March 31, 2020

A day after reports surfaced London nurses have refused to work due to a shortage of masks, VersaBank (formerly Pacific and Western Bank) leveraged its connections in the financial world to buy N95 masks from a Chinese supplier.

Bank chief executive David Taylor handed them off Tuesday to “medical professionals” in London. They will make their way to hospitals, he said.

“We know there is a huge demand for these supplies, and the normal channels were stressed,” said Taylor. “We want to deliver these quickly to health-care professionals that need them. We put out the word we wanted masks in a hurry.”