GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS AND PUBLIC-POLICY - THE CASE OF CANADIAN MULTINATIONAL BANKS

In the 1960s, three of the 12 largest banks in the world were Canadian. Now, none are among the largest 25. Thc early growth and current more focused strategies must both be understood in relation to federal public policy. Canadian multinational banks (MNBs) developed in a country dependent upon inward capital flows to develop its natural resource base. Government concerns over stability were instrumental in creating a protected market in which Canadian banks developed competitive advantages for international competition. However, globalisation altered the ability of regulators to promote both stability and global competitiveness. The complex relationships between regulation and competitiveness is analysed for six historical periods: strangled trade and the origins of Canadian MNBs. 1792-1871; new nation, new national policy and new national banks, 1871-1900; mergers and new internationalisation, 1900-34; new corporate markets in Canada and abroad. 1934-67; the new international banking: the Euromarkets. 1967-80; global competition in Canada and abroad.