Canada has a very stable and well run financial sector, which
heavily regulated by the Canadian Government. The strength of the Canadian
economy was tried and tested during the most recent depression, but it stood
firm. America, who has a more “hands off “, approach to their economy,
paid the price. Unfortunately, many other countries around the world also had
to pay the price. The thing is what must acknowledge is that
the financial industry of a country is different from other industries and must
be paid close attention. It’s easy for companies to abuse policies and take
advantage of customers for profit.
The financial sector in Canada has number of
different financial institutions which provide a number of financial services.
Canada has about 76 different Banks, some more recognize than others. The
major banks in Canada, more popular called the big five are; Royal Bank Canada
(RBC), Toronto Dominion bank (TD), Canada Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC),
Bank of Montreal (BMO) and the Bank of Nova Scotia. Canada’s big five banks are
all classified as schedule 1 banks and they are among the strongest banks in
the world. The banking sector of a country is very complicated and involves
allot of know how to operate. All of Canada’s’ big five banks have large asset
base, and they have the necessary people that can operate them successful.
Another major reason not be overlooked is that Canada’s banks are largely
capitalized when compared to other countries.
Canada with so
many strong banks and other financial institutions, like credit unions and
mutual funds companies, has made the industry very competitive. A competitive
market is good for the consumers and is vital to any country’s economy.
However, being much regulated, the banks in Canada have specified markets and
boundaries of operations. None the less it does not by any means reduce the
competitiveness in the Canadian financial sector. Canadian consumers are
looking basically for three things from a financial institution, these are; a
place to grow their money, a source of capital and provider of financial
advice. A consumer will likely walking into a financial institution with one of
those three things and there mind or all of them.
Customer service
is still a big part of the financial sector and consumers are expecting the
best services when it involves their hard working money. All the banks
recognize the need of quality customer service, none so more TD banks, which
well recognized for its customer service. Banks in Canada have to structure
their service in particular ways that beneficial to consumers, within the law
and profitable to them. Seeing that all the big five banks of Canada are
operating on the same platform, you have to wonder how they separate themselves
from the competition. Again customer service is the key in the banking sector
of Canada. The reason is that customer service in the financial sector is more
detailed and involves much more than just a smiling and having a nice voice
when talking to customers. Consumers are looking for profession advice to
make important financial decisions. Knowing that financial information can be
complicated and hard to understand, banks must find ways to convey the right
information to customers.
