Here are the top reads from the week. Have a great weekend,
Venture capital: Georgian Partners is on the cusp of closing Canada’s largest private-sector venture capital fund to invest in innovative software companies – while innovating itself. Story (Sean Silcoff)
Compensation: Royal Bank of Canada CEO David McKay took heat Friday from shareholders for last year’s $13.4-million paycheque. Royal Bank shareholders are getting a bargain. Story (Andrew Willis, for subscribers)
Annual meeting: The chief executive of Canada’s largest bank says it’s time to confront a profound “societal question” about how large companies use and safeguard customers’ personal information. Story (James Bradshaw)
Cryptocurrencies: Ontario’s securities regulator has launched a probe of the cryptocurrency industry after receiving complaints that some firms may have violated securities laws, The Globe and Mail has learned. Story (Alexandra Posadzki, for subscribers)
Fined: Investment fund manager Mackenzie Financial Corp. has agreed to pay a $900,000 administrative penalty and $150,000 in investigation costs as regulators voice concerns surrounding their mutual-fund sales practices. Story (Clare O’Hara)
More bank AGMs: As strong consumer confidence and a suddenly favourable corporate tax regime fuel Canadian banks’ ambitious U.S. growth plans, those same conditions are beginning to sap business investment from Canada. Bank of Montreal and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce both reiterated their optimism over rising profits from U.S. operations on Thursday. Story (James Bradshaw)
Regulators: Canadian securities regulators have finished reviewing how large publicly traded companies disclose their climate change-related risks to investors and have found that the level of information provided varies widely. Story (Alexandra Posadzki)
People moves: National Bank Financial has named a new leader for its equity capital markets group, and also added a familiar face to the team in order to bolster client coverage. Story (Tim Kiladze, for subscribers)
IPOs: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has filed paperwork to list its Caribbean banking subsidiary on U.S. stock markets, signalling a desire to pull back from a region that has proven challenging for banks. Story (James Bradshaw)
Canadian venture capital: Few Canadian tech entrepreneurs can boast they have created $1-billion software companies based in their home country. Louis Têtu says he is well on his way to doing it for a second time. And he wants to keep control of this one north of the border. Story (Sean Silcoff, for subscribers)
Cannabis deals: Bankers jostled to raise about $2-billion in new capital for medical marijuana companies in the first three months of 2018, boosting the profile and fees of smaller investment banks in the latest quarterly deal rankings. Story (Alexandra Posadzki, Christina Pellegrini and Jacqueline Nelson, for subscribers)
Pension funds: Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is facing a gap in one of its key executive positions amid a broader shuffle in the leadership ranks of many of the country’s largest pension investors. Story (Jacqueline Nelson)
In decline: Lending firm Callidus Capital Corp. is shrinking fast. That’s a problem for founder Newton Glassman. Story (Andrew Willis, for subscribers)
Private equity: Callidus Capital Corp. shares tumbled 31 per cent to a new low after it reported a deep quarterly loss and said efforts to sell itself have yet to yield any tangible results after more than a year and a half. Story (Jeffrey Jones)
Property sector: Shareholders of U.S. mall owner GGP Inc. are upset with Brookfield Property Partners’ deal to buy their company, but they face an uphill battle if they hope to derail the acquisition. Story (Rachelle Younglai, for subscribers)
Energy sector: Imperial Oil Ltd. has put a natural-gas property in British Columbia on the block in the latest example of a major producer paring exposure to Canada. Story (Jeff Lewis)
Callidus loss: Callidus Capital Corp.’s net loss worsened in the fourth quarter of 2017 as it took a big hit on a loan to a troubled energy firm, the lending firm said late Monday. Story (Jeff Jones)
Packaging sector: Transcontinental Inc said it would buy the U.S. packaging business of Coveris Holdings S.A. for $1.70 billion as the Canadian publisher looks to join other top North American companies in the flexible packaging space. Story
WEEKEND FEATURE
The rise of HELOCs: Canadians deal with financial fallout Story
FRIDAY FINANCIAL SERVICES WRAP
Gender pay: Bank of Nova Scotia and Toronto-Dominion Bank have some of the widest gender pay disparities among Canadian lenders in their U.K. operations, according to regulatory disclosures. Story
FRIDAY DEAL WRAP
Takeover approvals: Hydro One Ltd. says it has received antitrust clearance in the United States for its deal to acquire U.S. energy company Avista Corp. Story
WHAT WE’RE READING ELSEWHERE
When Pershing Square Capital Management CEO Bill Ackman in 2014 launched one of the biggest publicly traded hedge funds in history, he envisioned a future in which it might be the only fund he ran, along the lines of Warren Buffett. Institutional Investor
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