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Private company

Bank West

Logo: Zag Bank, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

Canadian Bank based in High River1

Zag Bank was a Canadian direct bank owned by Desjardins Group. Zag was founded as Bank West in High River, Alberta in 2002 and acquired by Desjardins in 2011 along with the other Western Financial Group companies. Desjardins announced on 5 November 2018 the winding down of operations for Zag Bank effective 2019.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

2002Founded1
  • Industrybank1
  • HeadquartersHigh River1

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Zag Bank was a Canadian direct bank owned by Desjardins Group. Zag was founded as Bank West in High River, Alberta in 2002 and acquired by Desjardins in 2011 along with the other Western Financial Group companies. Desjardins announced on 5 November 2018 the winding down of operations for Zag Bank effective 2019.2

Corporate structure

Bank West is part of a group headed by Desjardins Group. 8 entities, 1 country on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

  • Desjardins Group Lévis
    • Bank West High River
    • Desjardins General Insurance Subsidiary · Levis, Quebec, Canada
      • CERTAS DIRECT INSURANCE COMPANY Subsidiary · Levis, Quebec, Canada
      • CERTAS HOME AND AUTO INSURANCE COMPANY Subsidiary · Levis, Quebec, Canada
      • DESJARDINS GENERAL INSURANCE INC. Subsidiary · Levis, Quebec, Canada
      • THE PERSONAL GENERAL INSURANCE INC. Subsidiary · Levis, Quebec, Canada
    • Desjardins Capital Inc Subsidiary

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

The Western Financial Group initially focused on insurance consolidation, but expanded into banking in 2002, when Bank West was established. The bank maintained offices in High River and Winnipeg.

The bank acquired Ubiquity Bank in November 2007 and Agrifinancial in February 2009.

In 2010, Western Financial was acquired by the Desjardins Group and the transaction was completed in 2011.

In 2014, the Desjardins Group changed the name of Bank West to Zag Bank.

On 5 November 2018, Zag Bank announced the end of all remaining operations by the second quarter of 2019.

From Wikipedia’s article on Zag Bank, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 2002Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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