THE ECONOMICS OF MONEY,BANKING, AND FINANCIAL MARKETS 301

CHAPTER 11

TA B L E 11- 1

Banking Industry: Structure and Competition

269

Canadian Banks (as of March 31, 2009)
Date of
Establishment

Assets
($ millions)

Percent (%)
of Bank Assets

RBC Financial Group

1869

725 704

23.12

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

1961

357 714

11.40

BMO Financial Group

1822

472 813

15.07

Scotiabank

1832

522 921

16.66

TD Bank Financial Group

1955

603 913

19.24

National Bank of Canada

1980

143 815

4.58

2 826 880

90.07

Bank
The Big Six

Big Six Subtotal
Laurentian Bank of Canada

1987

20 488

0.65

Canadian Western Bank

1988

11 460

0.37

2 858 828

91.09

166 048

5.29

Eight Domestic Banks Subtotal
Other Banks
Domestic Banks
Foreign Banks
Total

113 561

3.62

3 138 437

100.00

Source: OSFI website www.osfi-bsif.gc.ca. Reprinted with permission.

a Schedule III bank. The difference between Schedule II and Schedule III banks
is that a Schedule II bank is a Canadian subsidiary of a foreign bank whereas a
Schedule III bank is a foreign bank allowed to branch directly into Canada, under
certain restrictions (to be discussed later in the chapter).

Competition
Although Canada has a small number of banks relative to other countries, Canadians

and Technology enjoy one of the most dynamic and competitive financial services industries. Besides
chartered banks, there are over 4000 financial institutions providing financial
services. These include trust and mortgage loan companies, credit unions and
caisses populaires, government savings institutions, insurance companies, pension
funds, mutual funds, and investment dealers.
New technology and the Internet have also helped in the development of a
more competitive and innovative banking system in Canada. They have enabled
new entrants to come into the Canadian financial services market and provide
increased competition to the Big Six. For example, ING Canada, a Canadian banking subsidiary of a major Netherlands banking and insurance conglomerate, and
Citizen Bank, a subsidiary of Vancouver City Savings Credit Union, are virtual
banks offering an array of banking services on the Internet. In addition, U.S. credit
card banks, such as MBNA and Capital One Financial Corporation, are now offering specialized credit card products in Canada, and Wells Fargo, one of the largest
banks in the United States, provides loans to Canadian small businesses from the
United States.