living in Coldwater and working for Bell Mobility which is a progressive and rapidly growing company, which was exciting, but which made him so busy he had no time for family. So he moved to the TD.
He has a son, Liam, born in 2004 and a daughter, Lucy, who's not two months yet. He and his wife are from North Bay and he loved growing up there. He had a terrific opportunity to see more of the Province when, as President of the Provincial Student Council he was flown to meetings all over.
Howard is the Small Business Advisor for the local branch, has about 800 clients, and he sees a lot of potential for growth in this area. They are planning to expand the branch here and there have been second branches opened in Collingwood and Wasaga Beach. He says Canadian banks are doing well and are actively expanding, especially in the States, which promotes competitiveness.
The Dominion Bank incorporated in 1855, back when banks used to each print their own money. It wasn't till 1935 that the Bank of Canada started doing it for the whole country. In 1955 the Dominion and the Bank of Toronto merged. In the 70's the bank started to move into International markets; in 1976 they started installing ABM's; 1996 Waterhouse joined; in 2003 Canada Trust and the TD merged; and in 2003 the bank acquired Laurentian.
In response to a question Howard said that the bank's habit of transferring people had dropped way off. Originally it was designed to keep officers, especially loans officers, from becoming to emotionally attached to the community. Now all loans are double checked by people at head office so people are allowed to stay, if they want, which is often better for family life.
Jamie Hunter wondered about competition from the offshore banks using internet services and Howard said that they do lose customers, but quite often they see them come back because they miss the human contact. In fact, though ABM use will continue to grow, branches are growing and staffing is increasing because people need to talk to people face to face.
Jamie Tripp thanked Howard for his presentation, welcomed him to the club and commended him as being a good addition to the membership.
He has a son, Liam, born in 2004 and a daughter, Lucy, who's not two months yet. He and his wife are from North Bay and he loved growing up there. He had a terrific opportunity to see more of the Province when, as President of the Provincial Student Council he was flown to meetings all over.
Howard is the Small Business Advisor for the local branch, has about 800 clients, and he sees a lot of potential for growth in this area. They are planning to expand the branch here and there have been second branches opened in Collingwood and Wasaga Beach. He says Canadian banks are doing well and are actively expanding, especially in the States, which promotes competitiveness.
The Dominion Bank incorporated in 1855, back when banks used to each print their own money. It wasn't till 1935 that the Bank of Canada started doing it for the whole country. In 1955 the Dominion and the Bank of Toronto merged. In the 70's the bank started to move into International markets; in 1976 they started installing ABM's; 1996 Waterhouse joined; in 2003 Canada Trust and the TD merged; and in 2003 the bank acquired Laurentian.
In response to a question Howard said that the bank's habit of transferring people had dropped way off. Originally it was designed to keep officers, especially loans officers, from becoming to emotionally attached to the community. Now all loans are double checked by people at head office so people are allowed to stay, if they want, which is often better for family life.
Jamie Hunter wondered about competition from the offshore banks using internet services and Howard said that they do lose customers, but quite often they see them come back because they miss the human contact. In fact, though ABM use will continue to grow, branches are growing and staffing is increasing because people need to talk to people face to face.
Jamie Tripp thanked Howard for his presentation, welcomed him to the club and commended him as being a good addition to the membership.