Ferreira, who has been at Montreal-based National Bank since 1998, is currently chief operating officer, a role he only took on in February, when he also joined the Board of Directors.
Prior to that, he had been co-head of financial markets since August 2018.
"Over the course of his career, Laurent has demonstrated a decisive and unifying leadership approach, always quick to identify and seize growth opportunities," Vachon said in a statement.
Vachon also served a short stint as National Bank's COO just before he became CEO in June 2007. The bank has delivered an annual shareholder return of 13% from the time Vachon took over the helm to July 31, according to a company statement.
National Bank shares have tripled in value during Vachon's tenure, versus a 45.5% gain in the Toronto stocks benchmark
(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Chizu Nomiyama)
By Nichola Saminather and Niket Nishant