Desjardins Group, the largest integrated financial cooperative group in Canada, today announced a $2 million donation to Concordia University’s John Molson School of Business (JMSB).

The announcement was made at a reception attended by Concordia President Claude Lajeunesse and Alban D’Amours, President & CEO of Desjardins Group.

These funds will provide students with scholarships and bursaries and establish the Desjardins Centre for Innovation in Business Finance. This research centre, unique to Quebec, will study how companies finance themselves, including the role financial institutions may play in this financing. An auditorium in the new JMSB building will also bear the name of Desjardins Group’s founder Alphonse Desjardins.

“Desjardins’ donation will go toward the establishment of an endowment fund, the annual return of which will ensure the fulfillment of the mission and objectives of the Desjardins Centre for Innovation in Business Finance. As we all know, corporate financing is at the centre of the economic challenges that we will be facing in the coming years and decades,” said D’Amours. “Furthermore, the support we are granting Concordia University bears testimony to our motivation to enhance Desjardins’ presence in Greater Montréal and work more intensely to encourage the inclusion of members from non-French-speaking communities in our Group.”

“By investing in this Centre, Desjardins will help students remain abreast of the most recent technology in the banking and finance fields, better preparing them to enter the business world in full stride,” said Lajeunesse. “By investing in the future leaders of the banking industry, Desjardins has shown itself to be a true corporate leader, one that should be emulated by other companies.”

Construction of the new JMSB building began earlier this month, with an expected completion date of summer 2009.