The recent proposals from the federal government to reduce certain tax advantages available to small business has met strident resistance from those who may have to pay more tax, and from others who just want to slag the Minister. The Minister has argued that the special provisions give too many benefits to the very wealthy. […]
More commentary has come out on the exceptional levels of household debt in Canada. These sometimes speak directly to the issue, such as described in the Borrowing Binge in the Vancouver Sun, or as a negative outlook provided by Moody’s when assessing the exposure of Canada’s banks. The latter makes explicit references the level of […]
While the cost of housing has prompted much debate, too little attention is on the heavy subsidies granted to residential real estate investment and the way in which these subsidies have caused price inflation. Fortunately, the Government of Canada mortgage insurance program is being scaled back. The restrictions introduced late in 2016 are ‘cooling the […]
Real credit unions may have to reconsider their strategic options. History was made with the FICOM approval of the Coast Capital Saving application to be ‘continued’ as a Federal Credit Union (FCU). This action has the potential to totally restructure the BC credit union system. While the commission did say that would consider the impact […]
I recently stumbled upon two branches of the Apple Bank in New York. I wondered if this was the extension of ‘Apple Pay’. I was challenged to think about a potential ‘Google bank’ and what that might mean. (Just to be clear, I later learned that the Apple Bank in NYC has nothing to do […]
As the new Minister of Finance, Carole James, has several issues on her plate. The two simplest are getting attention, because they are listed in the direction given to her by the new premier. One is taxation, reversing the scheduled increase that faces large credit unions that no longer qualify as ‘small business’. And second, […]
Communications professionals know that you can sell something if you give it a good ‘modern’ or ‘contemporary’ brand identity. This is the spin we hear all the time regarding a ‘cashless society’. Apparently convenience means more than anything else. But there is a darker side to this proposition; the expanded role of large intermediaries (e.g. […]
The last few decades have seen a huge change in the ‘structure’ of our economy. Rana Foroohar provides an accessible overview of the USA economy in her book Makers and Takers. She notes that over the last thirty years finance, and financial engineering, have come to dominate the world of business and traditional ‘maker’ industries, […]
Watch out if you use the word ‘bank’. On June 30th the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (“OSFI”) issued an advisory that re-asserted that the use of the words bank, banker, and banking are restricted under The Bank Act. OSFI expressed displeasure at the expanded use of the words by non-banks and they […]
This is a new frontier for credit unions. Regulatory Arbitrage is a big part of decision-making in large corporate entities as they choose where and how to do business. The issue is the potential impact of requirements in certain legal jurisdictions; differing requirements drive corporate structures, governance practices, business strategies, investments, business location, staffing, and, […]