The towers at Bay and King Street in Toronto are home to four of Canada's five largest banks.

Banking in Canada is one of Canada's most important industries with several banks being among its largest and most profitable companies.

It is dominated by a small number of large banks, with the six largest combining for 90% of the market share.[1] The two largest, the Royal Bank of Canada and the Toronto Dominion Bank are among the world's 25 largest banks.[2] It has been considered to be one of the safest and soundest banking systems in the world, and avoided major problems in the Financial crisis of 2007–2008.[3]

Canada's banks have high service levels and investments in technology. A report released by the office of the Minister of Finance in 2002 states "Canada has the highest number of ATMs per capita in the world and benefits from the highest penetration levels of electronic channels such as debit cards, Internet banking and telephone banking".[4] More recent data published by the World Bank shows that as of 2017 Canada has 227.82 ATMs per 100,000 adults, which ranks the country third worldwide.[5]

Early history

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

Banking in Canada began to migrate in earnest from colonial overseas banking operations to a local banking system with the founding of the Bank of Montreal in 1817.[6] Other banks soon followed and began business, and after a lengthy approval process began unregulated banking business. These institutions issued their own local bank notes as currency. However throughout the 1850s and early 1860s a number of bank failures caused a loss of confidence in bank notes. The passing of The Provincial Notes Act in 1866[7] allowed federal and provincial governments to begin to introduce their own notes. With the Canadian Confederation taking place in 1867, the new Dominion government gained complete control over currency and banking.[7] In 1871 the federal government passed the Bank Act which started the process of bringing all charted banks in the country under common regulation. The establishment of the Bank of Canada in 1935[8] was also an important milestone in banking and monetary governance.

Ranking with other countries

A survey conducted by the World Economic Forum called the Global Competitiveness Report of twelve-thousand corporate executives, in 2008, concluded that Canada has the best banking system in the world, receiving a score of 6.8 out of possible seven.[9] The Canadian banking system has long been regarded by industry experts to be one of the strongest and most stable banking systems in the world.[10][11][12]

The Bank of Montreal has been paying dividends to share holders every year since 1829 (195 years ago),[13] Scotiabank since 1833 (191 years ago),[13] Toronto-Dominion Bank since 1857 (167 years ago),[14] Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce since 1868 (156 years ago)[15] and Royal Bank of Canada since 1870 (154 years ago)[16] respectively.

Bank failures

In Canada, only two small regional banks have failed since 1923 when the Home Bank of Canada failed. This was both Canadian Commercial Bank and Northland Bank in September 1985.[17] To put this into perspective there were no bank failures in Canada during the Great Depression, World War II, the 1979 Energy Crisis, the Dot-com Bubble, the Sept 11th Attacks or the Subprime Mortgage Crisis.

On June 4, 1996, the Calgary-based Security Home Mortgage Corporation closed its doors for good. About 2,600 Canadians discovered that their savings were not immediately available from their financial institution, in which they had entrusted a total of $42 million in deposits.[18]

Regulation

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.[19] 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),[20] where Schedules I, II and III of this Act list all banks permitted to operate in Canada under these three distinct categories:

The bank regulator is the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (best known as OSFI),[21] whose authority stems from the Bank Act.[20] The financial groups are also governed by regulatory bodies (bank regulators, securities regulators, insurance regulators, etc.) in each country in which they operate.

Largest banks

Big Five

The top five Canadian banks are collectively referred to as the "Big Five" due to their dominant position and significant influence within the country's banking and financial industry. This term has been used for many years to characterize these major banks, and it highlights their substantial market share and impact on Canada's economy. The financial sector of Canada is especially concentrated in these banks, which has been seen as a result of protectionist policies of the government and the country's small and dispersed population. These banks grew at an extraordinary rate of 10.7 percent per year, on average, from 2008 to 2018 compared with 3.64 percent for the five largest U.S. banks.[22] While most Canadian banks operate only within Canada, the Big Five are best described as Canadian multinational financial conglomerates that each have a large Canadian banking division.[23]

Name Corporate Headquarters Head Office Market capitalization (2023) (CAD) (Billions) Revenue (2023) (CAD) (Billions) Net income (2023) (CAD) (Billions) Employees (FTE) Source
Royal Bank of Canada Toronto, Ontario Montreal, Quebec 187.21$ 53.66$ 14.86$ 95,000+ [24][25]
Toronto-Dominion Bank Toronto, Ontario Toronto, Ontario 154.21$ 49.20$ 10.78$ 103,257 [26]
Bank of Montreal Toronto, Ontario Montreal, Quebec 93.86$ 29.02$ 4.37$ 55,767 [27]
Scotiabank Toronto, Ontario Toronto, Ontario 76.32$ 29.25$ 7.41$ 89,483 [28]
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Toronto, Ontario Toronto, Ontario 59.31$ 21.31$ 5.00$ 48,074 [29]

Big Six

When people talk about Canada’s Big Six banks, they’re including National Bank of Canada, which focuses primarily on servicing Quebec and New Brunswick. Despite being a regional player, National Bank is the country’s sixth-largest bank.

Name Corporate Headquarters Head Office Market capitalization (2023) (CAD) (Billions) Revenue (2023) (CAD) (Billions) Net income (2023) (CAD) (Billions) Total assets (2023) (CAD) (Billions) Employees (FTE) Source
National Bank of Canada Montreal, Quebec Montreal, Quebec 29.2$ 10.2$ 3.34$ 424$ 31,243 [30]

Other large banks (excluding Big Six)

Name Corporate Headquarters Head Office Market capitalization (2023) (CAD) (Billions) Revenue (2023) (CAD) (Billions) Net income (2023) (CAD) (Millions) Total assets (2023) (CAD) (Billions) Employees (FTE) Source
Equitable Bank Toronto, Ontario Toronto, Ontario 3.30$ 0.785$ 270$ 103$ 1,685 [31][32]
Laurentian Bank Montreal, Quebec Montreal, Quebec 1.18$ 1.03$ 181$ 49.9$ 3,000 [33][34]

Business lines of banks

While most Canadian banks operate only within Canada, the Big Five are best described as Canadian multinational financial conglomerates that each have a large Canadian banking division.[23] 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.[35] 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.

Name Canadian Retail Banking Canadian Direct Banking Canadian Brokerage US Retail Banking Private Banking Investment Bank Source(s)
Royal Bank of Canada RBC Royal Bank RBC Direct Investing - RBC Bank

- City National Bank

 RBC Wealth Management RBC Capital Markets [36]
Toronto-Dominion Bank TD Canada Trust TD Direct Investing (Division of TD Waterhouse) TD Bank TD Wealth Private Investment Advice (Division of TD Waterhouse) TD Securities [37]
Bank of Montreal BMO Bank of Montreal BMO InvestorLine Self-Directed BMO Harris Bank BMO Private Wealth BMO Capital Markets [38]
Scotiabank Scotiabank Tangerine Scotia iTRADE Scotiabank Scotia Wealth Management Scotia Capital

(Division of Scotiabank Global Banking and Markets)

 [39][40]
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce CIBC Simplii Financial CIBC Investor's Edge CIBC Bank USA CIBC Private Wealth CIBC Capital Markets [41][42][43]
National Bank of Canada NBC National Bank Direct Brokerage (NBDB) NBI Private Wealth Management National Bank Investments [44][45][46]
Equitable Bank EQ Bank [47]

Financial crisis of 2008

During the peak of the 2008 financial crisis, the Bank of Canada, along with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and the US Federal Reserve provided up to $114 billion of liquidity support to Canadian banks. Of this amount, $69 billion was part of the CMHC mortgage insurance program, a facility set up in 1954 to handle such situations.[48][49]

The World Economic Forum, In the 2010-2011 report Canada ranked 1st in the "Soundness of banks" indicator ranking as the world's soundest banking system for six consecutive years (2007-2013) according to reports by the World Economic Forum.[50] Released in October 2010, Global Finance magazine put Royal Bank of Canada at number 10 among the world's safest banks and Toronto-Dominion Bank at number 15.[51]

Dispute resolution

Since the late 1990s,[52] dispute resolution across the sector was directed to the independent[52] Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OSBI). As of 2018, Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank and Scotiabank direct dispute resolution to the for-profit Chambers Banking Ombuds Office (ADRBO).[53] As reported in The Globe and Mail in 2018, "[t]he Canadian Foundation for Advancement of Investor Rights (FAIR) has compared ADRBO unfavourably with OBSI," noting a statement from FAIR that they "have serious concerns about the conflicts of interest, misaligned incentives, and level of transparency and accountability at ADRBO".[53] In 2018, John Lawford, executive director of consumer rights group the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, criticized ADRBO for not "[adhering] to the same openness principles" that OBSI brought to the table,[52] adding that customer's are likely to experience "less success with their banking complaints" at ADRBO as a result.[52] As of 2021, National Bank of Canada and Digital Commerce Bank are also reported to use ADRBO.[54] In 2021, concerning an incident where TD Bank was able to find records that RSP funds has been transferred out of a customer's account, but not find records as to where they had gone, Duff Conacher, cofounder of accountability group Democracy Watch, observed that "most of Canada's big banks are avoiding accountability by essentially policing themselves when it comes to consumer complaints."[54]

See also

Notes

    Citation

    1. ↑ William O’Connell, ""
    2. ↑ Ali, Zarmina (April 7, 2020). "The world's 100 largest banks". Standard & Poor. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
    3. ↑ World Economic Forum - Global Competitiveness Report Archived 2010-12-06 at the Wayback Machine.
    4. ↑ "Canada's Banks" Archived 2010-01-25 at the Wayback Machine Canadian Ministry of Finance, 2002
    5. ↑ Automated teller machines (ATMs) (per 100,000 adults), The World Bank
    6. ↑ Ligaya, Armina (July 20, 2017), "How Bill Downe turned 200-year-old BMO from laggard to leader", Financial Post
    7. 1 2 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-07-08. Retrieved 2014-09-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
    8. ↑ The Bank's History, Bank of Canada
    9. ↑ "Canadian banks are the soundest in the world: report". 9 October 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-10-11. Retrieved 2008-10-09.
    10. ↑ Canada rated world's soundest bank system: survey, Reuters, 9 October 2008
    11. ↑ These are the 14 countries with the safest banks in the world, Independent, 10 April 2017
    12. ↑ "Canadian banks the safest in the world, Moody's says", The Star, 11 April 2012
    13. 1 2 Blackwell, Richard (11 February 2002), "List of dividend-paying firms shrinking", The Globe and Mail
    14. ↑ Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSX:TD): Time to Buy This Top Canadian Dividend Stock?, Yahoo! Finance
    15. ↑ CIBC Stock Is a Top Pick for Retirees, Yahoo! Finance
    16. ↑ 2 Best Canadian Dividend Stocks to Buy After the Market Correction, Yahoo! Finance
    17. ↑ The bank failures of 1985 (PDF), The Bank of Canada
    18. ↑ Bank failures in Canada: A history, 20 March 2022
    19. ↑ "Constitution Act 1867-1982". Government of Canada. 7 August 2020.
    20. 1 2 3 4 5 "Bank Act S.C. 1991, c. 46". Government of Canada.
    21. ↑ "Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions". Government of Canada. 31 July 2012.
    22. ↑ Pelletier, Martin (30 July 2018). "Our nation of oligopolies not good for consumers, but great for investors". Financial Post. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
    23. 1 2 "The Big Five Banks in Canada". Investopedia. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
    24. ↑ "Royal Bank of Canada (RY) Stock Price & News". Google Finance. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
    25. ↑ "Royal Bank of Canada Annual Report 2022" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-12-25.
    26. ↑ "Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) Stock Price & News". Google Finance. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
    27. ↑ "Bank of Montreal (BMO) Stock Price & News". Google Finance. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
    28. ↑ "Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) Stock Price & News". Google Finance. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
    29. ↑ "Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM) Stock Price & News". Google Finance. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
    30. ↑ "Annual Report 2023" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-12-25.
    31. ↑ "EQB Inc (EQB) Stock Price & News". Google Finance. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
    32. ↑ "Annual Report 2022" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-12-25.
    33. ↑ "Laurentian Bank of Canada (LB) Stock Price & News". Google Finance. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
    34. ↑ "Annual Report 2023" (PDF). Retrieved 2023-12-25.
    35. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2008-02-27. Retrieved 2007-12-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
    36. ↑ "How we serve clients". www.rbc.com. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
    37. ↑ "TD Bank Financial Group - Corporate Information - Corporate Profile". www.td.com. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
    38. ↑ "At a Glance". About BMO. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
    39. ↑ "Corporate Profile". www.scotiabank.com. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
    40. ↑ "Global Presence – United States | Global Banking and Markets – Scotiabank". www.gbm.scotiabank.com. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
    41. ↑ "CIBC Capital Markets - We partner in key financial centres around the world to develop customized solutions that enable our clients to access capital, expand their operations and actively invest". cibccm.com. 2023-12-14. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
    42. ↑ "About Us | Simplii Financial". www.simplii.com. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
    43. ↑ "Online and Mobile Trading | CIBC Investor's Edge". www.investorsedge.cibc.com. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
    44. ↑ "Online brokerage | NBDB". nbdb.ca. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
    45. ↑ "NBI Private Wealth Management | National Bank". www.nbc.ca. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
    46. ↑ "NBI Funds & Returns | National Bank Investments". www.nbinvestments.ca. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
    47. ↑ "Company Overview". EQ Bank. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
    48. ↑ Banks got $114B from governments during recession Archived 2013-05-31 at the Wayback Machine, CBC News, 30 April 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2013
    49. ↑ Did Canadian banks receive a secret bailout? Financial post, 30 April 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2013
    50. ↑ "Canadian banks remain soundest according to World Economic Forum, six years in a row". Cba.ca. 2013-09-04. Archived from the original on 2014-07-26. Retrieved 2014-07-18.
    51. ↑ The world's 20 safest bank "The world's 20 safest banks". Archived from the original on 2010-10-06. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
    52. 1 2 3 4 Evans, Pete (7 September 2018). "Scotiabank walks away from consumer dispute watchdog OBSI". CBC News. Retrieved 19 May 2021. Even though it is funded by industry ... the watchdog is considered to be an independent agency, and it's a free service for upset consumers.
    53. 1 2 Carrick, Rob (13 September 2018). "Ontario's Ford government is shamefully backing the investment industry over investors". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
    54. 1 2 Lancaster, John (19 May 2021). "TD Bank accused of losing customers' RSPs — again". CBC News. Retrieved 19 May 2021. For the bank to say 'We know we transferred it, but we don't have a record of where it is' raises the question of how they know they transferred it.

    Further reading

    • Bordo, Michael D.; Redish, Angela; Rockoff, Hugh (2014). "Why didn't Canada have a banking crisis in 2008 (or in 1930, or 1907, or …)?". The Economic History Review. 68 (1): 218–243. doi:10.1111/1468-0289.665. S2CID 154482588.
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