Bank of Nova Scotia BNS-T has tapped Canadian banking chief financial officer Sumit Malhotra to be the next head of real estate and secured lending as long-time executive John Webster retires.
Mr. Webster is leaving the bank after more than 15 years leading the mortgages and real estate lending division, according to an internal memo reviewed by The Globe and Mail. Mr. Malhotra, a former analyst covering the banking sector, steps into his role as senior vice-president of real estate and secured lending on Aug. 8.
Until his retirement at the end of the year, Mr. Webster will continue to lead the team to support Mr. Malhotra as he ramps up in his new position.
Mr. Webster built Scotiabank’s mortgage business after the lender’s 2006 purchase of Canadian mortgage business Maple Trust Company, where he was CEO. The acquisition leapfrogged the bank to third place among the country’s largest residential real estate lenders.
“Under John’s leadership, our real estate and secured lending business in Canada has become a leader in many areas, from innovation to customer growth,” head of Canadian banking Dan Rees said in the memo. “John’s contributions to the Bank have been invaluable and on a personal level I want to thank John for his partnership and wise counsel since I joined this team.”
Mr. Malhotra moves into his new role after three years as CFO of the Canadian banking division – the lender’s largest division. He made the jump to the bank’s executive ranks after seven years leading Scotiabank’s equity research coverage of Canada’s biggest bank stocks. With previous roles at Macquarie Capital Markets and Merrill Lynch Canada, Mr. Malhotra has an in-depth understanding of bank financials.
“Sumit has deep knowledge of our business, the Canadian market, and how we drive profitable growth for the Bank,” Mr. Rees said in the memo.
Scotiabank is also reorganizing the real estate and secured lending group, shuffling it under the retail customer team led by executive vice-president Terri-Lee Weeks.
Mr. Malhotra is among the ranks of analysts covering Canadian banks who have moved up into executive positions in the industry. In June, 2021, former National Bank of Canada analyst Peter Routledge became the head of Canada’s banking regulator – the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions – after stints as the head of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corp. and a senior adviser at the federal Finance Department.
In March, 2020, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce’s former head of research and coverage of Canadian banks, Rob Sedran, was appointed as senior vice-president for enterprise strategy, planning and corporate development.