Big Five banks

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In Canada, the term Big Five Banks is frequently used to refer to the five biggest banks that dominate the banking industry in Canada. Schedule I banks are domestic banks that operate in Canada under government charter. The banks are widely held with no single shareholder controlling the bank. The Big Five banks, listed in order of size (largest to smallest) with their current corporate brand names, are:

Royal Bank of Canada (RBC Financial Group)
Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD Bank Financial Group)
Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank)
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC)
Bank of Montreal (BMO Financial Group)

The five major Canadian banks, as represented by their traditional logos.

The term Big Six Banks is frequently used as well. The "Big Six" also includes the National Bank of Canada. As of 2006, these six banks, along with the Laurentian Bank of Canada, are the only ones listed on Schedule I as the chartered national banks. The Big Six chartered banks participate in the Large Value Transfer System (LVTS) together with 8 other banks (including the Bank of Canada).

Proposed Mergers

In 1998, the Bank of Montreal proposed a merger with Royal Bank around the same time that CIBC proposed a merger with the Toronto-Dominion Bank. 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. [link]

External links

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