Headquarters:
P.O. Box 1160 STN TD, Toronto, ON M5K 1P2
Year founded:
1990
Number of employees:
270
Phone:
1 855 272 0051
Email:
support@ginkgomic.com
Website:
haventreebank.com
LinkedIn:
ca.linkedin.com/company/haventree-bank
“Life consists of both good times and bad, and through our approach, we aim to put ourselves in the shoes of our clients seeking a solution”
Fern Glowinsky,
Haventree Bank
Fern Glowinsky
President and Chief Executive Officer
John Bourassa
Chief Operating Officer
Susan Thomas
Vice President, Sales
Leadership
Fern Glowinsky is president and CEO of Haventree Bank, a private Canadian Schedule 1 bank specializing in alternative mortgage solutions and GIC deposits. She joined Haventree Bank as president and CEO in February 2023, after nearly two years on the board. With over 20 years of leadership experience in financial services and fintech, she has a proven track record of driving growth, leading digital transformation, and building strong partnerships. Prior to Haventree Bank, Glowinsky was president and CEO of Merrco Payments and held senior roles at Moneris and in the non-prime lending sector. She holds an MBA/JD from Schulich and Osgoode.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Fern Glowinsky
John Bourassa is the COO at Haventree Bank, where he oversees mortgage originations, mortgage servicing, and sales and marketing. With more than 30 years of experience in the Canadian residential mortgage industry, he played a key role in the growth of CIBC/FirstLine, launching operations in Quebec and leading business development in British Columbia. He was also a founding executive at Mortgage Intelligence and spent over a decade as a mortgage broker. Before joining Haventree Bank in 2016, Bourassa co-owned a successful Ottawa mortgage brokerage. He recently completed the Advanced Management Program at Kellogg School, Northwestern University.
Chief Operating Officer
John Bourassa
Susan Thomas is vice president of sales at Haventree Bank, where she leads a dynamic team focused on serving the mortgage broker channel. With over 35 years of experience in the financial industry, she brings deep expertise gained from roles in retail banking, branch management, investments, and financial planning. She later transitioned to the broker side, where, as executive vice president, she introduced innovative segmentation strategies. Throughout her career, Thomas has shown a strong commitment to professional development, industry advocacy, and community engagement, making her a respected leader both within Haventree Bank and the broader financial community.
Vice President, Sales
Susan Thomas
Leadership
Leadership
Greg Schultz
Vice President, Mortgage Lending
Greg Schultz is the Vice President of Mortgage Lending at Haventree Bank, where he leads strategic initiatives in alternative mortgage lending. With over two decades of experience in the Canadian financial services industry, his career spans leadership roles at Paradigm Quest, Home Trust Company, Desjardins, and HSBC. His expertise includes credit risk management, quality assurance, centralized lending operations, and mortgage broker channel development. Known for driving performance and innovation across prime and alternative lending portfolios, Greg has consistently delivered results through operational excellence and team leadership.
Vice President, Mortgage Lending
Greg Schultz
Dalena Truong
Business Development Manager
Dalena Truong brings a solid foundation in underwriting and credit to the alternative lending space, making her a trusted advisor. As a business development associate, she leverages strong analytical skills and a deep understanding of the mortgage landscape to identify growth opportunities. Her background in hospitality has equipped her with exceptional interpersonal skills, enabling her to build and maintain strong relationships with mortgage agent partners. Truong’s passion for creating meaningful connections and her dedication to excellence make her an invaluable asset in any business endeavour she undertakes.
Business Development Manager
Dalena Truong
Haventree Bank earned the top spot in CMP’s Brokers on Lenders 2025 by building trust and delivering consistent results through a people-first model. Brokers value their reliability and focus on real client needs.
The privately owned Schedule 1 bank began in Ontario and serves borrowers nationally across every province in Canada. Its core approach, known as empathetic lending, puts client context at the centre of every mortgage decision. It focuses on Canadians who don’t always meet the traditional lender profile yet deserve access to financing and stability.
And the team takes the time to get to know each borrower and the broker. “For our lending clients, it means understanding the full story and working with them to help them grow no matter the season of life they are in,” president and CEO Fern Glowinsky explains. “Life consists of both good times and bad, and through our approach, we aim to put ourselves in the shoes of our clients seeking a solution.”
When designing new products, Haventree Bank carefully considers broker insights. When falling interest rates left many clients unsure whether to wait or commit, Haventree Bank worked with its Broker Advisory Council to launch a convertible mortgage that gave borrowers more flexibility.
Brokers play a central role in the business, and the Broker Advisory Council continues to shape product development based on what’s happening in real time. “We have been tireless in our ambition to learn from the mortgage brokerage community,” says Glowinsky.
Mitch Grant
Director, Operational Excellence
Perry Thomas
Non-Executive Director and Chair of Risk and Capital Committee
Shirel Stedman
Non-Executive Director
Simon Williams
Chief Strategy & Distribution Officer, Arch Insurance International
and Active Underwriter, Syndicate 1955
Mitch leads the Operational Excellence function that brings together the firm’s experts in knowledge, legal operations and research services. This team is responsible for shaping the way Maddocks lawyers work, ensuring the delivery of exceptional client experiences.
Director, Operational Excellence
Mitch Grant
Perry Thomas is a non-executive director and chair of Risk and Capital Committee. He’s an actuary with over 30 years of experience in financial services in roles including CEO, CRO and group chief actuary. He’s held directorships in the UK, Bermuda, Ireland, India, South Africa, Malta and Luxembourg, and has been on the Council of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. Thomas is dyslexic, which he believes can bring a different perspective.
Non-Executive Director and Chair of Risk and Capital Committee
Perry Thomas
Shirel Stedman is a non-executive director. She is also a fellow chartered member of the Institution of Civil Engineers (FICE) and the Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM). Stedman brings over 30 years of experience as a civil engineer who has spent most of her career working on flood resilience, climate change and water issues across the public and private sectors.
Non-Executive Director
Shirel Stedman
Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
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Medals
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BDM support
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Interest rates
IT/technology
Overall service levels
Product range
Satisfaction with credit policy
Transparency of commision structure
Medal
Overall service level
Broker communication, training and development
BDM support
Turnaround time – claims
Broker's Pick – Personal Accident and Illness Insurance
Brokers’ Pick – Professional liability
Small business
“Our ambition is to continue to shorten the loan journey and help lower anxiety from such an important transaction for Canadian homeowners”
Fern Glowinsky,
Haventree Bank
Brokers also benefit from competitive compensation. Haventree Bank’s model includes finders’ fees, loyalty programs, and promotional bonuses that reward performance and encourage long-term partnerships.
The award-winning lender is currently investing in and transforming its technology stack to enable more products and clear common snags from the lending process. These changes include platform updates, streamlined flows, AI-supported adjudication, and expanded training for frontline teams. The people-first philosophy also applies internally.
“We are a purpose-driven organization, committed to fostering a workplace where you can come to work each day as your authentic self and know that you are helping other hardworking Canadians and making a difference through the work you do,” Glowinsky adds.
Haventree Bank has built its reputation by staying consistent. It puts empathy into action and follows through at every stage of the lending process.
Haventree Bank’s leadership team pushes decisions forward by empowering employees to lead from within. It enables all team members to engage as leaders themselves, especially in initiatives related to improving its clients’ experiences. Employees come from lending, banking, fintech, and other service industries, which allows the bank to apply broad insights to mortgage strategy.
Six core values guide internal culture:
empathy
innovation
accountability
recognition
unity
agility
These values shape client interactions and internal collaboration.
The team focuses on turnaround time as a way to reduce borrower stress. “We are very proud of our success in responding as quickly as we do today,” she notes. “But we won’t stop there. Our ambition is to continue to shorten the loan journey and help lower anxiety from such an important transaction for Canadian homeowners.”
The bank also invests heavily in broker communications. Business development managers make direct calls. Real-time chat and SMS updates streamline the process. Every channel is chosen based on broker feedback and regularly refined to improve usability.
Brokers also benefit from competitive compensation. Haventree Bank’s model includes finders’ fees, loyalty programs, and promotional bonuses that reward performance and encourage long-term partnerships.
more than $1 million in funds
over $2.3 million in combined monetary and in-kind donations through an annual World Food Derby initiative
2,320 volunteer hours to numerous deserving organizations, making a significant community impact
Turnaround time
Underwriter support
Overall
Brokers also benefit from competitive compensation. Haventree Bank’s model includes finders’ fees, loyalty programs, and promotional bonuses that reward performance and encourage long-term partnerships.
The award-winning lender is currently investing in and transforming its technology stack to enable more products and clear common snags from the lending process. These changes include platform updates, streamlined flows, AI-supported adjudication, and expanded training for frontline teams. The people-first philosophy also applies internally.
“We are a purpose-driven organization, committed to fostering a workplace where you can come to work each day as your authentic self and know that you are helping other hardworking Canadians and making a difference through the work you do,” Glowinsky adds.
Haventree Bank has built its reputation by staying consistent. It puts empathy into action and follows through at every stage of the lending process.