Canadian Bank

By: EconomyWatch Content   Date: 4 November 2009

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EconomyWatch Content

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EconomyWatch, Content Team

 

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Canada has a stable and well developed banking system and Canadian banks play a very important role in the nation’s economy and society. The banks in Canada are the nation’s top employers, employing more than 200,000 professionals all across the country. In addition, Canadian Banks have created a widespread financial network of over 8,000 bank branches and over 18,000 ATMs in the nation.

The 2008 World Economic Forum report considered the Canadian banking system to be the safest and most efficient in the world. The Bank of Montreal, a premier Canadian banking establishment, was established in 1817. It marked a paradigm shift of sorts when the business converted to a local system from the then largely immigrant based business system. Other banks followed suit and thus gave birth to unregulated banking business.

These institutions issued the only local currencies till the British North America Act allowed federal and provincial governments to begin to introduce their own notes starting in 1866. The Canadian dollar became the official Canadian currency in 1871, and became the de facto currency overriding the local currencies of other banks. The establishment of the Bank of Canada in 1935 was an important milestone in the banking and monetary governance of the nation.

Canadian Bank: The Big Five

Synonymous with the Irish banking system, banks in Canada also have their “Big Five” banks that account for a lion’s share of assets and revenues in the Canadian bank system. The “Big Five” banks are:

·        Royal Bank of Canada

·        Toronto-Dominion Bank

·        Bank of Nova Scotia

·        Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

·        Bank of Montreal

In addition, The Bank of Canada is often included in the elite group as the sixth member, since all the banks’ combined assets account for almost 90% of the Canadian banking business. The “Big Five” has survived the Latin America debt crisis, the collapse of Olympia and York, Enron related liabilities and the US Subprime mortgage crisis, and has emerged stronger than ever.

Other notable banks in Canada include the National Bank of Canada, HSBC Canada and ING Bank of Canada. Notable foreign banks to carry out their banking operations in Canada include Bank of America, Capital One, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank AG.

Canadian Bank: Services

Canadian banks offer a wide range of services in all aspects of banking, such as commercial, retail, personal, private and investment banking. From loans, lines of credit, mortgages, credit cards and mutual funds to derivatives, equity, prime brokerage, securities financing and lending, and residential and commercial mortgage backed securities, banks in Canada offer services for everyone.

 


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