Schedule I banks (domestic banks)
Under the Canada Bank Act, Schedule I are banks that are not a subsidiary of a foreign bank, i.e. domestic banks, even if they have foreign shareholders. There are 21 domestic banks as of February, 2009.
Bank of Montreal
Bank of Nova Scotia
Bank West
Bridgewater Bank
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
Canadian Tire Bank
Canadian Western Bank
Citizens Bank of Canada (the bank has become a 'non-deposit taking bank' and therefore no longer offers savings and loans products.)
CS Alterna Bank
DirectCash Bank
Dundee Bank of Canada
First Nations Bank of Canada
General Bank of Canada
Jameson Bank
Laurentian Bank of Canada
Manulife Bank of Canada
National Bank of Canada
Pacific & Western Bank of Canada
President's Choice Bank
Royal Bank of Canada
Toronto-Dominion Bank

Schedule II banks (Canadian banks which are subsidiaries of foreign banks)
As of June 2009, there were 25 of these banks in Canada, however 4 were in liquidation.
ABN AMRO Bank Canada (in voluntary liquidation)
Amex Bank of Canada
Bank of America Canada (in voluntary liquidation)
Bank of China (Canada)
Bank of East Asia (Canada) (The)
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (Canada)
Bank One Canada (in voluntary liquidation)
BNP Paribas (Canada)
Citco Bank Canada
Citibank Canada
CTC Bank of Canada
Habib Canadian Bank
HSBC Bank Canada
ICICI Bank Canada
ING Bank of Canada
J.P. Morgan Bank Canada
J.P. Morgan Canada (in liquidation)
Korea Exchange Bank of Canada
MBNA Canada Bank
Mega International Commercial Bank (Canada)
Mizuho Corporate Bank (Canada)
Shinhan Bank Canada
Société Générale (Canada)
State Bank of India (Canada)
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation of Canada
UBS Bank (Canada)

Schedule III banks (foreign banks with branches in Canada)
 Full service
As of February 2008, there were 23 such banks in Canada.
ABN AMRO Bank N.V.
Bank of America, National Association
Bank of New York Mellon (The)
Capital One Bank (Canada Branch)
Citibank, N.A.
Comerica Bank
Deutsche Bank AG
Dexia Crédit Local S.A.
Fifth Third Bank
First Commercial Bank
Glitnir banki hf.
HSBC Bank USA, National Association
JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association
Landsbanki Canada
Maple Bank
Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd., Canada Branch
Northern Trust Company, Canada Branch (The)
Rabobank Nederland
Société Générale (Canada Branch)
State Street
U.S. Bank National Association
UBS AG Canada Branch
United Overseas Bank Limited
 Lending only
There were 7 such banks in Canada in February, 2009.
Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c.
AmTrust Bank, Canadian Branch
Credit Suisse, Toronto Branch
Merrill Lynch International Bank Limited
National City
Union Bank of California, N.A.
WestLB AG
 Government-owned banks
Bank of Canada (Central Bank)
Business Development Bank of Canada
 Alberta Treasury Branches
Alberta Treasury Branches, or ATB Financial, is a unique, provincially-owned company that provides banking services, but for legal reasons is not considered a bank. It was created during the Great Depression by the government of William Aberhart under the influence of the strongly anti-bank economic ideology called Social Credit. The Social Credit Party of Alberta, won the 1935 election in part on a platform that argued for the nationalisation or abolition of banks. But court cases later determined that the provincial government did not have the powers to do this. The ATB was created as a provincial-government alternative to the private banks. If it were a bank, ATB would be subject to federal legislation; therefore, the institution is never legally referred to as a bank so that it can remain under provincial jurisdiction. However, it offers all services associated with a standard retail bank.

 Credit unions

See also: credit union
Canada has a strong co-operative financial services sector, which consists of both credit unions and caisses populaires, the latter located predominantly in Quebec. At the end of 2001 Canada's credit union sector consisted of 681 credit unions and 914 caisses populaires, with more than 3,600 locations and 4,100 automated teller machines. By 2007 consolodation that reduced this number to 525 credits unions and caisses populaires outside of Quebec. Canada has the world's highest per capita membership in the credit union movement, with over 10 million members, or about one-third of the Canadian population. While the sector is active in all parts of the country, it is strongest in the western provinces and in Quebec. In Quebec 70 per cent of the population belongs to a caisse populaire, while in Saskatchewan close to 60 per cent belongs to a credit union
 Ten largest credit unions in Canada by assets, December 2001
This includes credit unions only (English Canada) not caisses populaires (Quebec and French Canada).
Vancouver City Savings
Coast Capital Savings
Surrey Metro Savings
Envision Financial
Capital City Savings and Credit Union Limited
Community Credit Union
Niagara Credit Union Limited
Civil Service Co-operative
Credit Society Limited
Steinbach Credit Union
HEPCOE Credit Union Limited
 Ten largest credit unions in Canada by assets, September 2008
Excluding Quebec.
VanCity
Coast Capital Savings
Servus Credit Union
Meridian Credit Union
Envision Credit Union
Community Credit Union
Conexus Credit Union
Steinbach Credit Union
Assiniboine Credit Union
First Calgary Savings
 Quebec
Most caisses populaires in Quebec (and some credit unions outside the province) are members of the Mouvement des caisses Desjardins. Desjardins is both an umbrella group, a brand, and a holding company. Desjardins owns and operates a number of financial businesses.
 The "Big Five"
Canada's "big five" banks, in order of both assets and market capitalization:
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)
Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD Canada Trust)
Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank)
Bank of Montreal (BMO)
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC)
The term "big six" is frequently used as well. The "Big Six" also includes the National Bank of Canada, though it is significantly smaller than the other major banks and is focused in the province of Quebec.
 Defunct or merged banks
Amicus Bank was in voluntary liquidation and its assets repatriated to CIBC.
Bank of British Columbia's assets acquired by HSBC Canada.
Bank of the People was purchased by the Bank of Montreal in 1840.
Bank of Toronto merged with The Dominion Bank in 1955 to form the Toronto-Dominion Bank, now known as TD Bank Financial Group.
Banque canadienne nationale merged with Provincial Bank of Canada/Banque provinciale du Canada to become National Bank of Canada
Provincial Bank of Canada/Banque provinciale du Canada. Merged with Banque canadienne nationale to become National Bank of Canada
Canada Trust merged with Toronto-Dominion Bank in 2000
Canadian Bank of Commerce merged with Imperial Bank of Canada in 1961 to form The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce also known as “CIBC”.
Canadian Commercial Bank
Eastern Townships Bank with the Canadian Bank of Commerce in 1912.
Montreal City and District Savings Bank or La Banque d’Epargne converted from a savings bank to a regular bank and changed its name to Laurentian Bank of Canada
Continental Bank of Canada became Lloyds Bank of Canada
Farmer's Bank of York, Upper Canada
Farmers' Bank of Rustico is a community bank in Prince Edward Island that closed after the passage of the 1871 Bank Act.
Home Bank
Imperial Bank of Canada merged with Canadian Bank of Commerce to form the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, also known by the initialism CIBC
Lloyds Bank of Canada became HSBC Canada
Molson Bank of Montreal was merged into the Bank of Montreal in 1925.
Northland Bank
National Bank of Greece's Canadian assets merged into Bank of Nova Scotia in 2005
Standard Bank of Canada merged with Canadian Bank of Commerce in 1928
Standard Chartered Bank of Canada
Sterling Bank was acquired by Provincial Bank of Canada/Banque provinciale du Canada.
 Credit agencies
Equifax Canada
TransUnion Canada
Echo Group
 See also
Banking in Canada
Credit Union
Canadian transit number
Canada Bank Company
ATB Financial

 

Proposed mergers

In 1998, the Bank of Montreal proposed a merger with Royal Bank around the same time that CIBC proposed to combine with the Toronto-Dominion Bank. The banks argued that these mergers would enable them to compete globally with other financial institutions.

This would have left Canada with only three major national banks. Thus, the mergers were reviewed by the Competition Bureau of Canada. The Competition Bureau declared that negative effects (such as higher user fees and local branch closures) from the mergers would far outweigh the benefits of allowing the mergers. Ultimately, it was then Finance Minister Paul Martin who rejected both proposed mergers. The issue since has not been revisited by succeeding Finance Ministers.

Potential foreign forays

The strength of the Canadian dollar and relative weakness of U.S. bank prices have led commentators to suggest that the big five banks could consider an expansion into the United States. The weakness of the Canadian dollar, as well as high U.S. bank stock prices, were commonly cited as obstacles to purchasing assets south of the border.

Due to the recent 2007 Subprime mortgage financial crisis, Royal Bank of Canada has now eclipsed Morgan Stanley in terms of market valuation. According to figures compiled by a recent Bloomberg report, investors today are willing to pay about $2.60 for every dollar of book value at a Canadian bank, compared with $1.70 in the United States. That ratio is about the reverse of where it stood in late 1999.

The last time the U.S. financial markets were weak, many Canadian bank CEOs were criticized for not making a more concerted buying effort. Some believed that these CEOs preferred to wait for Ottawa to bless domestic mergers before expanding into the US. The federal government ended up refusing to allow the mergers, and is unlikely to do so now. Analysts also pointed out that Canadian banks have much stronger balance sheets today than they did 10 or 15 years ago, putting them in an even better position to be aggressive.

In October 2007, TD purchased Commerce Bancorp, a medium sized US bank with a strong branch network in the middle Atlantic and Florida. As of March 2008, their stated plan was to merge Commerce with their existing TD Banknorth subsidiary, calling the new bank TD Commerce Bank. However, the name was challenged by a "Commerce Bank" in New England. As a result, TD renamed its US banks TD Bank at end of 2009. TD is the sixth-largest bank by branch network in North America, after JPMorgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, PNC, and US Bank.

Banking regulation in Canada

The new framework includes revised ownership rules for banks and a new size-based ownership regime. Under the previous framework, a distinction was drawn between Schedule I and Schedule II banks (see Annex 1 for a list of these banks). Shares of Schedule I banks were required to be widely held, with no single shareholder or group of shareholders holding more than 10 per cent of any class of shares, while Schedule II banks could be owned by eligible Canadian or foreign financial institutions.

Under the new legislation an individual investor will now be permitted to own up to 20 per cent of any class of voting shares of a widely held bank and up to 30 per cent of any class of non-voting shares, subject only to a “fit and proper” test designed to evaluate the applicant’s character and suitability. This will allow widely held banks to enter into strategic alliances and joint ventures involving significant share exchanges. At the same time, the Bank Act will continue to prohibit control of a large financial institution by any single shareholder or group of shareholders. The Government has signalled its intention to issue guidelines that will clarify for investors and institutions the factual criteria and policy objectives to be taken into consideration in assessing control. The Government will be developing these guidelines in consultation with representatives of financial institutions and the broader investment community.

The new framework also enables banks to organize under a regulated holding-company structure that provides them with greater flexibility to compete with large specialized or unregulated firms. Both holding companies and banks structured along the traditional parent-subsidiary model are permitted to have a broader range of investments than under the previous regime.

Furthermore, the previous regime of Schedule I and Schedule II banks is now replaced by a new size-based ownership regime under which:

large banks (banks with equity in excess of $5 billion) must remain “widely held” as outlined in the new definition;
medium-sized banks (i.e., banks with equity between $1 billion and $5 billion) are allowed to have individual shareholdings of up to 65 per cent, with at least 35 per cent of voting shares being publicly held; and
small banks (i.e., banks with equity of less than $1 billion) have no ownership restrictions other than “fit and proper” tests.
The new size-based ownership regime also allows for the creation of community-based banks with services tailored to the needs of a specific clientele. These banks will still be able to compete with the major banks in local or regional markets. The new regime also allows commercial enterprises (for example, those with a significant retail presence) to own a bank.

To encourage competition, the legislation also reduces the minimum capital requirement to start a bank from $10 million to $5 million.

In support of these various initiatives, the policy framework also contains provisions to ensure that financial institutions continue to manage their risks prudently. To this end, the Superintendent of Financial Institutions has been given additional supervisory powers to deal with institutions that do not meet certain supervisory or regulatory requirements. These include the power to remove directors and senior officers of a bank in instances of misconduct, and the power to administer financial penalties against institutions and individuals that do not comply with undertakings or violate the legislation and regulations governing financial institutions.

The framework also includes merger review guidelines that outline a formal and transparent review process for merger proposals between banks with equity in excess of $5 billion. This new process consists of a review of the merger proposal by the Competition Bureau, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions and the Department of Finance, and of a full public review by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance and the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce.

Bill C-8 also contains consumer protection measures as well as measures to ensure that the regulatory environment responds to the evolution of the sector in today’s rapidly changing marketplace. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada will be established to enforce the consumer-oriented provisions of the federal financial institution statutes, to monitor the industry’s self-regulatory initiatives designed to protect the interests of consumers and small businesses, to promote consumer awareness and to respond to general consumer inquiries. This will consolidate and strengthen existing oversight activities in a dedicated new agency.

A new Canadian Financial Services Ombudsman was also established to handle consumer and small business complaints related to dealings with financial institutions. This independent body operates at arm’s-length from government and the financial sector, and a majority of the members of its board of directors are from outside the financial services sector. This organization eventually evolved to become the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI).

Additional consumer protection measures include better access to basic financial services, the provision of low-cost accounts, notice provisions for branch closures, and a broadening of the existing Bank Act provision on coercive tied selling. Moreover, federal financial institutions with equity in excess of $1 billion will be required to provide annual public accountability statements that describe their contributions to the Canadian economy and society


 

 References

1. ^ http://www.osfi-bsif.gc.ca/osfi/index_e.aspx?DetailID=568
2. ^ http://www.osfi-bsif.gc.ca/osfi/index_e.aspx?DetailID=568
3. ^ http://www.osfi-bsif.gc.ca/osfi/index_e.aspx?DetailID=568
4. ^ http://www.osfi-bsif.gc.ca/osfi/index_e.aspx?DetailID=568
5. ^ http://www.financialpost.com/executive/story.html?id=1787621
6. ^ [http://www.fin.gc.ca/toc/2003/ccu_-eng.asp
7. ^
8. ^ http://www.fin.gc.ca/toc/2003/ccu_-eng.asp
9. ^ http://www.fin.gc.ca/toc/2003/ccu_-eng.asp

 

List of Canadian Banks
ABN AMRO Bank Canada - offers banking services to corporate, institutional, and public sector clients.

Alberta Treasury Branches - serving Alberta, Canada.

BMO mbanx Direct - offers a variety of online banking services.

Business Development Bank of Canada - small business bank focusing on the emerging and exporting sectors of the economy. Branches across Canada.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce PC Banking

Canadian Western Bank

Citibank Canada

Citizens Bank of Canada - branchless bank, with services by telephone, over the Internet, or through ATM machines.

First Calgary Savings and Credit Union - offers a full range of deposit accounts, investment products, loans, mortgages, and more.

HSBC Bank Canada@

ING Direct - branchless bank, where all transactions are carried out over the Internet, by phone, mail, or through ABMs.

IntesaBci Canada - offers personal and professional banking services.

Laurentian Bank of Canada - offers personal, commercial, and agency banking services.

President's Choice Financial - offers a range of banking services through supermarket pavilions and ABMs across Canada.

Prince George Savings

RBC Royal Bank of Canada - provides personal and commercial banking, wealth management, and corporate and investment banking services on a worldwide basis.

Royal Bank Online Banking - offers users the ability to check account balances, pay bills, transfer funds, and more.

Scotiabank - provides financial products and services to individuals, small and medium-size businesses, corporations, and governments across Canada and around the world.

TD Access Central - offers Internet banking options, online tools, and more.

Toronto Dominion (TD) Bank Financial Group@

Ubiquity Bank of Canada - online bank providing personal and business financial services to all of Canada through Internet and telephone banking.

 

 External links

• List of Canadian banks at Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions
• List of Canadian banks via the Canada Revenue Agency website
• Credit Union Central of Canada's Publications