Questrade Financial Group Inc. has secured final approval for a licence to launch a new Canadian bank as part of a bid to diversify beyond low-cost stock trading.

The company said Monday that it received approval for a licence from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) to launch banking operations under the name Questbank. Questrade is stepping into banking at a critical time when new players are entering the market and updated systems could boost competition in the sector.

“We think that there is a need to serve Canadians much better. There is room for a new kind of bank and a new kind of player in the bank space,” Questrade chief executive officer Edward Kholodenko said in an interview.

“We chose to get regulated and be inside the tent because it’s importan

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