Canadian Western Bank's (TSX:CWB) Executive Vice President (EVP) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Tracey Ball, today announced her intention to retire effective September 30, 2014. Tracey has 27 years of total service with CWB Group, including the past 17 as CFO.<br /><br />As part of its succession plan, CWB's Board of Directors has announced that Carolyn Graham, Senior Vice President and Chief Accountant, will be appointed EVP and CFO effective October 1, 2014.<br /><br />""I have had the fortunate opportunity and pleasure of working with Tracey for my entire 22 year tenure with CWB,"" said Chris Fowler, CWB's President and CEO. ""Throughout all of this time, she has brought to the table an exceptional level of integrity, knowledge and work ethic. Tracey embodies the definition of a true leader, a trait that was clearly apparent through the global financial crisis in 2008 as we continued to help our clients and profitably grow our organization. CWB has now posted 103 consecutive profitable quarters under Tracey's guidance, while, over the same timeframe, total assets have increased from roughly $250 million to more than $19 billion. Not only does she have an astute mind for business, she genuinely cares about our staff, clients and the communities where we operate, and has been a valued mentor for myself personally and many others across our organization.""<br /><br />""Working as part of the CWB team has provided benefit well beyond anything I could have dreamed, both professionally and personally,"" added Tracey Ball. ""Helping to develop people has been one of my primary mandates for the past several years, and I'm very pleased to say that it's our success in this regard that brings us to this point today. Chris is an exceptional leader and it is hard for me to imagine a better successor than Carolyn for my role in CWB.""<br /><br />""I am honoured to have this opportunity to help lead CWB through the next phase of our growth and development,"" said Carolyn Graham. ""I have directly benefited from Tracey's influence and wisdom since I started with CWB 14 years ago, and am excited for the challenge to help build on and support the incredible success of CWB well into the future.""<br /><br />Ms. Graham joined CWB in 2000 and has been Chief Accountant since 2010. As a long-serving member of the senior management team, Carolyn has played a key role in financial and regulatory matters, including capital management. She holds the FCA designation from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta and presently serves as a publicly appointed member of the Board and Chair of the Audit Committee for MacEwan University, Board Chair of Habitat for Humanity Edmonton, and as a Director of Financial Executives International Canada.<br /><br />""When it comes to solving business problems, Carolyn's number has had a prominent position on my personal speed dial for several years,"" added Chris Fowler. ""She is, without question, the right person for this job. I wish all decisions were as straightforward as the one to have Carolyn step into the EVP & CFO role, and look forward to working with her even more closely as a key member of our executive team.""<br /><br />About CWB Group<br /><br />Canadian Western Bank offers a full range of business and personal banking services across the four western provinces and is the largest publicly traded Canadian bank headquartered in Western Canada. CWB, along with its operating affiliates, National Leasing, Canadian Western Trust, Valiant Trust, Canadian Direct Insurance, Canadian Western Financial, Adroit Investment Management, and McLean & Partners Wealth Management, collectively offer a diversified range of financial services across Canada and are together known as the CWB Group. The common shares of Canadian Western Bank are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol ""CWB"". CWB's Series 3 and Series 5 preferred shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbols ""CWB.PR.A"" and ""CWB.PR.B"", respectively. Refer to www.cwb.com for additional information.<br /><br />Canadian Western Bank<br />Kirby Hill, CFA<br />Vice President, Strategy & Communications<br />(780) 441-3770<br />kirby.hill@cwbank.com<br />Canadian Western Bank<br />Chris Fowler<br />President and CEO<br />(780) 423-8888<br />www.cwb.com