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09 Oct 08 - 07:15 PM (#2461534) Subject: BS: World's soundest banking system is in... From: Little Hawk Well, by danged! Straight out of today's news... "Canada has the world's soundest banking system, closely followed by Sweden, Luxembourg and Australia, a survey by the World Economic Forum has found as financial crisis and bank failures shake world markets. But Britain, which once ranked in the top five, has slipped to 44th place behind El Salvador and Peru, after a 50 billion pound ($86.5 billion) pledge this week by the government to bolster bank balance sheets. The United States, where some of Wall Street's biggest financial names have collapsed in recent weeks, rated only 40, just behind Germany at 39, and smaller states such as Barbados, Estonia and even Namibia, in southern Africa. The United States was on Thursday considering buying a slice of debt-laden banks to inject trust back into lending between financial institutions now too wary of one another to lend. The World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report based its findings on opinions of executives, and handed banks a score between 1.0 (insolvent and possibly requiring a government bailout) and 7.0 (healthy, with sound balance sheets). Canadian banks received 6.8, just ahead of Sweden (6.7), Luxembourg (6.7), Australia (6.7) and Denmark (6.7). UK banks collectively scored 6.0, narrowly behind the United States, Germany and Botswana, all with 6.1. France, in 19th place, scored 6.5 for soundness, while Switzerland's banking system scored the same in 16th place, as did Singapore (13th). The ranking index was released as central banks in Europe, the United States, China, Canada, Sweden and Switzerland slashed interest rates in a bid to end to panic selling on markets and restore trust in the shaken banking system. The Netherlands (6.7), Belgium (6.6), New Zealand (6.6), Malta (6.6) rounded out the WEF's banking top 10 with Ireland, whose government unilaterally pledged last week to guarantee personal and corporate deposits at its six major banks. Also scoring well were Chile (6.5, 18th) and Spain, South Africa, Norway, Hong Kong and Finland all ending up in the top 20. At the bottom of the list was Algeria in 134th place, with its banks scoring 3.9 to be just below Libya (4.0), Lesotho (4.1), the Kyrgyz Republic (4.1) and both Argentina and East Timor (4.2)." |
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09 Oct 08 - 08:31 PM (#2461593) Subject: RE: BS: World's soundest banking system is in... From: Sandra in Sydney some good news for us, here (as well as you, there!) sandra |
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09 Oct 08 - 09:28 PM (#2461645) Subject: RE: BS: World's soundest banking system is in... From: John on the Sunset Coast LH - What is it that Canada does (and all those others in the 6s) to merit those ratings. Do they use classic economic models, proven and prudent? Do they have a laissez faire system? Do they use the economy to effect desired political ends, irrespective of whether they follow sound principles or not? It would be interesting to know more. Can you point us to the data you cite? |
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09 Oct 08 - 09:35 PM (#2461649) Subject: RE: BS: World's soundest banking system is in... From: Stilly River Sage This morning there was a story about Spain's banks--they have a very large very sound one, and they played a clip from the CEO in a speech last summer, in which he basically said that if you don't understand what is in a package offered for investment purposes, stay away from it. So they didn't get into all of these putrid rebundled shaky mortgages investments. SRS |
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09 Oct 08 - 09:52 PM (#2461664) Subject: RE: BS: World's soundest banking system is in... From: CarolC I'm very thankful our bank is Canadian. JtS said the reason the Canadian banks are so sound is because they are strictly regulated. |
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09 Oct 08 - 09:59 PM (#2461672) Subject: RE: BS: World's soundest banking system is in... From: Little Hawk That is correct (according to what I've read in the press about it). They are more strictly regulated than banks in the USA, for example...meaning there are strict legislated restraints on how far out on a shaky financial limb they are allowed to get themselves in their search for windfall profits. It's the opposite of a laissez-faire system. They are thus protected to some extent against their own sense of untrammeled greed getting the better of them... ;-) This doesn't mean, of course, that they don't get rich. They do. |
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09 Oct 08 - 10:02 PM (#2461675) Subject: RE: BS: World's soundest banking system is in... From: Sawzaw Can Y'all spare a few Billion? I'm runnin' a lil' low. Mah printin' press is gettin' behind an I am waitin' fer a big shipment of paper from Canaduh. Hope we ain't been cut off. Uncle Sam |
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09 Oct 08 - 10:07 PM (#2461676) Subject: RE: BS: World's soundest banking system is in... From: Ron Davies Also possibly that they are not severely tempted into arcane mortgage arrangements to make money--when they can make it by bankrolling exploitation of natural resources, at a time when commodities prices have been soaring. It certainly is true that lack of a Wild West atmosphere in finance-- a more civilized atmosphere than in Russia, for instance, which also has natural resources--helps--to say the least. |
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09 Oct 08 - 10:28 PM (#2461689) Subject: RE: BS: World's soundest banking system is in... From: Little Hawk Well, Canada's always been an innately more cautious and small-c conservative society when it comes to handling finances. It's also always been a country more inclined toward government regulation rather than the laissez-faire approach. For example, when the westward expansion happened in Canada, the law and the police went into a territory FIRST. The settlers came afterwards...into an environment where the law was already established and functioning. Result: Virtually no whisky traders or gunfighters and virtually no Indian wars. Very dull history books! ;-) In the USA the settlers were allowed to pour in first into a new territory and lawlessness reigned. Survival of the fittest. The law finally came in much later when there were considered to be enough people there to establish a state government. Result: Thousands of whisky traders and gunfighters and bandit gangs. Thousands of murders. Hundreds of Indian wars. Very exciting history books! Canadians prefer a society that's unexciting and safe, it seems. ;-) I suppose they took that approach to banking as well. |
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09 Oct 08 - 11:12 PM (#2461704) Subject: RE: BS: World's soundest banking system is in... From: Q (Frank Staplin) Although regarded as sound, Belgium, Nederlands and Luxembourg have had to put billions into one of their largest banks. The situation seems to have been stabilized. Canada has a small number of very large (and old) chartered banks. There are others, such as Alberta Treasury Branch, limited in their operations, but they do loan mortgage money. I believe all require a down payment and a credit rating, so they are conservative. (Correct me if I am wrong, Little Hawk). Many individuals are invested in Canadian bank stocks, they are generally regarded as safe. I think the largest offshore bank operating in Canada is HSBC (Hong Kong, China). Of course the big European banks have business offices here, but they do not deal in home mortgages, etc. in Canada. Many people in Calgary put their savings in the local HSBC branches, they offered a quarter more interest than the others, but now I think they are all the same. So far, haven't heard of any real problems at HSBC. The Chinese (inc. Hong Kong) seem to be fairly careful. One Chinese bank has had to be propped by the Chinese government, but not many wails of woe coming from there. Yes, some of the Canadian banks are large, but 'rich' is not a proper designation; they make money for their many shareholders and thousands of employees and grease the business operations of the country. Now, damn it, you Americans get things straightened out down there- the price of petroleum is dropping too low, and you are cutting into Canada's income! |
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09 Oct 08 - 11:36 PM (#2461720) Subject: RE: BS: World's soundest banking system is in... From: Bee-dubya-ell Is the "soundest" banking system the one whose banks have the best acoustics? |
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10 Oct 08 - 01:02 AM (#2461758) Subject: RE: BS: World's soundest banking system is in... From: meself I think the culture of banking and big business generally in Canada tends to be cautious and conservative. Big Presbyterian influence. And it's cold up here. You don't want to have to move out of your house and into your car because you've made some bad investments ... |
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10 Oct 08 - 05:19 AM (#2461844) Subject: RE: BS: World's soundest banking system is in... From: Keith A of Hertford And the only stock market where shares are still going up.... Baghdad! |
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10 Oct 08 - 06:45 AM (#2461892) Subject: RE: BS: World's soundest banking system is in... From: gnu Minds me of the old tune Jimmy Flynn used to sing... Jesus Saves.... went sommat like... Jesus put his money in The Bank of Nova Scotia, and he never ever ever got it back.... We have two federal government banks (one being a regulating bank and one being a business developement bank) and six "big" banks, commonly called chartered banks. The big banks are classified as Schedule 1 Banks, but there are also a dozen other smaller banks that have quailfied as S1 by following strict regulations. One of the smaller banks is the Canadian Tire Bank and it actually prints it's own money and has a large chain of gas stations and soup-to-nuts stores from coast to coast. That's the reason for the high rating. |
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10 Oct 08 - 07:05 AM (#2461907) Subject: RE: BS: World's soundest banking system is in... From: gnu Ya know, I've often thought, rather than winning the lottery, I'd like to have all the Canadian Tire money in all the glove compartments of all the vehicles in Canada. Don't that burn yer ass when ya get to the checkout and think about all those crumpled up three cent bills ya forgot in the truck - AGAIN!!? |
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10 Oct 08 - 09:34 AM (#2462063) Subject: RE: BS: World's soundest banking system is in... From: Donuel I think its India |
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11 Oct 08 - 02:24 AM (#2462777) Subject: RE: BS: World's soundest banking system is in... From: The Fooles Troupe In Oz, 'no-doc' loans were not allowed, only those institutions that bought bundled US ones got a bit wobbly on that account. |