Articles by Doug Alexander

Manulife Financial’s CEO Apologizes to Employees for Executives’ Spoof Rap Video

Manulife Financial Corp. Chief Executive Officer Roy Gori apologized to employees for a spoof rap video that was part of the executive team’s year-end message. The internal video, the third in an annual series featuring different music genres, was retracted …

Genworth to Sell Stake in Canada Mortgage Unit to Push China Deal

Genworth Financial Inc. agreed to sell its Canadian unit to Brookfield Business Partners LP for C$2.4 billion ($1.8 billion) as it works to win regulatory approval for its acquisition by China Oceanwide Holdings Group Co. Brookfield Business Partners LP will …

Investigation Uncovers Mystery of Quadriga’s Missing Cryptocurrencies Worth Millions

It’s looking more and more like QuadrigaCX founder Gerald Cotten mismanaged the digital-asset exchange before he died, with cryptocurrencies from clients ending up at rival marketplaces in his personal accounts. The latest report from Ernst & Young, which is overseeing …

Canada’s Desjardins Blames Employee for Leak of Personal Details of 2.9M Customers

Desjardins Group, the largest financial co-operative in North America, said an “ill-intentioned” employee illegally exposed the personal information of some 2.9 million credit union members in one of Canada’s largest data leaks. Laval police alerted the Quebec-based institution on June …

Canadian Banks, Insurers Tap Blockchain Technology to Verify Client Identities

Canada is making a big leap in modernizing identity verification, tapping blockchain technology to let consumers digitally prove who they are to securely access banking and other personal services. SecureKey Technologies Inc.’s Verified.Me digital identity system is now available for …

Mystery of Quadriga’s Missing Cryptocurrencies Deepens as `Cold Wallets’ Found Empty

When Quadriga Fintech Solutions Corp. founder Gerald Cotten died, account holders feared the encrypted access keys needed to recover C$190 million ($143 million) of cryptocurrencies held by the exchange in offline storage could be lost forever. It looks now like …

Crypto Exchange Founder Dies, Along with Sole Password to Access $200M

Digital-asset exchange Quadriga CX has a $200 million problem with no obvious solution — just the latest cautionary tale in the unregulated world of cryptocurrencies. The online startup can’t retrieve about C$190 million ($145 million) in Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ether and …

Healthier Workplaces Help to Reduce Group Insurance Costs: Canada’s Manulife

When Canadians hit the gym, they’re not the only ones who benefit. Their insurers stand to gain as well. “If we can have a healthier workplace it is going to decrease disability costs, it’s going to decrease general health costs …

Canada’s Intact Financial Not Planning to Insure Recreational Cannabis Industry

Don’t expect Intact Financial Corp., Canada’s largest property and casualty insurer, to insure the recreational-cannabis industry anytime soon. “It’s not seen as the pot of gold that we should chase after,” Chief Financial Officer Louis Marcotte said Tuesday at the …

Canada’s Desjardins Aims to Buy P/C Insurers: CEO Cormier

Desjardins Group is looking to acquire insurers, wealth managers and payments firms to expand further outside Quebec and challenge the dominance of Canada’s big financial services firms, Chief Executive Officer Guy Cormier said. Cormier, who oversees North America’s largest financial …