Banking in Canada is one of the most efficient and safest banking systems in the world.^[1] According to the Department of Finance, Canada?s banks, also called chartered banks, have over 8,000 branches and almost 18,000 automated banking machines (ABMs) across the country.^[2] In addition, "Canada has the highest number of ABMs per capita in the world and benefits from the highest penetration levels of electronic channels such as debit cards, Internet banking and telephone banking".

History

Origins

View of a ScotiaBank facade in Amherst, Nova Scotia. This structure was erected in 1907.

Despite various loss events (such as the Latin American debt crisis, the collapse of Olympia and York, and Enron-related liabilities), the big five banks have proven to be safe and stable companies. For example, in securities prospectuses the Royal Bank of Canada says it has paid a common share dividend in every year since 1870, the year after it received its banking charter.

According to the Department of Finance, two small regional banks failed in the mid-1980s, the only such failures since 1923, which is the year Home Bank failed. There were no bank failures during the Great Depression.

Recent History

In the 1980's and 1990's, the largest banks acquired almost all significant trust and brokerage companies in Canada. They also started their own mutual fund and insurance businesses. As a result, Canadian banks broadened out to become supermarkets of financial services.

After large bank mergers were ruled out by the federal government, some Canadian banks turned to international expansion, particularly in various U.S. markets such as banking and brokerage.

Two other notable developments in Canadian banking were the launch of ING Bank of Canada (which relies mostly on a branchless banking model), and the slow emergence of non-bank mortgage origination companies.

Canadian Banks

First Canadian Place

The five largest banks in Canada are the Royal Bank of Canada, the Toronto Dominion Bank, the Bank of Montreal, the Bank of Nova Scotia, and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. Notable second tier banks include the National Bank of Canada, the Mouvement Desjardins (technically not a bank but an alliance of credit unions), HSBC Bank Canada, and ING Bank of Canada. These second tier organizations are largely Canadian domestic banking organizations. Insurance companies in Canada have also created deposit-taking bank subsidiaries. For a complete list of institutions see: List of banks in Canada

The "Big Five" Banks

Unlike the smaller Canadian banks, the Big Five are not just Canadian banks, but are instead better described as international financial conglomerates, each with a large Canadian banking division. In fiscal 2007, RBC's Canadian segment called "Personal Financial Services" (the segment most related to what was traditionally thought of as retail banking) had revenue of only CAD$5,082 million (or 22.6%) of a total revenue of CAD$22,462 million.http://www.rbc.com/investorrelations/pdf/ar_2007_e.pdf Canadian retail operations of the Big Five comprise other activities that do not need to be operated from a regulated bank. These other activities include mutual funds, insurance, credit cards, and brokerage activities. In addition, they have large international subsidiaries. The Canadian banking operations of the Big Five are largely conducted out of each parent company, unlike U.S. banks that use a holding company structure to hold their primary retail banking subsidiaries.

Brands used by the big five by major financial service*

*Marketing brands are shown rather than division names. For example, for internal and investor relation purposes, CIBC uses CIBC Retail Markets as a division name, but this does not normally appear in advertisements and does not feature prominently on account statements. Brand names are sometimes used across legal entities within a financial group. Intermediate umbrella brands (such as RBC Investments that includes the brands RBC Funds, RBC Action Direct, and RBC Dominion Securities) are not shown.

Regulation

According to the World Economic Forum?s 2007-2008 Global Competitiveness Report, Canada is ranked second (behind Switzerland) in terms of "soundness of banks".^[1]

Canada's federal government has sole jurisdiction for banks according to the Canadian Constitution, specifically Section 91(15) of The Constitution Act, 1867 (30 & 31 Victoria, c.3 (UK)), formerly known as the British North America Act, 1867. Meanwhile, credit unions/caisses populaires, securities dealers and mutual funds are largely regulated by provincial governments.

The main federal statute for the incorporation and regulation of banks, or chartered banks, is the Bank Act (S.C. 1991, c.46), where Schedules I, II and III of this Act list all banks permitted to operate in Canada under these three distinct categories:

• Schedule I: Banks allowed to accept deposits and which are NOT subsidiaries of a foreign bank. Examples include "The Big Five" banks (as mentioned above) and smaller second tier banks such as National Bank of Canada, Laurentian Bank of Canada and Canadian Western Bank. Because the Schedule I banks are not subsidiaries of any foreign bank, they are the true domestic banks and are the only banks allowed to receive, hold and enforce a special security interest described and provided for under the Bank Act and known to Canadian lawyers and bankers as the "Bank Act security".

• Schedule II: Banks allowed to accept deposits and which are subsidiaries of a foreign bank. Examples include AMEX Bank of Canada, Citibank Canada, HSBC Bank Canada, ING Bank of Canada and ICICI Bank Canada. Like the Schedule I banks, the Schedule II banks are incorporated under the Bank Act. Some of the Schedule II banks, such as HSBC Bank Canada, are used heavily by specific immigrant groups such as Canada's large Chinese community who are familiar with the HSBC brand name from their country of origin.

• Schedule III: Foreign banks permitted to carry on business in Canada. Examples include Bank of America, Capital One, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank AG. Unlike the Schedule I and Schedule II banks, the Schedule III banks are NOT incorporated under the Bank Act and they operate in Canada, usually within the country's largest cities (being Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver), under certain restrictions mentioned in the Act.

The bank regulator is the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (best known as OSFI), whose authority stems from the Bank Act. The financial groups are also governed by regulatory bodies (bank regulators, securities regulators, insurance regulators, etc) in each country they operate in.

See also

• Category:Banking in Canada
• Canadian and American economies compared

References

• Financial Institutions and Markets, Department of Finance, URL accessed 6 August 2006

Links

• Bank Act, S.C. 1991, c.46, Department of Justice, URL accessed 2 November 2006
• OSFI website, Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, URL accessed 2 November 2006