National Bank of Canada is not interested in a partnership with smaller competitor Laurentian Bank, which is courting a larger bank as a partner, according to news reports.

“If we had been interested in doing a deal with Laurentian Bank, that would have happened a long time ago,” Real Raymond, CEO of the Montreal-based bank, said Wednesday after National Bank’s annual meeting.

Laurentian Bank, also based in Montreal, recently issued an offer to merge its Quebec bank branches with those of one of the big banks, while remaining an autonomous bank. Raymond said that if Laurentian and National were to merge, Laurentian would lose its head office in a consolidation.

Raymond said National Bank, even without acquisitions, can continue to grow its revenues and profits, despite its concentration in Quebec and its mature markets. He said the bank also intends to start offering home insurance this year. It began writing auto insurance policies five years ago. Since banks are not allowed to sell insurance policies in their branches, National solicits customers by advertising and telephone followups.

National Bank shares were up $1.27 at $54.82 as of about 2 p.m. ET., surpassing a record achieved Tuesday.