Canada’s newest Schedule I bank is by no means a newcomer to the financial services sector. On July 22, the federal government awarded a charter to Jameson Bank. That makes the Toronto-based institution the first treasury bank in the nation and the first privately owned (non co-op) Schedule I bank in Ontario.

For the past 19 years, Jameson International Foreign Exchange Corp. has helped business clients manage the risks of foreign currency fluctuations. Now, as Jameson Bank, it is cleared to provide a more comprehensive range of treasury services. With its expertise in foreign exchange and cash management, Jameson also intends to assist the charitable sector.

“Earning our charter as a Schedule I bank is a great honor and is the culmination of many years of proving ourselves in the financial services industry,” said James Lau, Jameson’s president since the institution’s founding.

“We earned our reputation over the past two decades on the basis of expertise and integrity, as well as our highly personalized service to our business clients. We will be carrying that same philosophy into our new role as a Schedule I bank,” said Lau.

Lau noted that one of the bank’s assets going forward is what he termed an “extraordinarily accomplished” group of men and women who are serving on Jameson Bank’s board of directors and advisory board.

Jameson Bank’s board of directors includes:

> John Horwood, first vice vp and founding partner in Toronto of Richardson Partners Financial, Ltd.;

> Donald Macpherson, president of D.M. Macpherson and Associates, Inc. and a former Deputy Superintendent of financial institutions at the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions;

> John Rochon, founder and chairman of Richmont Holdings, which has invested in and owned companies across a wide range of industries over several decades;

> Jeffrey Rover, private investor from Toronto, manages a portfolio of investments and active in charitable work;

> Donald Simmonds, former chairman and founder of Air IQ, Inc.; and

> Michael Van Pelt, president of the Work Research Foundation, a Canadian-based public policy think tank; Strategic advisor consulting for numerous companies across North America.

Jameson Bank is a member of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation and will be a member of the Canadian Payments Association.

Jameson Foreign Exchange Corp. was founded in 1989 in Toronto. It currently has offices in Toronto, Burlington, London, Ottawa, Montreal and Calgary.

Lau said that a formal launch will take place this fall, with announcements of new product offerings and customer service options.