May 9, 2012 --Canadian chief financial officers (CFOs) of middle-market companies are positive about the current state of their own industry as well as the domestic economy, according to the first Canadian Mid-Market CFO Survey by GE Capital, Canada.
April, 2012— According to PwC’s 2012 State of the internal audit profession study, nearly three-quarters of the 1,530 chief audit executives and stakeholders surveyed cited global economic uncertainty as the biggest risk to companies in 2012.
March 23, 2012---Large companies and their corporate payments systems remain the prime targets for fraudsters, according to the 2012 AFP Payments Fraud and Control survey released today by the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP).
March 19, 2012--JPMorgan Chase & Co. Global Commercial Card business and AirPlus International, a leading provider of corporate travel & entertainment expense solutions, announced the formation of a strategic partnership to help multinational organizations optimize processes and strengthen control of their corporate card and travel expense management programs.
March 8, 2012--Twenty per cent of chief financial officers (CFOs) plan to add full-time accounting and finance employees during the second quarter, while 11 per cent forecast staff decreases, according to the Robert Half Financial Hiring Index. The resulting net 9 per cent increase mirrors the previous quarter's forecast.
February 27, 2012 -- A slower economy is not stopping Canadian CEOs from using mergers and acquisitions as a key growth strategy, as their desire to expand into foreign markets grows. This is according to the 15th Annual Global CEO Survey conducted by PwC, which compared the views of 130 chief executives in Canada to their counterparts around the world.
February 21, 2012 -- The dollar value of attempted fraudulent activity is staggering according to Equifax Canada’s application fraud data. Figures derived from Equifax’s fraud solution database for the financial sector reveal that there was more than $650 million in fraud incidents detected across Canada in 2011.
February 21, 2012 -- Senior Canadian treasury professionals have spoken out about the impact of the euro crisis on their businesses and their concerns about how prepared their banks are to deal with a country exiting the eurozone.
February 8, 2012 -- Brand Finance released its annual Banking 500 report, a study analyzing the financial value of the world’s top banking brands. First published in 2006, the Brand Finance Banking 500 in association with The Banker, incorporates data from all listed companies globally.
February 8, 2012 -- SunGard has completed a cash management study that highlights the growing importance of money market funds (MMFs) among corporate treasurers. As economic and regulatory challenges create greater complexity in managing cash, treasurers have become aware of the importance of defining and delivering on the right investment policies.
February 1, 2012 -- Dovetail, the provider of next generation payment services hubs, today announces that BMO Financial Group (BMO) has signed a contract and started to implement the Dovetail Payment Services Hub. Dovetail enables organizations to reduce the number of payment platforms they operate, centralize processing of multiple currencies and payment types, increase straight through processing and lower processing costs, and provide better, more holistic real-time information to their clients to help them manage the entire payment process.
January 26, 2012 -- Linedata, the global solutions provider dedicated to the investment management and credit industries, today announced that Canadian hedge fund Radiant Investment Management has gone live with Linedata Beauchamp, the company’s award-winning portfolio management software, and part of Linedata’s full front-to-back solution for hedge funds.
January 24, 2012 -- IT2 Treasury Solutions today announced the latest version of its treasury management solution, IT2 7.2: Treasury Transparency & Performance. The launch addresses emerging demands on treasury with a series of major enhancements to the solution.
January 9, 2012 -- SunGard has completed its acquisition of Syntesys, a European SWIFT service bureau and network of business and technical experts dedicated to serving the SWIFT community. The acquisition, the terms of which were not disclosed, is not expected to have a material impact on SunGard’s financial results.
December 20, 2011 -- Investment manager sentiment towards Canadian and international equity markets improved in the fourth quarter, with emerging markets leading the way, according to the latest Russell Investment Manager Outlook, which was conducted between November 15 and 25, 2011.
December 20, 2011 -- TD Canada Trust ranked first in Surviscor’s 2011 Public Website scorCard, a comprehensive, impartial audit of online features and functionality on the public/pre-login website of leading Canadian banks and credit unions.
December 19, 2011 -- Looking toward the new year, chief financial officers (CFOs) expect the financial hiring outlook to improve in the first quarter. Ten per cent of executives interviewed for the Robert Half Financial Hiring Index said they plan to add full-time accounting and finance employees, while only one per cent forecast staff decreases. The resulting net 9 per cent increase is up one point from the fourth-quarter survey.
December 19, 2011 --
Short-term sentiment has driven markets at the expense of long-term investment thinking during a markedly volatile 2011, says HSBC Global Asset Management. But this has created what it believes to be a potentially attractive set of investment opportunities for 2012 for those with a longer-term perspective.
December 13, 2011 -- SAS Canada, the leader in business analytics software and services and TransUnion, a global leader in credit and information management, today announced the development of one of the first consortiums in Canada that will leverage anonymized credit file information, in conjunction with application and fraud data from participating financial institutions to greatly enhance fraud detection.
December 8, 2011 -- SAP today announced an update of its industry-specific banking software, including planned enhancements to help banks excel in today’s financial climate. The forthcoming 8.0 release of banking services is planned to include analytics tailored to the latest compliance regulations as well as accommodation of mergers and acquisitions through highly flexible transactional banking.
December 5, 2011 -- Nearly 40% of companies worldwide plan to shift some foreign investment from developed to emerging markets within five years, according to the latest Economist Intelligence Unit paper, Canadain a Globalised Economy: An investment perspective,sponsored by Ernst & Young.
December 1, 2011 -- Linedata, the global solutions provider dedicated to the investment management and credit industries, today announced the results of its Annual Global Investment Management Survey. Key findings include the recognition of regulation as a present and future challenge; a clear move towards cloud computing and hosted environments; plus risk and trading systems as top IT priorities. Despite a small number of downbeat pronouncements, the majority predicted market growth in 2012.
November 14, 2011 -- The good news for Canada’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is that there will continue to be opportunities for growth in 2012. The challenge is that this growth will be modest, the Canadian dollar will stay strong and consumers will be cautious in taking on more debt, according to BMO Economist, Sal Guatieri, who presented an economic outlook for 2012 to small-and-medium-sized-businesses gathered last week at FEI Canada's 4th Annual SME Conference 2011: Driving Growth and Expansion at the Mississauga Convention Centre.
November 3, 2011 -- For the second straight year RBC Royal Bank has ranked 1st in Surviscor’s Online Banking scorCard, a comprehensive, objective annual assessment of online features and functionality at major Canadian banking institutions.
October 26, 2011 -- US credit card charge-offs improved significantly in September, according to Moody's Credit Card Index.Moody's charge-off rate fell to 5.27%, its lowest point since December 2007, with the six largest issuers each posting sizeable declines in their trust charge-off rates.
October 18, 2011 -- Kaye Scholer LLP has announced that it represented Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent and a lender, and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated as lead arranger, in a $1.8 billion U.S. and Canadian revolving credit facility extended to United Rentals ( North America), Inc. and United Rentals of Canada, Inc. and certain of their affiliates.
October 14, 2011 -- Faced with global economic uncertainty, 51 per cent of Canadian businesses believe 2012 will be a better year than 2011, and only 13 per cent expect it to be worse. More than one in three (79 per cent) of Canadian business owners also plan to invest the same amount or more into their business in 2012, according to a new report from BMO Bank of Montreal.
October 5, 2011 -- NetWorth Services, Inc., a leading provider of cost basis products and services has announced the introduction of a new addition to their suite of Netbasis products - Netbasis-Canada. The result of a synergistic collaboration between NetWorth Services and Exchange Data International (EDI), Netbasis-Canada will provide crucial cost basis services to the Canadian financial industry.
October 5, 2011 --
Canadian companies are lessening their dependence on the U.S. as a trade partner with exports now 30 per cent more diversified than a decade ago, finds a new economic report from CIBC World Markets.
October 4, 2011--Tax simplification is not only desirable and beneficial, it's achievable, said the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada (CGA-Canada) during its pre-budget appearance before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance.
October 3, 2011--Scotiabank has expanded its app offerings, including Android for Canadian cusotmers, and a Smartphone application is available to customers in 20 Caribbean countries. This complements the Bank's existing suite of apps, now available for iPhone, BlackBerry and Android users in Canada.
September 21, 2011--- To better address the current lending environment Credit History Reports (CHR) are now available through PayNet’s online system to provide Canadian commercial finance lenders with exclusive credit profiles on hundreds of thousands of privately-held businesses.
September 21, 2011--- PayNet, a firm that provides risk management tools and market insight to the Canadian commercial finance industry, has released the 2nd quarter 2011 Canadian Business Lending Index (CBLI). The Index signals the first signs of definitive growth. Its rise to 133 from the bottom of 127 hit last year is the first solid increase on both a year over year and quarter over quarter since 2007.
September 20, 2011---
Over the summer, the global economic outlook deteriorated, the European sovereign debt crisis intensified, and investor confidence decreased in the ability of policy-makers to respond, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney said today.
September 15, 2011---Canadians' confidence in the economy continued its drop from last month as the economic climate continues to worsen in both Europe and the United States.The TNS Canadian Consumer Confidence Index dropped more than another point, from 97.6 to 96.4, after dropping two points in August.
September 12, 2011---Small business confidence took a significant hit in August as owners digested a string of bad news about world economy in the first half of the month. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)'s Business Barometer Index dropped to 61.7 last month from its July level of 68.3—the lowest reading since July 2009.
September 7, 2011---Small business confidence took a significant hit in August as owners digested a string of bad news about world economy in the first half of the month. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)'s Business Barometer Index dropped to 61.7 last month from its July level of 68.3—the lowest reading since July 2009.
September 7, 2011---The three parties represented in the Ontario Legislature have all expressed strong support for a national securities regulator headquartered in Toronto and, for the first time, all agree that the federal government should be asked to review the treatment of HST with regard to financial products. These are just two of the topics addressed during an all candidates debate on issues of importance to the financial services industry that was arranged by the Toronto Financial Services Alliance (TFSA).
September 7, 2011---Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment and Scotiabank announced Tuesday that Scotiabank has entered an exclusive partnership to be the Official Bank of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The announcement of the agreement will take place at the 2011 Leafs & Legends Charity Golf Classic. Scotiabank is the presenting sponsor of the event, benefitting the Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) Team Up Foundation.
September 6, 2011---Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment and Scotiabank announced Tuesday that Scotiabank has entered an exclusive partnership to be the Official Bank of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The announcement of the agreement will take place at the 2011 Leafs & Legends Charity Golf Classic. Scotiabank is the presenting sponsor of the event, benefitting the Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) Team Up Foundation.
August 31, 2011---CIBC announced today that it has completed the acquisition of a 41 percent equity interest in American Century Investments, a leading U.S.-based asset management company, for U.S.$848 million in cash.
August 30, 2011---For the seventh consecutive year, Canadians ranked credit unions first in overall Customer Service Excellence among all financial institutions, surpassing all Canadian banks in Synovate Canada's annual Best Banking Awards. Credit unions also took sole honours in two other categories: Values My Business and Branch Service Excellence.
August 30, 2011---TD Canada Trust has earned the number one ranking in Customer Service Excellence among the top five banks in Canada for the seventh year in a row, according to a survey by global market research firm Synovate. TD was an award recipient among the top five banks in all 11 categories and leads by a significant margin in five of the eleven categories.
August 30, 2011---CIBC today announced that it is being recognized by Global Finance Magazine as "Best in Mobile Banking" among North American Consumer Internet banks. This is the first year the mobile banking category has been included in the Global Finance awards, reflecting the emergence of mobile technology as a rapidly growing area in North American banking.
August 29, 2011---Continuing to expand on one of Canada's most comprehensive financial recovery practices, BDO Canada Limited is pleased to announce the integration of KPMG's consumer insolvency practice into BDO's national financial recovery services practice. Effective August 26th, 2011, the practices now operate under the BDO Canada Limited name.
August 25, 2011---Canadian banks are expected to continue doing well relative to their global peers but aren't necessarily shielded from the challenges plaguing the world's financial institutions, including concerns about growth, capital, data and regulatory issues, says Ernst & Young.
August 24, 2011--FINCAD, the market leader for innovative derivatives solutions in the financial industry, is pleased to announce that Mike Brooks has joined FINCAD as Sr. Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer and member of the Executive. He brings to FINCAD more than 15 years’ experience in the software industry in Vancouver.
August 23, 2011--The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) commercial real estate investment market has rebounded strongly from the market trough of two years ago. Solid property-market fundamentals and record sale volumes in the retail sector signal the GTA is poised to achieve unprecedented investment results by year-end 2011.
August 22, 2011--As Canada's economy emerged from recession and the flow of private sector credit available to small business gradually improved, the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) continued to provide strong support to Canadian entrepreneurs.
August 22, 2011--TD Bank Group and TD Friends of the Environment Foundation today announced a donation of $20,000 to help Goderich after being hit by Ontario's most powerful tornado in years. The tornado caused extensive damage to the town known as a popular tourist destination with historical charm.
August 16, 2011--TD Bank Group (TD) and Bank of America Corporation today announced a definitive agreement under which TD will purchase MBNA Canada's credit card portfolio, as well as certain other assets and liabilities. TD will pay a modest premium on an expected $8.5 billion of credit card receivables at closing.
August 12, 2011--Fidessa Group, a vendor of trading, investment management, and information solutions, has integrated Fincad’s derivatives pricing library into its sell-side trading platforms. Surrey, BC-based Fincad’s derivatives technology is already integrated into Fidessa’s buy-side platforms.
August 11, 2011--The British Columbia Securities Commission today announced steps it is taking to improve investor protection in the "exempt market". It will require more disclosure from companies that raise money in BC's securities markets under prospectus exemptions.
August 4, 2011--Investments in customer-facing systems and processes by the Big Five banks and midsize banks have contributed to a substantial increase in overall customer satisfaction with retail banks in Canada, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 Canadian Retail Banking Customer Satisfaction StudySM released today.
August 3, 2011 --comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, announced the comScore Canadian Online Banking Insights report, providing a detailed look into emerging trends in the Canadian online banking industry. Based on comScore's opt-in research panel of approximately 40,000 Canadian Internet users, the detailed quarterly reports include web site visitation, online marketing metrics, transaction benchmarks and mobile banking data that yield critical insights into emerging trends and consumer behavior in the Canadian online banking industry.
August 3, 2011 -- An independent survey conducted by Ipsos Reid across Canada, the U.S. and the UK on behalf of Shred-it, a world-leading information security company providing document destruction services, reveals that 30 percent of business operators in the financial sector are not worried about the potential implications of a security breach. This statistic stands in contrast to the 96 percent of financial service respondents who reported that they know of their legal obligation to protect client information, the highest percentage of all of the sectors surveyed.
August 2, 2011 -- US Legal Support Incorporated, a provider of full-service court reporting, record retrieval, legal staffing, litigation, trial and document review services, has selected SunGard’s AvantGard Receivables to help automate its order-to-cash cycle for improved operational efficiencies and cash flow.
July 27, 2011 -- After falling in May, Scotiabank's Commodity Price Index, which measures price trends in 32 of Canada's major exports, eased further in June, though the decline was slight at -0.3% m/m. The All Items Index has corrected only moderately by -2.8% from the April-2011 near-term peak and remains 55.3% above the cyclical low in April 2009, following the 'Great Recession'.
July 26, 2011 -- Investments in customer-facing systems and processes by the Big Five banks and midsize banks have contributed to a substantial increase in overall customer satisfaction with retail banks in Canada, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 Canadian Retail Banking Customer Satisfaction Study SM released today.
July 26, 2011 -- TD Canada Trust has received the highest ranking in customer satisfaction, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 Canadian Retail Banking Customer Satisfaction Study SM, for the sixth year in a row.
July 26, 2011 -- Reinforcing its commitment to unprecedented value and customer service, President's Choice Financial was today ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Midsize Retail Banks, Five Years in a Row" in the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 Canadian Retail Banking Customer Satisfaction Study SM.
July 25, 2011 -- Reval, the premier provider of financial risk management Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) to corporations and financial institutions globally, announced today that Patrick Cannon has joined the company as Senior Vice President of Client Services to oversee dedicated Professional Services and Client Solutions teams in North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific. Cannon brings over 16 years of experience in client-facing roles in the financial technology industry.
July 21, 2011 -- Faltering global equity markets largely erased fixed income advances during the June quarter, according to a survey just released by RBC Dexia Investor Services, which maintains the industry's most comprehensive universe of Canadian pension plans and money managers.
July 21, 2011 -- Fiscal restraint by Canadian governments—and households—will curb national economic growth this year, according to The Conference Board of Canada's Canadian Outlook - Summer 2011. Real GDP growth is expected to slow to 2.5 per cent in 2011, down from 3.2 per cent last year.
July 20, 2011 -- Home Trust Company, one of Canada's leading Trust companies and ninth largest deposit-taking financial institution, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Home Capital Group Inc., today announced it has successfully gone live with solutions from the SAP® For Banking solution portfolio. With these offerings from SAP AG, Home Trust has joined a growing list of financial institutions worldwide by investing in a platform to power its growth. With the implementation of SAP for Banking solutions, Home Trust has improved its ability to introduce new products, enhance reporting of business operations, achieve substantial new efficiencies and drive future growth and profitability.
July 15, 2011 -- The current drama in Washington over increasing the U.S. debt ceiling and related conditions to reduce deficits is just the opening act in a long series of intense negotiations. There is no pain-free way for the United States to deal with its excesses of the past, which has added to the risks for sustained growth in Canada, according to a Conference Board of Canada briefing released today.
July 12, 2011 -- The vast majority (85 percent) of online investors are using their online investing accounts for either long-term goals or a combination of long-term and short-term ones, according to the latest RBC Direct Investing poll. Contrary to popular perception that many online investors are looking for quick financial gains, just nine percent of Canadian online investors are seeking short-term profit through their online investing accounts.
July 12, 2011 -- Canadians believe the emerging markets—in particular Asian nations such as China and India —represent the best investment opportunities, according to Franklin Templeton Investments Corp.'s latest national research.
July 11, 2011 -- Cambridge Mercantile Group, a leader in the foreign exchange and global payments industry, has received the Deutsche Bank Straight Through Processing (STP) Excellence Awards in recognition of the outstanding STP rating of 98.57% for USD payments and 99.96% for EUR payments. This marks the third consecutive year Cambridge has been honoured with the Deutsche Bank STP Excellence Awards.
July 6, 2011 -- Optimism among Canada's small- and medium-sized business owners fell slightly in June. According to the latest business confidence survey findings from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), the business confidence index came in at 66.3, down about a point from May's 66.9 level and its 70.7 April peak
June 28, 2011 -- There's no shortage of pressures facing today's top finance professionals, according to a new Robert Half report, CFO Concerns: What Are the Top Challenges Facing Today's Financial Executives? The report highlights a number of issues impacting the role, namely controlling costs and improving profitability, maintaining staff morale and motivation, and managing growth.
June 27, 2011 -- Despite a few lingering economic concerns and a slower than expected recovery from the recession, a majority of small business owners anticipate higher revenues and more hiring in the months ahead, according to a new survey from TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank®.
June 27, 2011 -- TD has pledged $250,000 towards the Lions Gate Hospital Foundation's campaign to build a new centre for mental health and addictions, which includes the expansion of the UBC Medical School and funds to support TD Grants in Medical Excellence to further the education of health-care workers at Lions Gate Hospital. The announcement was made today at the TD Canada Trust branch at 14 th and Lonsdale in North Vancouver.
June 23, 2011 -- Desjardins Group, a major sponsor of cycling in Québec, is proud to participate for the second consecutive year in the presentation of the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec and the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal. These two exceptional trials, which are part of the UCI WorldTour, are set to take place on September 9 and 11 of this year.
June 20, 2011 -- OTTAWA -- The Bank of Canada unveiled a new polymer bank note series today at its head office in Ottawa. Information on the polymer material and advanced new security features was released, along with the images and designs of the soon-to-be-issued $100 and $50 bank notes, and the themes for the remaining notes in the series.
Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty and RCMP Commissioner William J. S. Elliott joined Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney for the unveiling ceremony.
June 17, 2011 -- As the owner of Canada's largest commercial risk database, Equifax has raised the industry standard for innovation by launching a powerful information solution. The new Equifax Business Credit Report (TM) provides a comprehensive view of the credit history and payment performance of small firms and large businesses – a valuable tool for managing risk and acquiring profitable customers. With its user-friendly format, Canadian lenders and providers of commercial credit can quickly identify potential risky accounts, better assess the financial profile of applicants and make more informed credit decisions.
June 16, 2011 -- RBC today announced that it will become title sponsor of the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, South Carolina, signing a five-year golf sponsorship through to 2016.
An iconic event on the PGA TOUR since 1969, the tournament, to be named the RBC Heritage, is one of the players' favourite stops and boasts one of the most challenging and precise tests of golf on tour. Past champions have included such golfing greats as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Tom Watson, and Team RBC ambassador Jim Furyk.
June 16, 2011 -- CIBC Mellon has surpassed $1 trillion in assets under administration (AUA), demonstrating the company's leading position in the Canadian asset and investment servicing industry.
"Achieving this milestone clearly illustrates our clients' recognition of the superior service and product solutions they receive by partnering with CIBC Mellon," said Tom Monahan, president and chief executive officer, CIBC Mellon. "While institutions across the globe remained challenged by economic headwinds, we are proud to have experienced marked growth in our AUA and our client base. We look forward to continuing to provide our clients with the best asset and investment servicing experience in Canada."
June 13, 2011 --Canadian consumers remain more confident than their American counterparts according to the latest results of the Harris/Decima-Investors Group Consumer Confidence Index. In the latest wave of the quarterly survey, Canadian consumer confidence index stood at 83.7, down slightly from 86.2 in February, but still well ahead of the US, where the index stood at 74.3.
Canadians remain more likely to see good times financially for themselves a year from now than bad. In total, 25% believe they will be better off financially a year from now. Conversely, 15% feel they will be worse off a year from now. In February, this split was 31%-13%.
June 11, 2011 --TD Bank Group today announced the launch of TD Auto Finance, its new auto lending brand, at an employee event in Farmington Hills to celebrate the lender's new name, new logo and a new beginning.
TD Bank Group (TD) closed the purchase of Chrysler Financial in April of this year, combining its existing auto lending business with Chrysler Financial under a new North American auto lending brand -- TD Auto Finance. TD Auto Finance provides a robust array of automotive financing options to meet its customers' needs as well as the needs of its dealer partners.
June 7, 2011 -- RBC Capital Markets, the corporate and investment banking arm of Royal Bank of Canada, today announced key management appointments for its operations in Asia.
Doug Moore has been appointed to the newly created position of head of RBC Capital Markets, Asia. Moore's appointment illustrates RBC's continued growth in the region, and follows RBC Capital Markets' announcement in November 2010 of a new trading floor in Hong Kong, doubling its capacity.
May 26, 2011--As Canada emerges from the economic downturn in growth mode, Canadian finance executives are taking a more aggressive stance when it comes to increasing top-line revenue and seizing investment opportunities the latest American Express/CFO Research Global Business & Spending Monitor reveals. With many companies sitting on large cash surpluses, companies report that they will deploy more resources toward developing new products and services, building new production capacity, and adding headcount in sales - a sharp contrast to the positions of their U.S. counterparts.
May 3, 2011 ---TMX Group Inc. and QuoteMedia, Inc. announced the launch of TSX InfoSuiteTM, a new market data and shareholder solution powered by QuoteMedia, Inc., introduced to enhance the suite of services for Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) listed companies.
March 24, 2011--If time is money, finance executives may have something to worry about, according to a new Robert Half Management Resources survey. Nearly one-third (32 per cent) of chief financial officers interviewed cited time management due to competing priorities as their biggest work challenge. Keeping up with technology and achieving work/life balance garnered 24 per cent and 19 per cent of the response, respectively.
The use of Straight Through Processing (STP) for the efficient transfer of treasury information is being neglected by a significant number of treasurers, according to a survey by IT2 Treasury Solutions.
London, UK-based IT2 Treasury Solutions is a provider of treasury management software to corporate treasuries and financial institutions. The company’s North American clients include Costco Wholesale Corp., Marriot International, Office Depot, and Sara Lee.
March 10, 2011--Although 75 percent of Canadians surveyed say their trust in banks has stayed the same or has increased in the past 12 months, almost 64 percent say they plan to switch banks or have already done so because of service quality issues, says an Ernst & Young report released today.
“Canadian banks came out of the financial crisis relatively unscathed as compared to most of their global counterparts. As a result, banks here have seen the level of trust remain steady or even improve,” says Paul Battista, Financial Services Advisory Leader at Ernst & Young Canada. “But our survey clearly shows that the trust factor isn’t what drives dissatisfaction in Canadians’ banking relationships. It’s the lack of personalized attention and service issues.”
March 10, 2011--New research has shown that many corporate treasurers are uncertain about the relevance and implications of new global accounting standards to their treasury operations.
According to the research, undertaken by IT2 Treasury Solutions, a leading provider of treasury management software to corporate treasuries and financial institutions, just 52% of the responding corporate treasurers reported that they were aware of the content and impact of impending changes in IFRS. In Europe, IFRS 9, the standard for classifying and measuring financial instruments which was released in November 2009, will apply to accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2013.
CAMBRIDGE--In the aftermath of the global financial meltdown, which saw many countries and financial institutions collapse under the weight of excessive debt, Canada weathered the storm and emerged as a shining example of fiscal responsibility. But while the balance sheets of the nation’s banks, businesses, and government remain strong, individual Canadians haven’t fared as well. Canadians have accumulated debt at an unprecedented rate: the country’s total household debt is now three times the size of its national debt – more than $1.5 trillion CAD in total.
March 9, 2011--ING DIRECT pushed the national rollout of the THRiVE Chequing Account, an online, no-fee daily chequing account that actually pays interest. THRiVE Chequing enables Canadians to make payments, deposit, withdraw or transfer money for free, all without being nickel and dimed. Building on its history of innovating new financial products for savers, THRiVE Chequing marks a new era for ING DIRECT, as the no-fee daily chequing account and client card makes banking with ING DIRECT a part of Canadians' daily lives. Earlier this week, THRiVE Chequing won a consumers choice award as Product of the Year in the Financial Services category based on innovation.
February 25, 2011--Third-quarter profits at ATB Financial (ATB) rose $30.8 million, or 86.2 per cent, as margins and loan volumes improved and credit losses reduced.
Net income for the quarter ending December 31, 2010 was $66.6 million, compared to $35.8 million during the same quarter last year. Adjusted net income - which excludes a recovery on asset-backed commercial paper - was $58.9 million, an increase of $20.4 million over last year's third quarter.
February 23, 2011--Canada's mining and metals sector is set to heat up in 2011 with increased deal activity, more diverse buyer competition and a continued appetite for projects in frontier markets, according to Ernst & Young.
"Canadian M&A activity has made an incredible rebound with companies reaping the rewards of reinvigorated balance sheets and flushed with cash from high commodity prices - particularly gold and copper," said Tom Whelan, Leader of Ernst & Young's national Mining practice. "In 2010, a third of all global gold deals took place in Canada, with over half of all deals conducted by Canadian companies. The largest of these was Kinross Gold's acquisition of Red Back Mining, valued at US$7.4 billion."
The use of Straight Through Processing (STP) for the efficient transfer of treasury information is being neglected by a significant number of treasurers, according to a survey by IT2 Treasury Solutions.
February 11, 2011--Everlink, a leading provider of Integrated Payment Solutions and Services in the Canadian marketplace, is pleased to announce that Servus Credit Union, the third largest credit union in Canada, has signed an agreement to implement the Everlink Fraud Management solution
February 10, 2011--The need for efficient working capital management, the requirement to secure paper documents, plus advances in scanning technology have all come together to drive the growth of paperless receivables.
February 10, 2011--BNY Mellon subsidiary Eagle Investment Systems has become the latest financial services company to offer derivative pricing analytics to its global clients via a partnership with Surrey, BC-based FINCAD. Eagle will incorporate FINCAD Analytics into its investment management suite, which is used by clients for managing complex investments. Eagle joins the 70 partners who embed FINCAD’s products into their own client offering.
February 10, 2011--Moody's Investors Service expects to publish its operational risk
guidelines for global structured finance transactions by the end of February
2011. This announcement follows the end of the request for comment period on
15 January 2011. The rating agency believes that the new guidelines could
affect the senior ratings of up to 200 transactions worldwide.
February 10, 2011--Reval, the premier provider of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
solutions for corporate financial risk management, has added 70 new clients
in 2010, generating 63 percent more new contract value than in 2009. As a
result, revenue grew over 43 percent. Demand for more risk management tools
and straight-through processing drove new business.
February 10, 2011--American Express Canada has a new online foreign exchange payment solution for Canadian businesses. American Express FX International Payments (FXIP) allows clients to make foreign currency transactions at competitive rates and with the convenience, security and control of 24/7 online service.
"For many small and medium sized businesses, navigating the volatile and complex global foreign exchange market can be as challenging as learning a foreign language," said Jeff Gladwish, Director, FXIP, American Express Canada. "Our clients have told us they're looking for cost-effective and efficient ways to transact internationally, so we've put over a century of foreign exchange expertise to work in designing a solution that gives our clients the support and tools they need."
January 30, 2011--The wide discount for WTI oil off Brent highlights the commercial risk for
Canada's oil patch of relying largely on one export market - the United
States.
January 25, 2011--Canadian natural resource companies with excess cash to invest have spurred San Francisco, California-based Institutional Cash Distributors (ICD) to expand its distribution and sales operations in Canada.
January 20, 2011--FINCAD, the industry standard for financial analytics, has hired
Andrew Markazi as a Sales Director focussing on large financial
institutions.
January 11, 2011--The 2010 winners of the annual Service Award were released today by DALBAR. Earning the #1 spot in the mutual fund industry is BMO Mutual Funds. This marks five consecutive years of award winning service by BMO Mutual Funds for both its English & French language services. The #1 ranked company in the discount brokerage industry is RBC Direct Investing. This also marks the fourth consecutive year that RBC Direct Investing has earned this award. Honourable mentions go to Franklin Templeton Investments and TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage, both companies finished second in their respective categories.
January 11, 2011--CommunityLend, Canada's only online loan marketplace, today announced the launch of Financeit.ca, its innovative in-house financing platform for Canada's multi-billion dollar home improvement industry. Starting immediately, home improvement businesses will be able to register at www.financeit.ca to provide their customers with immediate loan approvals for purchase financing.
January 6, 2011--Manulife Financial Corporation is announcing significant progress
on its goal of reducing its underlying earnings sensitivity to equity market
and interest rate movements in the fourth quarter of 2010.
January 4, 2011--The 2010 Fincad Corporate Finance Survey has found that 83 percent of corporates are continuing to use derivatives to hedge risk. However, as a result of the financial crisis, more corporate treasuries have taken measures to adjust their risk management strategy with increasingly required checks and balances in place.
January 3, 2011--Despite reports of a strengthening Canadian dollar, new job creation and what's expected to have been a solid Christmas shopping season, almost half of Canadian small business owners report a downturn in business, notes the latest quarterly American Express Small Business Monitor conducted by Angus Reid Public Opinion.
January 3, 2011--An in-depth study of billing and collections practices by U.S. insurance companies by Ward Group, a U.S.-based provider of insurance industry benchmarking and research studies, has found a preponderance of paper-based methods.
December 30, 2010--Dovetail, a UK- and U.S.-based provider of payment services hubs, has joined the International Payments Framework Association. The IPFA provides rules, standards, operating procedures and guidelines to improve cross-border payments and the inter-connection of international clearing systems.
December 28, 2010 --Desjardins Financial Group entered into a support agreement with Western Financial Group, the largest insurance and financial services retailer in Western Canada.
Desjardins will acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Western Financial at a price of $4.15 per common share in cash for a total transaction value of $443 million.
December 28, 2010--Due to their record cash positions, Canadian companies are poised to increase their M&A activity both domestically and internationally, says the 2010 Canadian Investment Banking Study from U.S.-based consultancy Greenwich Associates.
Canadian corporations’ strong financial position is the result of a booming bond market and the eagerness of banks to provide credit at favourable rates, says Greenwich. Its study is based on interviews with chief financial officers, corporate development officers, and treasurers at large Canadian companies between April and June 2010. In all, 107 executives in debt capital markets and 105 in M&A and equity capital markets were interviewed for the study.
December 23, 2010--Davis + Henderson, Limited Partnership, a wholly-owned business of Davis + Henderson Income Fund is going to acquire substantially all the assets of ASSET Inc.for $76 million payable in cash. The acquisition is expected to close on or about January 18, 2011, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions. ASSET is Canada's largest provider of technology based asset recovery and insolvency management solutions to the Canadian financial services industry.
December 21, 2010--Canada’s BMO Financial Group has launched a treasury management platform that helps corporate customers to manage their day-to-day banking needs online from a single point of contact.
The new BMO Online Banking for Business service provides business customers with a single screen or “personal dashboard” to manage all of their global cash management and foreign exchange services online.
December 20, 2010-- Cincinnati, Ohio-based Fifth Third Bancorp has had a commercial branch in Toronto for five years, serving U.S. corporations which do business in Canada as well as Canadian firms wanting to expand in the U.S. In 2011, the bank plans to expand the customer-serving staff at its Toronto office.
“Our focus with our Canadian branch is very targeted,” Jeff Ficke (right), Fifth Third’s director of Treasury Management, tells Canadian Treasurer. “We serve corporations which are doing business on both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border. The aim is to act as a single financial institution bringing both their U.S. and Canadian operations together. Our Canadian cash management service offerings complement what we offer in the U.S., but obviously differ slightly due to the fact that Canada is a different banking environment to the U.S.”
December 20, 2010--The European Commission (EC), the governing body for the European Union (EU), has announced a set of initiatives to encourage the growth of e-invoicing across Europe. By 2020, the EC hopes that e-invoicing will be the main method by which European businesses issue invoices. It estimates that that moving from paper invoices to e-invoices will generate savings of around (EUR) €240 billion (C$318 billion) over a six-year period.
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December 10, 2010 --PwC's December Capital Markets Flash report highlights 20 reasons why Canada is the place to be from a markets perspective. Despite a backdrop of global macro weakness, Canada's public debt capital has been plentiful and investor demand for equities has been very healthy.
December 10, 2010 --Canada's CFO of the Year™ program welcomes Richard Bird, John Clappison, Cynthia Devine and The Hon. Brian Tobin to the distinguished panel of business leaders from across the country which will review nominations and select Canada's 2011 CFO of the Year Award. This independent selection committee includes the following notable names from the Canadian finance community.
December 8, 2010--A survey has found that two-thirds (68 percent) of corporate treasurers would be willing to change banks in return for better service in the areas of on-boarding, account maintenance and query handling. In July-August 2010, online financial information site Finextra.com and U.S.-based financial IT firm Pegasystems surveyed corporate treasuries and banks worldwide, receiving 61 survey responses from 38 banks, and 37 from corporates, making a total of 98 respondents.
December 1, 2010--DeciZens, a Toronto, Ontario-based financial management outsourcing company, is launching CFO-for-hire services for Canadian small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs). “What we offer is the ability to help convert the fixed cost of the finance function into a variable cost,” DeciZens’ founder Azam Foda CMA, MBA, tells Canadian Treasurer.
Among the outsourcing services provided by DeciZens are treasury management, risk management, including advice on insurance coverage, transaction processing, and working capital management. “We already have some clients using our services,” Mr Foda says.
November 28, 2010--ScoreSharp, a South African credit scoring consultancy, is helping its customers create automated scorecards with the help of technology from Dallas, Texas-based GDS Link. GDS Link’s flagship product, DataView360, creates customized credit scorecards based on information collected from a variety of data providers. These sources range from credit rating agencies to government data sources, public records and in-house information.
November 24, 2010--Ontario’s economy will grow more slowly in 2011 than this year, dragged down by the continuing slump in the U.S., according to a new economic forecast released today by Central 1 Credit Union. The province’s Gross Domestic Product will rise 2.4 per cent in 2011, compared to 3.7 per cent this year, with a slight uptick in 2012 to 2.5 per cent. Looking at the next three years, Central 1 says the auto manufacturing sector will lead Ontario’s growth as it rebounds from deep recession lows.
November 22, 2010 --Davis + Henderson Income Fund and Wipro Technologies, the Global Consulting, System Integration and Outsourcing business of Wipro Limited, have formed a strategic alliance for the purpose of enabling value for financial services clients in Canada. Davis + Henderson - a leading provider of technology and technology based services to Canadian financial institutions, and Wipro - an outsourcing industry leader with extensive experience in the banking and insurance industries, will combine forces to offer program management solutions for the Canadian financial services industry via their combined capabilities.
November 22, 2010--With short-term credit expensive and difficult to come by, managing cash and improving working capital has assumed top priority for European finance executives, says a report from CFO Research Services and the Royal Bank of Scotland. The report entitled Working Capital Management in a Post-Recession Environment: The View from Europe, is based on the response of 207 senior finance executives to an online survey.
November 22, 2010--U.S.-based transaction processor First Data is stepping up ACH (automated clearing house) security protection for online business banking users via a link up with ACH risk management firm Laru. First Data currently protects ACH transactions via measures such as multi-factor security and transaction limits, says Cindi Lieblich, Vice President of First Data’s FundsXpress online banking platform. “With rapidly increasing ACH volumes and growing regulation, financial institutions are asking for higher security, and that is why we are working with Laru,” she says.
November 22, 2010--Fundtech Ltd, a NASDAQ-listed developer of transactional banking software, has launched Mobile ACCESSplus, a mobile platform designed specifically for corporate electronic banking. George Ravich, Fundtech’s Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, tells Canadian Treasurer that the platform currently works with Blackberrry and Apple wireless devices as well as devices running the Android and Microsoft mobile operating systems.
October 21, 2010--Technological advances, regulatory changes and blurring lines between professional and personal lifestyles will significantly shape the financial services industry’s landscape throughout the next decade. Verizon has identified 10 emerging trends that are key factors in this transformation, and that will create an even stronger focus on advanced security measures within the industry.
The industry perspective, “Top Ten Trends of the Decade in Financial Services,” written by Chandan Sharma, global managing director of Verizon Business’ financial services practice, identifies the trends that will likely reshape the way financial services firms conduct business in the future.
October 15, 2010--Lévis, Québec-based Desjardins Group has launched a set of mobile banking and insurance services for smartphone and PDA users. While Desjardins is providing a mobile banking application for Apple iPhone users to download, it says the new services can be used on any web-connected mobile device including as well as on Android-based phones, the iPod Touch and the BlackBerry.
September 26, 2010--ING Direct Canada, the Internet- and telephone-only bank owned by ING of the Netherlands, has announced THRiVE, a no-fee chequing account. The bank has sent out emails to 10,000 of its existing customers inviting them to try out the new account.
September 14, 2010--Canadian banks’ cash management platforms are at a technology crossroads, and need to modernized if foreign entrants are not to dominate the market, says a report from U.S.-based consultancy Aite Group. The ‘Trends in Canadian Cash Management: A Technology Crossroads’ study is based on Aite Group interviews with the six largest Canadian banks as well as with HSBC and Citigroup’s Canadian operations.
August 23, 2010--A survey of Canadian consumers by KPMG International has uncovered significant concerns about mobile transaction security and also about the privacy of using cloud computing services.
KPMG interviewed 300 Canadian consumers earlier this year as part of a global survey of consumers for its fourth annual Consumers & Convergence study. It found that 63 percent of Canadian consumers were "very concerned" about privacy issues when using a mobile device, compared to 59 percent for global respondents. When asked about mobile device security issues, 58 percent of Canadians said they were “very concerned,” compared to 67 percent for global respondents. Read the article.
August 14, 2010--A rise in Canadian household debt, coupled with growing unemployment and credit card delinquencies are all warning signs for the Canadian credit card market, says Mercator Advisory Group. The U.S.-based consultancy makes this point in a new report, lead-authored by Patricia McGinnis, Director in its Banking Group, titled “The Canadian Credit Card Market: Tough Sledding.”
The hype surrounding mobile payments in Canada has largely dissipated, according to a conference report by Rob Burbach, senior analyst at IDC Financial Insights. His report, Mobile Payments in Canada: Is the Hype Over?, covered the June 2010 ACT Canada Cardware Conference, which focused on emerging card and payment issues for Canada.
ACT Canada is a payment industry association whose members include card issuers and acquirers, card associations (Visa, MasterCard, Amex and Interac), card technology vendors, merchants, and mobile network operators.
June 29, 2010--The quarterly American Express Small Business Index has climbed to its highest level in more than a year as 35 per cent of respondents reported business is improving. The index suggests Canadian small business owners believe that business conditions are turning, as the number of small business owners who are hopeful has stabilized.
The index, which is a key part of the quarterly American Express Small Business Monitor and measures and assigns a grade to the confidence, performance and attitudes of small business owners from coast to coast, climbed to 66 per cent, or a letter grade of C, in May, compared with 61 per cent or C- in March 2009 when American Express and Angus Reid Public Opinion began tracking attitudes of Canadian small business owners during the depths of the recession.
June 18, 2010 --The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, today announced the launch of the Task Force for the Payments System Review to help "guide the evolution" of the payments system in Canada.
“Today, Canadians can pay for things in a bewildering number of ways, even by tapping a cell phone against a scanner,” said Minister Flaherty. “It is important to ensure the payments system facilitates the introduction of new and exciting technologies to the benefit of users without compromising Canadian safety and efficiency or consumer protection."
Note--Payments Business will be following this story and publishing frequent updates online.
April 16, 2010--The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, today released a Code of Conduct for the Credit and Debit Card Industry in Canada, which the minister says promotes fair business practices and ensures that merchants and consumers understand the costs and benefits associated with credit and debit cards.
March 22, 2010 --The Canadian Payments Association's Board of Directors has approved the CPA's Payments Strategy: Vision 2020, enabling the Association to move forward with initiatives that support the dynamic changes to the Canadian payments industry.
March 29, 2010--A major new study of over 1,900 Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) and senior finance executives from 81 countries and 35 industries worldwide reveals that more than 60 percent of CFOs plan major changes to respond to the new economic climate. CFOs and senior finance executives believe the already intense pressure on three fronts -- reducing the enterprise cost base, making faster, more accurate decisions and providing more transparency to external stakeholders will increase dramatically over the next three years.
January 11, 2011--The 2010 winners of the annual Service Award were released today by DALBAR. Earning the #1 spot in the mutual fund industry is BMO Mutual Funds. This marks five consecutive years of award winning service by BMO Mutual Funds for both its English & French language services. The #1 ranked company in the discount brokerage industry is RBC Direct Investing. This also marks the fourth consecutive year that RBC Direct Investing has earned this award. Honourable mentions go to Franklin Templeton Investments and TD Waterhouse Discount Brokerage, both companies finished second in their respective categories.
Cincinnati, Ohio-based Fifth Third Bancorp has had a commercial branch in Toronto for five years, serving U.S. corporations which do business in Canada as well as Canadian firms wanting to expand in the U.S. In 2011, the bank plans to expand the customer-serving staff at its Toronto office.
