An executive-suite shuffle at the brokerage arm of National Bank has created a new entity, National Bank Financial Group, which will take on the bank’s treasury and financial markets functions.

The bank said the aim of the move was “to gain synergies between the bank’s treasury’s derivatives operations and NBF’s corporate and institutional operations.”

Louis Vachon, currently senior vice-president of treasury and financial markets and member of the executive committee, has been named chairman of the new group. He will also become chairman of Natcan Investment Management, and will remain senior vice-president and a member of the bank’s executive committee. Vachon succeeds Jean Turmel, president of financial markets, treasury and investment bank, who is retiring. The board of directors made these decisions on Sept. 30.

As part of the creation of National Bank Financial Group, Kym Anthony, currently president and chief executive officer of National Bank Financial and member of the executive committee of National Bank, will become president and CEO of National Bank Financial Group. He will report to Vachon, and will also be nominated senior vice-president of the bank and continue as a member of the bank’s executive committee.

Turmel, who has been with the bank since 1981, will be retiring in January 2005 but will stay on to help with the integration of Anthony and Vachon in their new roles. After retiring, he will continue to be associated with the bank as a member of the pension fund committee, a bank representative on the board of directors of Maple Partners, and an external manager.

Vachon has been with the bank since 1996. He has held a number of senior management positions, including vice-president of capital markets at Levesque Beaubien, president and CEO of BT Bank Canada, president and CEO of Innocap and senior vice-president of treasury and financial markets at National Bank. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Montreal Exchange, the Boston Option Exchange, National Bank Discount Brokerage and the Canadian Investor Protection Fund.

Anthony has headed derivatives, fixed income, treasury and risk management operations at CIBC World Markets. He was then appointed chairman and CEO of TD Securities and vice-chair of TD Bank. Before joining National Bank as president and CEO of National Bank Financial, he was president and chief operating officer at First Marathon. Anthony has been a member of the bank’s executive committee since September, 2002, and currently serves on a number of other boards, including the Canadian Opera Company.