We think of Canada as a big, friendly, nearly Socialist haven of hockey fandom and beer appreciation, where they spend at least 40% of their time apologizing to each other. In such an easy-going, friendly land as this, surely if one Canadian is short on money, they need only stop one of their fellow Canucks on the street and ask them for a loan.
Alas, it's not quite that idyllic. Canadians need banks too. And their financial system is centered around a small group of large institutions.
In Canada, five large banks dominate the financial industry. These are known as the "big five." The group consists of the Bank of Montreal, Scotiabank, CIBC, Royal Bank of Canada, and Toronto-Dominion Bank.
