Canadian Banker articles from January 1996

Canadian Banker archives from January 1996

The big issue of little loans.(Editorial)
January 1, 1996... `Micro-credit is poised to become a macro issue in Canadian banking. We can expect to hear a lot more about it as the next federal election approaches. Precise definitions vary, but the term micro-credit, or micro-enterprise lending,...

Gloomy predictions of job losses are exaggerated, senior bankers say.
January 1, 1996... A chill wind blew through the Canadian banking community last fall with the release of a survey predicting that half of the country's bank branches would disappear over the next decade, and with them 35,000 retail banking jobs. The...

New TV series to cover 'the art of investment.'
January 1, 1996... The Canadian Bankers Association is among sponsors of a major television series aimed at demystifying investing for Canadians planning their financial futures. The ambitious series, to start in September 1996, will run on the Canwest...

Insurance rules penalize consumers, says CBA. (Canadian Bankers Assn.)
January 1, 1996... Canadians face unfair restrictions on their retirement planning, and the Bank Act should be changed to allow banks to offer life annuities and other insurance products, Canadian Bankers Association President Helen Sinclair said in a recent...

Canadians are confident they can pay off credit-card debt in 1996.
January 1, 1996... More than half of Canadians with outstanding credit-card balances expect they will be able to eliminate those balances in the coming year, according to a recent survey. But at least one expert believes this attitude may not be realistic. ...

Top court decision means greater liability for bankers. (Hodgkinson v. Simms)
January 1, 1996... Professional financial advisors, including bankers, face increased exposure to potential liability as a result of a recent decision by the Supreme Court of Canada. In the Hodgkinson v. Simms case, the court held that a fiduciary duty may...

Private enterprise. (Bank of Montreal Vice Pres. Lesya Balych)
January 1, 1996... For Lesya Balych, private banking isn't a matter of products or services. It's people. Take one glance at Lesya Balych's appointment book and you'll spot a sea of black, an indication that almost every minute of her frenetic work day as...

McLending: the booming business of franchise financing. (includes related article)(Cover Story)
January 1, 1996... From fast-food restaurants to muffler shops to clothing stores, franchise operations now account for 40% of all retail sales. And they're an attractive, cost-effective market for banks. LAST year, when Eric Peterson, a 55-year-old educator...

Building the bank of the future.
January 1, 1996... Looking towards the 21st Century, Canada's banks have recognized they can no longer be all things to all customers. In an age of high-speed global finance, they must identify and concentrate on what they do best. NOT long ago, before...

Remembering a bank of the past. (Bank of British North America)
January 1, 1996... It's more than 75 years since the successful Bank of British North America was acquired by Bank of Montreal. Two bankers who witnessed the move recall those times. The early years of the 20th Century were a crucial time for Canada's banking...

When a little money goes a long way. (Grameen Bank of Bangladesh)
January 1, 1996... Grameen Bank has achieved startling results providing millions of tiny, unsecured business loans to the landless poor of Bangladesh. Can a similar kind of"micro-credit" be made to work in Canada? If not. it won't be for lack of trying. If...

Missionaries of micro-credit. (Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus and Calmeadow's Martin Connell)
January 1, 1996... `If we believe poor people can borrow money and pay it back, we will create institutions to do that and a world without poor people in it. We can create that world simply by believing in it," Dr. Muhammad Yunus of the Grameen Bank told a hushed...

The dream of borderless banking.
January 1, 1996... Despite U.S. recalcitrance, the world is moving gradually towards freer trade in financial services under the new WTO. That dark cloud on the horizon is China. In the years leading up to 1995, negotiators grew grey as talks on liberalizing...