Signage on a building housing a Bank of America office in Canada is seen in the financial district of Toronto, on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. Bank of America is one of many U.S.-owned banks that operate in Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Giordano Ciampini
Signage on a building housing a Bank of America office in Canada is seen in the financial district of Toronto, on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. Bank of America is one of many U.S.-owned banks that operate in Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Giordano Ciampini
On Feb. 3, amid the beginning of a potential trade war with Canada, U.S. President Donald Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to criticize banking in Canada, suggesting U.S. banks are not allowed to open or do business in Canada. That is not true. U.S. banks can and do operate in Canada under regulations laid out by the federal Bank Act.
"Canada doesn’t even allow U.S. Banks to open or do business there. What’s that all about?," U.S. President Donald Trump on Truth Social on Monday, hours before his threatened tariffs on Canadian goods were paused for 30 days.Â
He later that day to reporters while taking questions at the White House.Â
Rating: False
Foreign banks, including U.S. banks, can operate in Canada, and are regulated under the federal Bank Act by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.
Banks in Canada fall into one of three categories under the law. Schedule I banks are Canadian-owned and Schedules II and III are for different types of foreign bank classifications.
There are currently 16 U.S. banks operating in Canada as either or banks, according to a statement sent to ¹ú²úÓÕ»ó¸£Àû from the federal Department of Finance.
"Foreign financial institutions have a wide range of options for doing business in Canada and are given the same opportunities to offer financial services in Canada as domestic institutions," the statement says.
Schedule II bank subsidiariesÂ
The 15 approved Schedule II foreign banks include three with U.S. parent institutions. These institutions are subsidiaries of foreign banks that can do business in Canada and accept deposits.
The list includes , which says it has 600 employees in offices in Calgary, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, and , which has operated in Canada since 1919.
Like the Schedule I banks, the Schedule II banks are incorporated under the Bank Act.
"There's actually nothing to stop an American bank operating in Canada as a separate subsidiary under Schedule II of the Bank Act," said Laurence Booth, a finance professor at the University of Toronto's Rotman school of management.
Schedule III bank branches
Branches of foreign banks, categorized under Schedule III, are not permitted to engage in retail deposit-taking activities but can take wholesale
Schedule III lists 31 foreign institutions.Â
Booth says those bank branches are mostly used for wealth management and corporate services, and direct business to their parent corporation rather than being a subsidiary.
The Canadian Bankers Association that the 16 U.S.-based bank subsidiaries and branches in the country have approximately C$113 billion in assets currently operating in Canada.
"These banks specialize in a range of financial services, including corporate and commercial lending, treasury services, credit card products, investment banking and mortgage financing," the statement says.
"They serve not only customers with cross-border business activities, but also Canada’s domestic retail market. U.S. banks now make up approximately half of all foreign bank assets in Canada."
Sources
Trump's t on Truth Social ()
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JPMorgan ()
Citibank ()
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