Sears Canada Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sears Canada Inc., has received approval from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions to commence operations.

“We are pleased to announce the official launch of Sears Canada Bank,” said Mark Cohen, chairman and CEO, Sears Canada Inc. “The Bank now enables us to build upon our Sears Card and Sears MasterCard franchise to offer consumers nationwide the value and convenience of competitive credit card products.”

According to the company, the Sears Card is Canada’s No. 1 single- issuer credit card.

Current Sears Card and Sears MasterCard holders will receive an information package regarding Sears Canada Bank in their statements early in 2004.