Banks in Canada
The banking system in Canada is dominated by the five largest domestic banks and is substantially more consolidated than the United States banking system. However, there are not only several other domestic banks in Canada with sizeable operations, but many international banks and credit unions too. In total there are 82 banks that are federally regulated by Government of Canada, and within this only 35 are domestic banks. This page serves as a resource for anyone looking to learn about the banking landscape in Canada. It is also worth noting that one of the interesting characteristics about banks in Canada is their international businesses. Specifically, over time these banks have established – primarily through acquisition – significant banking operations in the United States. From the perspective of a consumer this is positive as it opens up additional, international benefits.
The Big 5 Banks in Canada
The 5 largest banks in Canada are substantially larger than the remaining financial institutions. This comparison is based on these banks total assets, loan portfolios and deposits. For this reason, these 5 banks are often referred to as the big 5 banks in Canada:
- Toronto-Dominion Bank
- Total Assets: $1,8 trillion
- Total Loans: $750 billion
- Total Deposits: $1.2 trillion
- Website: https://www.td.com/
- Royal Bank of Canada
- Total Assets: $1.8 trillion
- Total Loans: $744 billion
- Total Deposits: $1.1 trillion
- Website: https://www.rbcroyalbank.com/
- Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank)
- Total Assets: $1.2 trillion
- Total Loans: $673 billion
- Total Deposits: $851 billion
- Website: https://www.scotiabank.com/
- Bank of Montreal
- Total Assets: $1.0 trillion
- Total Loans: $487 billion
- Total Deposits: $705 billion
- Website: https://www.bmo.com/
- Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC)
- Total Assets: $862 billion
- Total Loans: $476 billion
- Total Deposits: $650 billion
- Website: https://www.cibc.com/
As a point of comparison, the smallest of big 5 banks – CIBC – has more than double the amount of assets the next largest bank has.
Other Domestic Banks in Canada
This likely will come as a surprise to most consumers but outside of the big 5 banks there are 30 other banks in Canada. Clearly these banks are much smaller, but as you think about your options for banking services its important to remember that there are a lot more options than most think. These are the other domestic banks in the country, listed in alphabetical order:
- ADS Canadian Bank
- B2B Bank
- Bridgewater Bank
- Caisse Populaire Acadienne Itee
- Canadian Tire Bank
- Canadian Western Bank
- Coast Capital Savings Federal Credit Union
- Concentra Bank
- CS Alterna Bank
- Digital Commerce Bank
- Duo Bank of Canada
- Equitable Bank
- Exchange Bank of Canada
- First Nations Bank of Canada
- General Bank of Canada
- Haventree Bank
- Home Bank
- HomeEquity Bank
- Laurentian Bank of Canada
- Manulife Bank of Canada
- Motus Bank
- National Bank of Canaa
- Peoples Bank of Canada
- President’s Choice Bank
- RFA Bank of Canada
- Rogers Bank
- Tangerine Bank
- Vancity Community Investment Bank
- VersaBank
- Wealth One Bank of Canada
Full Service Foreign Banks Operating in Canada
The following banks are international banks that have operations within Canada. According to the Government of Canada, these banks have been authorized under the Bank Act to establish branches in the country and to conduct banking business in Canada. However there is a limitation to the types of services they can provide, for example they generally cannot accept deposits from customers under $150,000, which limits their consumer activities. This is the list of the federally regulated foreign banks with full services that operate in Canada:
- Bank of America
- Bank of China
- Bank of New York Mellon
- Barclays Bank
- BNP Paribas
- Capital One Bank
- China Construction Bank
- Citibank
- Comerica Bank
- Deutsche Bank
- Fifth Third Bank
- First Commercial Bank
- JPMorgan Chase Bank
- M&T Bank
- Mega International Commercial Bank
- Mizuho Bank
- MUFG Bank
- Norther Trust Company
- PNC Bank
- Rabobank
- Société Générale
- State Street Bank
- Sumitomo Mitsui Bank
- U.S. Bank
- United Overseas Bank
- Wells Fargo Bank
Other Foreign Banks with Operations in Canada
The following banks are international banks that have Canadian subsidiaries:
- Amex Bank of Canada
- Bank of China Canada
- Cidel Bank Canada
- Citco Bank Canada
- Citibank Canada
- CTBC Bank Corp
- Habib Canadian Bank
- HSBC Bank Canada
- ICICI Bank Canada
- Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)
- KEB Hana Bank Canada
- SBI Canada Bank
- Shinhan Bank Canada
- UBS Bank