A new survey compiled by Leger Marketing for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC)’s Annual Banking Survey shows that 84% of Canadians feel that Canada has one of the strongest banking systems in the world and 85% have confidence in them.
According to the survey of 1513 Canadians conducted in December 2008, 92% feel that the strength of Canadian banks is critical to the health of the overall economy. A further 91% feel their deposits are secure with the Canadian banks, and 82% believe they were well run.
And the strong results in Canada were despite the limited knowledge among Canadians that the country was recently rated as having the soundest banking system in the world by the World Economic Forum. “Canadians don’t need to be told how solid their banks are; they know we’re fortunate,” says George Sheen, leader of the Canadian Financial Services practice, PwC.
Despite their resiliency though, Canadian banks were impacted by the financial turmoil. PwC’s Annual Banking Survey shows that in fiscal 2008, combined annual profits for the Big Six banks dropped $7.5 billion to just over $12 billion from a record $19.5 billion in 2007.
This puts 2008 income on par with the results from 2005. But in these unprecedented times, the Canadian banks are in relatively good shape to weather the difficult downturn.
“Canadians are confident in their banks, and they should be,” says George Sheen, leader of the Canadian Financial Services practice at PwC. “They are well regulated, well capitalized and well run.”
L.D.