LONDON, ON, Dec. 1, 2020 /CNW/ - VersaBank ("VersaBank" or the "Bank") (TSX: VB) today announced that its wholly owned, Washington, DC-based subsidiary, DRT Cyber Inc. ("DRT Cyber"), has completed its previously announced acquisition of all of the outstanding shares of privately-owned Digital Boundary Group ("DBG"), one of North America's premier information technology (IT) security assurance services firms.  The acquisition will be immediately accretive to VersaBank's earnings.

"I am pleased to welcome the exceptional team at DBG, led by principals John Millar, Joel Shapiro and Paul Weatherhead, to the VersaBank family," said David Taylor, President of both VersaBank and DRT Cyber.  "Over the past 20 years, they have built DBG into North America's premier IT security assurances firm, and we look forward to their continued leadership of DBG as they pursue its significant growth opportunities, and collaboration on new opportunities as DRT Cyber continues to execute its strategy to provide a comprehensive suite of innovative cyber security solutions that address high-demand, underserved segments of this rapidly growing market."

"We are thrilled to join forces with DRT Cyber," said John Millar, President, DBG.  "The acquisition of DBG presents an outstanding opportunity to take our business to the next level of success, leveraging the highly respected DBG brand, while continuing to enhance our leading security testing and training services through ongoing research and development to continue to lead our industry. As a division of DRT Cyber, we see considerable opportunity in combining our capabilities, solutions and reputation to not only further strengthen our Business Development Partner Network and propel the growth and expansion of our existing business, but also to broaden our capabilities to even better serve our customers."

About Digital Boundary Group

With offices in London, Ontario and Dallas, Texas, DBG provides corporate and government clients with a suite of IT security assurance services, that range from external network, web and mobile app penetration testing through to physical social engineering engagements along with supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system assessments, as well as various aspects of training. DBG's clients range from a number of Canada's retailers and financial service providers, to Canadian and U.S. police service and public safety organizations, professional service firms, healthcare providers and SCADA system reliant energy, public utilities and infrastructure firms.
For more information, visit: www.digitalboundary.net.

About DRT Cyber Inc.

DRT Cyber Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of VersaBank, was formed to identify significant large-market opportunities in cyber security and develop innovative solutions to address the rapidly growing volume of cyber threats challenging financial institutions, multi-national corporations and government entities on a daily basis. DRT Cyber operates from Washington D.C. and services clients globally. DRT Cyber's first offering, VersaVault®, is the world's first digital bank vault built for clients holding blockchain-based assets, providing impenetrable world class security, privacy of secured keys and client-centric access flexibility. DRT Cyber is led by a seasoned team of business, technology and cyber security experts, including the Honorable Tom Ridge (Chairman) the First US Secretary of Homeland Security, Gurpreet Sahota (Chief Operating Officer), Former Principal Cyber Security Architect at Blackberry, and Avery Pennarun (Director) and Former Senior Software Engineer at X Inc., Google Fiber, and Google Inc. For more information, visit: www.drtcyber.com

Forward-Looking Statements 

The statements in this press release that relate to the future are forward-looking statements. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, many of which are out of our control. Risks exist that predictions, forecasts, projections, and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as several important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the plans, objectives, expectations, estimates and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the strength of the Canadian economy in general and the strength of the local economies within Canada in which we conduct operations; the effects of changes in monetary and fiscal policy, including changes in interest rate policies of the Bank of Canada; changing global commodity prices; the effects of competition in the markets in which we operate; inflation; capital market fluctuations; the timely development and introduction of new products in receptive markets; the impact of changes in the laws and regulations pertaining to financial services; changes in tax laws; technological changes; unexpected judicial or regulatory proceedings; unexpected changes in consumer spending and savings habits; the impact of COVID-19 pandemic and our anticipation of and success in managing the risks implicated by the foregoing. For a detailed discussion of certain key factors that may affect our future results, please see our annual management's discussion and analysis ("MD&A") for the year ended October 31, 2020.

The foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive. When relying on forward-looking statements to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. The forward-looking information contained in this document and the related MD&A is presented to assist our shareholders in understanding our financial position and may not be appropriate for any other purposes. Except as required by securities law, we do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that is contained in this document and related MD&A or made from time to time by the Bank or on its behalf.

About VersaBank

VersaBank is a Canadian Schedule I chartered bank with a difference. VersaBank became the world's first fully digital financial institution when it adopted its highly efficient business-to-business model using its proprietary state-of-the art financial technology to profitably address underserved segments of the Canadian banking market in the pursuit of superior net interest margins while mitigating risk. VersaBank obtains all of its deposits and provides the majority of its loans and leases electronically, with innovative deposit and lending solutions for financial intermediaries that allow them to excel in their core businesses. In addition, leveraging its internally developed IT security software and capabilities, VersaBank established wholly owned, Washington, DC-based subsidiary, DRT Cyber Inc. to pursue significant large-market opportunities in cyber security and develop innovative solutions to address the rapidly growing volume of cyber threats challenging financial institutions, multi-national corporations and government entities on a daily basis.

VersaBank's Common Shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol VB and its Series 1 Preferred Shares and Series 3 Preferred Shares trade under the symbols VB.PR.A and VB.PR.B respectively.

SOURCE VersaBank

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