Canada has several major banks and many schedule II banks – but with rates and plans all over the map, it’s difficult to know where to bring your business. Our aim is to help you navigate Canada’s banking options to discover which one suits your needs best.
Latest News
TD Bank Q3 2018 Earnings Aug 31st
The Globe and Mail, James Bradshaw, 30 August 2018
At TD, earnings from Canadian retail banking rose 7 per cent in the third quarter, to $1.85-billion. But profit from its extensive U.S. footprint rose 27 per cent, to $1.14-billion.
Toronto-Dominion Bank reported a 12-per-cent bump in third-quarte.... More »
What is a consumer proposal? How does it work? + MORE May 23rd
Getting trapped in a perpetual cycle of debt with seemingly no way out is one of the most stressful situations life can throw at you. For anyone looking for a way forward, experts say a consumer proposal can break the chain without the need for a bankruptcy filing.
While everyone’s debt toleran.... More »
Canadian banks hacked and the insurance claim you can't make: CBC's Marketplace consumer cheat sheet Jun 3rd
CBC's Marketplace rounds up the consumer and health news you need from the week, including customer data hacked at two Canadian banks, taking car insurance companies to court and the provinces with the best cell phone plans..... More »
Prepaid Credit Cards vs. Prepaid Gift Cards Apr 23rd
If you’ve ever had to shop for “that” person in your life — the one who already has everything — you know that gift cards can be a lifesaver. They’ve been around for almost 26 years, growing into an essential part of any retail business.
More recently, prepaid gift cards branded with pa.... More »
The roots of organic farming lie in fascism Jan 23rd
The roots of organic farming in the United Kingdom can be traced to the fascism movement that began after the First World War. Rick Barrett/ambitious creative co, CC BY-SA
In 1927 Henry Williamson published Tarka the Otter, the story of an otter living in the Torridge River in Devon, U.K. Recognize.... More »
Drive to hit sales goals sees bank employees put customer's finances at risk committee hears
– cbc.ca
Longtime bank employees blew the whistle on questionable practices by Canada’s big banks during a House of Commons committee hearing Wednesday.
Home equity lines of credit push Canadians into debt
– moneysense.ca
It’s not just skyrocketing real estate prices that have regulators worried. It’s also the fact consumers have been tapping the swelling equity in their homes and don’t seem to be in a hurry to pay it back. In fact, many are only covering the interest payments, which are at near-record low rates. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada is out to raise awareness of this problem, with a warning that carrying more debt for longer could “put stress on Canadian households, at a time when they are carrying record amounts of debt.”Essential bank jargon: Two terms the FCAC wants you to wrap your head around are “HELOCs” (home equity lines of credit) and “readvanceable mortgages” (an unfortunate mouthful that refers to term mortgages wrapped up with HELOCs and sometimes other products such as credit cards). Canadians are bingeing on HELOCs, with much encouragement from the banks, and the FCAC says readvanceable mortgages have become the default mortgage choice for anyone who has put down 20%…
What is Canada’s infrastructure bank for?
– macleans.ca
Spectators watch as workers place a new section of the deck for the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge spanning the harbour in Halifax on Saturday, October 31, 2015. The project is called The Big Lift and involves replacement of the suspended spans of the structure. Commuters have faced nightly and weekend closures and delays travelling between Halifax and Dartmouth. (Andrew Vaughan/CP)If your banker asked for $1,000, you would probably reply: “what for?”
The Liberal government is asking taxpayers for $35 billion—which roughly equals $1,000 per Canadian—to start a new “infrastructure bank.”
So it’s fair for us to ask: “what for?” Let us go through the possible reasons until we find the real one.
The most obvious reason is to fund infrastructure. But there is nothing preventing private sector banks, capital markets, pension funds, and private equity enterprises from investing in infrastructure. In fact, they already bankroll trillions of dollars of construction projects—to the tune of $2 trillion worldwide, according to estimates in the government’s Fall Economic Update…
