The Ledger ResearchPrivate

The Front Office

Scouting report · VBNK

David R. Taylor

  • Founder & President (CEO until 2025-06-05); Chair & CEO of VersaHoldings US Corp., VBNK since 1993-01src

Founded VersaBank in 1993; President, and CEO of it until June 2025

—thin record

Not ranked yet

Scouting sheet

as of 24 Sep 2026
Delivers guidance—no promises on the record yet
Answers the question—no call reviewed yet
Capital allocation—company not reviewed yet
Pay design50roe, margin, individual · 11.97% of net income
Skin in the game—no holding or price on file
Age
73src
In the role
34 yr
Promises scored
0
Hit rate
—
Dodges / 100 answers
—
Airtime on calls
—
Every promise, oldest firstno scored promises yet

What to weigh

Watch 7

  • Borrows from the bank he runs: C$1.5m of unsecured share-purchase loans (C$1.3m fixed at 2.62%, repayable on demand; C$0.2m at 3.81%) plus C$3.6m of mortgages to a related party (listed under Avstar Inc. in 2025) at 2.51% and 4.94%, all outstanding at 2026-02-24src
  • Holds a convertible preferred share in subsidiary DRT Cyber that turns into 10% of its common shares on a change of control, a personal stake inside the groupsrc
  • Pay rose from C$3.11m (FY2024) to C$3.41m (FY2025) while net income fell from C$39.7m to C$28.5msrc
  • Filings disagree on his pay. The circular gives a FY2025 annual incentive of C$1,047,041 and a stated total C$45,000 below the sum of its columns. The S-4 gives a US$570,000 incentive for the same year, and US$555,855 of FY2024 share awards where the circular shows nilsrc
  • Handed the CEO title to a director on a C$6,000/month stipend in June 2025 but kept control: as President he still allocates the executive bonus pool and sets other executives' pay, and the prospectus makes him Chairman, President and CEO of the new parentsrc
  • Termination without cause or a change of control pays 24 months of total compensation, estimated at C$5.2m at 2025-10-31, plus a retirement allowance (C$1.0m in the circular, US$722,000 in the 2025 agreement)src
  • Reorganization slipped: announced May 2025 with most of the ~C$8m cost expected in FY2025. Shareholders approved it in September 2026, but Canada's Minister of Finance and the Federal Reserve still had to approve itsrc

In their favour 1

  • Holds 4.21% and receives his long-term award as reimbursed open-market share purchases he must keep for five years (36,000 shares for FY2025); hedging is bannedsrc

Career

  1. 2025-06 – now
    VersaBanksrc
    Founder & President; also Chair & CEO of VersaHoldings US Corp. and director of VersaBank USA
    Relinquished the VersaBank CEO title on 2025-06-05 to 'facilitate' the US reorganization (PR-2025-05-29); new employment agreement with VersaHoldings US Corp. signed 2025-06-16
  2. 1993-01 – 2025-06
    VersaBank (Pacific & Western Trust, later Pacific & Western Bank of Canada)src
    Founder, President & CEO; director from 1993-01-18
    Took control of Pacific & Western Trust with other investors in 1993 and built the branchless model on it
  3. 2019-09 – now
    DRT Cyber Inc. (VersaBank subsidiary)src
    Director; CEO since 2021-04-30 (President, Secretary & Treasurer 2019-2023)
    Also sole director and CEO of Digital Boundary Group since 2020-2021, and sole director and President of VersaJet Inc. since 2016-09-07
  4. 1985 – 1993
    Barclayssrc
    Vice President
  5. 1977 – 1985
    Bank of Montrealsrc
    Senior Account Manager

Not located: The 1977-1993 bank career comes only from a search summary of his LinkedIn profile; no filing read describes his career before VersaBank

Achievements

  • Founded the bank in 1993 by taking control of Pacific & Western Trust, and ran it as CEO for 32 yearssrc
  • Took the bank into the US: acquired VersaBank USA (formerly Stearns Bank Holdingford N.A.) in August 2024 and ran the US receivable purchase program through itsrc
  • Leads the move to a Delaware holding company, Versa Bancorp; shareholders approved it with 99.69% of votes cast on 2026-09-16src
  • Largest insider: 1,358,360 shares, 4.21% of VersaBank at 2026-04-30src
  • Re-elected director with 99.59% of votes for at the April 2026 meetingsrc

Education

  • Lakehead University, Honours BSc Biology (1977)src
  • University of Saskatchewan, MBA Finance (1983)src
  • Institute of Canadian Bankers, Fellow (F.I.C.B.)src

Background

  • Family The reorganization prospectus states there are no family relationships between any of Versa Bancorp's executive officers or directors. The Canadian circulars and AIF make no family-relationship statementsrc
  • Founder Founder: took control of Pacific & Western Trust with other investors in 1993. A 31.75% holder (Patrick George, mostly via GBH) is larger than himsrc
  • Other All or part of his pay may be paid to his personal holding company, Avstar Inc.src
  • Personal A licensed pilot: his employment agreement covers keeping up his pilot's licence and has him repay VersaBank for each hour he flies a designated aircraft for personal use; FY2025 pay included an airplane and vehicle allowancesrc
  • Boards Director of VersaBank USA since 2024-08-30 and of DRT Cyber since 2019; sole director of Digital Boundary Group and VersaJet Inc.src

The promise ledger

No promise on the record yet: the research routine has not scored this company's guidance.

Sources

10
  1. Filing Versa Bancorp prospectus / VersaBank management information circular for the reorganization, 424B3 (acc 0001104659-26-090374); management table as of 2026-07-24 · 2026-08-04
  2. Filing VersaBank management proxy circular for the 2026-04-08 annual and special meeting, dated 2026-03-09 (Ex-99.3 to 6-K, acc 0001690639-26-000019) · 2026-03-09
  3. Filing VersaBank management proxy circular for the 2025-04-24 annual meeting, dated 2025-02-28 (6-K, acc 0001690639-25-000012) · 2025-02-28
  4. Filing VersaBank Annual Information Form FY ended 2025-10-31 (Ex-99.1 to 40-F, acc 0001437749-25-037310) · 2025-12-10
  5. Filing VersaBank press release: intention to realign to a standard US bank framework; Taylor to relinquish the CEO title, McGovern interim CEO (Ex-99.1 to 6-K, acc 0001690639-25-000024) · 2025-05-29
  6. Filing VersaBank report of voting results, 2026-04-08 annual and special meeting (Ex-99.1 to 6-K, acc 0001690639-26-000017) · 2026-04-09
  7. Filing VersaBank report of voting results, 2026-09-16 special meeting on the reorganization (Ex-99.1 to 6-K, acc 0001690639-26-000056) · 2026-09-16
  8. Filing VersaBank press release: shareholders approve proposed reorganization (Ex-99.1 to 6-K, acc 0001062993-26-005004) · 2026-09-17
  9. Filing SEC XBRL companyconcept ifrs-full/ProfitLoss, CIK 1690639 (FY2025 40-F, acc 0001437749-25-037310) · 2025-12-10
  10. Web search result WebSearch: David Taylor, Founder and President, VersaBank, LinkedIn profile as summarised by the search tool (Bank of Montreal 1977-1985, Barclays 1985-1993, degree years) · 2026-09-24