The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday, March 5, edition that Laurentian Bank of Canada is shrinking. The Globe's Andrew Willis writes that the bank's most recent financial results, released last week, showed profits are falling. Its loan book is smaller than it was a year ago and customer deposits are dropping. The only things going up are Laurentian's costs. The bank's expenses rose more than analysts had forecast, as it invested in technology in the aftermath of a system outage last fall. When a bank's loan portfolio shrinks, it needs fewer deposits to balance the books. In recent months, Laurentian intentionally conceded market share in sectors such as term deposits, where customers flock to the institutions offering the highest interest rates. Prudence, however, is not playing well with investors. After a failed attempt to sell the bank last summer, Laurentian's stock market valuation is far below that of its rivals and its own historic standard. The bank's shares are trading at less than half their book value. Historically, Laurentian's stock has traded at 90 per cent of its book value. If Laurentian cannot turn itself around, then it might be forced to consider takeover offers at less than its book value.