Canada’s largest cities are competing to host the future headquarters of a specialized bank for defence lending, and developers in Montreal are trying to boost that region’s bid with a proposed $250 million building to house it.
The Defence, Security and Resilience Bank , which is backed by countries within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and by financial institutions such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. , is still in the planning stages. If it gets off the ground, the bank would offer long-term financing for defence and security businesses, which will need access to capital for growth as NATO countries dramatically increase their military budgets in the years ahead.
Canada secured support from other nations to host the bank’s headquarters in April, though it has yet to be ratified. Local governments and businesses in Montreal, Toronto and other cities are pressing their case to win it.
The 38-floor tower has been proposed by Montreal firms Groupe Tsatas, Sid Lee Architecture and Rosefellow. It would be located at a key site in the city’s downtown next to the historic Sun Life building. The complex would include office space, a hotel section and a business club.
Montreal and Toronto, Canada’s two largest business and financial centres, are seen as leading candidates for the DSRB. The head of pension manager Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec made a public case this week that Montreal is the best option.
“Montreal is one of the three largest defence and aerospace hubs in the world,” said Charles Emond, chief executive of La Caisse. “If there were an oil bank, it would be located in Calgary, not Toronto.”
The Canadian government is still far from making a decision on which city would host the headquarters if the bank moves ahead, according to a person familiar with the matter, speaking on condition they not be identified discussing private deliberations.
—With assistance from Melissa Shin.