‘It was a terrifying period’: Author details Scotiabank CEO’s career in financial crisis

Howard Green, author of Gimme a Crisis, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss his book which dives into the story of Scotiabank CEO Rick Waugh.

After world economies collapsed during financial turmoil, Scotiabank CEO Rick Waugh’s valiant efforts to keep his company afloat were praised, and now his accounts are penned in a new book.

Waugh managed the bank during the 2008 global financial crisis maintaining interbank lending in Canada. He helped Canadian banks remain stable and profitable during financial meltdown. He worked closely with Bank of Canada governor – and now Prime Minister – Mark Carney to ensure banks continued lending to each other.

“That solved a huge problem during the financial crisis, because Canadian banks were still operating,” author Howard Green told BNN Bloomberg in a Tuesday interview.

‘They were still profitable through the crisis. It was very, very difficult. It was hour by hour. It was day by day, but they came through as the soundest banks in in the world.”

Waugh’s time and leadership was detailed in Gimme a Crisis: In the Room with Global Banker Rick Waugh by Green released Tuesday.

“The title, ‘gimme me a crisis’ came right out of his mouth,” said Green.

Green sketched an up-close picture of Waugh to understand what it is like to run a global bank during financial chaos and lead more than 80,000 employees in more than 50 countries at the same time.

Waugh was described as motivated by problem-solving, seen as someone who wants to be “in the room” and respected for his hands-on management style.

His humble beginnings shaped his leadership approach as his father was a firefighter. He learned to handle crises, was comfortable at solving complex problems directly and believed in collaborative, transparent communication.

“He was a teller,” said Green.

“He came from modest means. His dad was a firefighter in Winnipeg, and Rick seems to have inherited the ability to handle crisis.”

Waugh also led the bank during the Argentina crisis of 2001 to 2002 when Scotiabank pulled a subsidiary, Scotiabank Quilmes out of the country during extreme economic instability. The bank took a $540 million loss as a result, according to United Nations Trade and Development Investment Hub.

“The country was breaking down,” said Green. “There were five presidents in 13 days. They lost the bank. Money was running out of the country… you never knew what your money was going to be worth.

“It was absolute chaos. One of the bank employees was mugged and grabbed around the throat. The head of the bank there was detained without counsel and couldn’t leave the country... it was a terrifying period. Rick went all through that handled it with great calm,” said Green.

The situation led to the suspension of Quilmes by the Argentine central bank after liquidity problems. Scotiabank, as the parent company, refused to inject further capital. The South American government converted U.S. dollar deposits into pesos at different exchange rates, which Scotiabank deemed illegal. The bank alleged the country denied its subsidiary the same level of financial assistance as domestic banks.

Cultural change

Waugh was also instrumental in advancing women’s roles in banks during a time of gender discrimination. He helped create opportunities for women to progress in the bank industry and transformed the bank’s culture to be more inclusive of women in leadership roles.

“When Rick started at the bank in 1970 and through probably the first 20 years of his career, women were not allowed on the executive floor of the bank,” said Green. “Women were not permitted to be part of the pension fund of major Canadian banks until the 1960s. Until 1964, if you were a woman, you couldn’t get your own bank account without your husband’s signature.”