- Banks in Canada are major employers and essential contributors to the Canadian economy.
- Canada has one of the most accessible banking systems in the world – more than 99 per cent of Canadian adults have an account with a financial institution.
The Canadian banking sector
Banks in Canada are major employers and essential contributors to the Canadian economy
Transaction statistics
Serving Canadians
Serving small businesses
- Banks serve close to 3 million self‑employed and small and medium‑sized businesses across Canada.
- Loan approval rates are high: close to 90 per cent of all SMEs that applied for a loan from a financial institution were approved.
- Banks authorized $1.75 trillion in credit to Canadian businesses as of June 2023. Of that, $280.7 billion went to small and medium-sized businesses.
- As of June 2023, banks authorized $84.2 billion in credit to the agriculture industry. Of this credit, the agriculture industry has drawn close to $60 billion and have close to $24.2 billion in unused credit available.
Technology, cyber security and fraud prevention
How Canadians bank
Addressing climate change
- Banks understand that the financial sector is central to securing an orderly transition to a low-carbon economy, mitigating the impacts of humans on the environment and ensuring the continued resilience of our country’s financial system.
- Banks in Canada have pledged to implement action plans that set specific targets to meet the demands of the global challenge of climate change including financial commitments totally in the hundreds of billions.
- Canada’s six largest banks have joined the Net‑Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), a global initiative of banks worldwide committed to aligning their lending and investment portfolios with net-zero emissions by 2050.
Related articles
Posted on: March 1, 2024
Focus: Fast Facts About the Canadian Banking System bank branches,banking,economy,employment,employment equity,focus sheet,statistics