The virtues of Canadian banks, which survived the financial crisis of 2008 with their credit ratings and reserves intact, are being promoted this week in the region by Janet Ecker, Toronto’s financial services ambassador.
Mrs Ecker, the president and chief executive of the Toronto Financial Services Alliance (TFSA), a public-private partnership between Canadian municipal governments and the financial services industry, yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding with the Dubai International Financial Centre. It includes sharing information on regional and international as well as Islamic banking trends.
Mrs Ecker was last week in Bahrain, where she attended an Islamic banking conference, an area of finance in which she is keen to learn more about as Canada boasts a large Muslim population.
“We welcome the establishment of this strategic partnership with the DIFC as we believe it will be a catalyst in developing stronger ties between Toronto, Dubai and the wider Gulf region,” Mrs Ecker said.
“Canada’s mix of traditionally strong risk management skills in the financial services industry and a highly effective regime of regulation and supervision continues to be a model for others around the world and Canada’s reputation as a financial services centre has grown significantly as a result, especially since the financial crisis of 2008.”
The global financial crisis made lenders in Canada more popular as their counterparts in the United States and Europe were left crippled by losses, credit ratings downgrades and fines. Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Montreal and Bank of Nova Scotia are among the larger banks that have a presence in the region and have been expanding during the past couple of years.
Canadian banks have also been ranked as the world’s strongest for five straight years by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum.
“There’s been steady sustainable growth in Toronto’s financial services,’’ Mrs Ecker said. “The financial companies have felt the pain of the global recession but nobody failed, nobody needed to be bailed out, nobody was at risk of failing. Our system was not at risk of collapsing.”
Mrs Ecker said, however, that she is here not only to build relations that will help Canadian banks build a presence in the region but also to promote investment into the North American country from a part of the world that is flush with revenues from oil and has some of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth funds.
The TFSA has strong ties with the world of finance in New York and London and is now branching out to make new friends in emerging markets into which Canadian financial services firms are increasingly dipping their toes.
“The stability and soundness of Canadian banks has been recognised globally,” Mrs Ecker said. “Whether you are a consumer looking to put your life savings in an institution or a potential business partner or a supplier. It feels more comfortable to deal with a Canadian institution because you know they are going to be there in six months or six years or 60 years.”
mkassem@thenational.ae