Atlantic Canada is part of a robust Canadian financial system that keeps pace with our region’s growing economy:
About 3,000 organizations provide financial services in Canada. These include chartered banks, credit unions, finance and leasing companies as well as insurance brokerages and investment dealers. - The Bank of Canada is the central bank. According to Moody’s Financial Strength Ratings, Canadian banks stand first among G7 countries in credit worthiness.
- The financial services sector is dominated by six large domestic banks: Bank of Montreal, National Bank of Canada, RBC Royal Bank, ScotiaBank, TD Bank, and CIBC. All of these banks also have offshore branches or affiliates.
- In addition to domestic banks, 70 foreign banks also operate in Canada.
- Automated banking machines, telephone and Internet banking are widely available and major credit cards, such as VISA, MasterCard and American Express, are accepted throughout the region.
Regulations
Canada’s banks are governed by the federal Bank Act. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions monitors the operations of all domestic and foreign banks, trust and loan companies, credit unions and associations, insurance companies and private pension plans to ensure their ongoing viability.
Provincial regulators and self-regulatory bodies, such as stock exchanges and the Investment Dealers’ Association, oversee the activities of securities, insurance and trust companies.
Since 1999, foreign banks have been permitted to set up full-service or lending branches in Canada.
Accounting
Accounting standards in Canada are established by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA). CICA works with international accounting groups such as the International Federation of Accountants and the International Accounting Standards Board to develop international accounting standards.
All major international accounting firms (Deloitte Touche, KPMG, Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Grant Thornton LLP) as well as a large number of smaller accounting firms operate in Canada.
Canadian firms use Canada’s Generally Accepted Accounting Principles to prepare their financial statements. Similarly, major accounting firms use Canadian Generally Accepted Auditing Standards when performing audits.