Canada’s VersaBank Plans New York IPO

VersaBank, Canada’s first financial institution to operate without a branch, is launching a public offering of shares in the U.S. and Canada, and is filing an initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (Nasdaq) in New York City under the ticker VBNK. VersaBank’s shares will continue to trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE) under the symbol VB, according to a press release on Monday (Sept. 13).

The price and size of the offering will be determined before an underwriting agreement is fully commenced. A syndicate of underwriters will handle the offering, which will be led by Raymond James & Associates, as sole book-running manager, and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods as co-manager.

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Canada’s first digital-only bank anticipates that the net proceeds from the share offering will be earmarked for “general banking purposes and will qualify as Common Equity Tier 1 capital.” Closing of the offering is subject to the underwriting agreement, the listing of common shares on both the Nasdaq and the TSX and requires any associated approvals.

VersaBank is a Canadian Schedule I chartered bank that uses proprietary FinTech solutions to meet the needs of the country’s underserved banking populations profitably while reducing risk, according to the press release.

By leveraging its own IT security software and capabilities, VersaBank also developed a wholly-owned subsidiary, DRT Cyber, headquartered in Washington, DC., that goes after opportunities in cyber security. DRT Cyber also engineers tools to help mitigate escalating cybercrimes.

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VersaBank’s third-quarter earnings report released earlier this month indicated that the company entered into a reseller and developer’s agreement with EZoTech, which created the world’s first artificial intelligence-powered autonomous cybersecurity penetration testing platform. DRT Cyber will then expand its offerings to customers throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe. making use of EzoTech’s AI proficiencies.