Top 10 banks in Canada

Canada’s banking system is known to be one of the safest and most stable across the globe. The country’s “Big Five” banks – Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Montreal, and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce have come to dominate the market, together holding over 90% of bank assets as of 2023. However, Canada also hosts smaller and more regionally focused banks that continue to play important roles for customers.

In this article, we will look into the list of top 10 banks in Canada. Let’s explore.

About the Top 10 Banks in Canada

Banks in Canada run strong (despite less government assistance), and the financial institutions are classified based on supplying banking services into five basic categories: Chartered Banks, Cooperative Credit Movement, and Company types including life insurance, trust and loan, and security dealers. According to the most recent data, there are 29 domestic banks. 24 foreign banks are subsidiaries. Aside from that, 27 foreign bank branches and three foreign bank lending branches provide the entire range of respective banking services. Canadian financial institutions manage around $4.6 trillion in assets. Banks manage 70% of these assets. The top six banks hold 90% of all banking assets.

List of Top 10 Banks in Canada

The following table lists the top 10 banks in Canada:

Rank	Bank Name	Headquarters	Total Assets (CAD)
1	Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)	Toronto, Ontario	$1.7 trillion
2	Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD)	Toronto, Ontario	$1.5 trillion
3	Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank)	Toronto, Ontario	$1.2 trillion
4	Bank of Montreal (BMO)	Montreal, Quebec	$976 billion
5	Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC)	Toronto, Ontario	$763 billion
6	National Bank of Canada	Montreal, Quebec	$370 billion
7	Laurentian Bank of Canada	Montreal, Quebec	$45 billion
8	Canadian Western Bank	Edmonton, Alberta	$41 billion
9	ATB Financial Edmonton,	Edmonton, Alberta	$57 billion
10	Tangerine Bank (Subsidiary of Scotiabank)	Toronto, Ontario	–

1. Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)

Royal Bank of Canada is the largest in controlling total banking assets. It handles total assets of around $1.7 trillion.

• Headquarters: Toronto, Ontario
• Total Assets: $1.7 trillion
• Founded in 1864
• Operates globally in over 36 countries
• Offers personal and commercial banking, wealth management, insurance, and capital markets services.

2. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD)

This is the second largest bank in Canada with controlling assets. Toronto-Dominion Bank controls around $1.5 trillion of assets.

• Headquarters: Toronto, Ontario
• Total Assets: $1.5 trillion
• Founded in 1855
• Major retail presence across Canada and the United States
• Provides a wide range of financial products and services

3. Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank)

It is the third-largest bank in terms of controlling total assets. It handles around $1.2 trillion. It has employed around 89,214 employees.

• Headquarters: Toronto, Ontario
• Total Assets: $1.2 trillion
• Founded in 1832
• Operations in North America, Latin America, and parts of Asia
• Offers personal and commercial banking, wealth management, and global banking and markets services.

4. Bank of Montreal (BMO)

The fourth-largest bank of Canada, in terms of total assets acquired, the fourth-largest bank of Canada is the Bank of Montreal. It handles around $976 billion of total assets.

• Headquarters: Montreal, Quebec
• Total Assets: $976 billion
• Founded in 1817, one of the oldest banks in Canada
• Significant presence in the United States
• Provides personal and commercial banking, wealth management, and investment banking services

5. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC)

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is the fifth in total assets acquired. It was established on 1st June 1961. As per the last report, this bank has acquired total assets of $763 billion.

• Headquarters: Toronto, Ontario
• Total Assets: $763 billion
• Founded in 1867
• Operations primarily in Canada and the U.S.
• Offers personal and business banking, wealth management, and capital markets services

6. National Bank of Canada

It has taken the sixth spot in Canada in terms of total assets acquired. The total assets acquired by the National Bank of Canada are $370 billion. 

• Headquarters: Montreal, Quebec
• Total Assets: $370 billion
• Founded in 1859
• The largest bank in the province of Quebec
• Provides personal, commercial, wealth management, and financial markets services

7. Laurentian Bank of Canada

This bank has secured the seventh position in terms of total assets acquired. The total assets acquired by the Laurentian Bank of Canada are $45.2 billion.

• Headquarters: Montreal, Quebec
• Total Assets: $45 billion
• Founded in 1846
• A Schedule I bank with most of its activities in Quebec
• Offers personal and commercial banking, and other financial services

8. Canadian Western Bank

In eighth position, we have the Canadian Western Bank, in terms of total assets acquired. It was founded in 1988. The total assets acquired by Canadian Western Bank are $37 billion.

• Headquarters: Edmonton, Alberta
• Total Assets: $37 billion
• Founded in 1984
• A regional bank with branches across western Canada
• Provides personal and business banking services

9. ATB Financial

ATB Financial was established in 1938 by Premier William Aberhart as the Alberta Treasury Branches. The bank is headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and has 175 branches across 244 communities in the province.

• Headquarters: Edmonton, Alberta
• Total Assets: $32 billion
• Founded in 1938
• A provincial Crown corporation based in Alberta
• Offers personal and business financial services across the province

10. Tangerine Bank (Subsidiary of Scotiabank)

Tangerine Bank is a subsidiary of Scotiabank. In 2012, Scotiabank acquired ING Direct Canada for CAD$3.1 billion and required the bank to change its name to Tangerine in 2014.

• Headquarters: Toronto, Ontario
• A direct bank subsidiary of Scotiabank
• Provides online banking services across Canada with no physical branches

Conclusion – Top 10 Banks in Canada

While Canada’s major banks offer similar services and compete across most categories, they all have unique histories, strengths, client focuses, and strategies that have allowed them to maintain leadership positions over the past 100+ years and counting. And the country’s smaller Schedule 1 banks fill in gaps by specializing in specific offerings from credit unions to entirely digital banks. Canada has several banks to meet diverse consumer and business needs. The country’s major banks offer similar services but utilize unique strategies to maintain strength across wealth, capital markets, investment banking and more, to continue domination. Despite newcomers and digital disruption, the stability of Canada’s banking oligopoly remains intact.

FAQs on Top 10 Banks in Canada

Which bank is the largest in Canada by assets?

Royal Bank of Canada is the largest bank in Canada with over $2 trillion in total assets as of fiscal 2022.

How many banks make up the “Big Five” Canadian banks?

Five – RBC, TD Canada Trust, Scotiabank, BMO, and CIBC. Together they control over 90% of bank assets.

Which bank has the most international presence?

Scotiabank operates in over 50 countries to have the widest international footprint of any Canadian bank.

Which bank is strongest in Quebec?

National Bank, headquartered in Montreal, generates over 70% of revenues inside Quebec through personal, commercial, and investment banking.

Are there only national banks or regional ones too?

Canadian Western Bank and Laurentian Bank have more regional focuses in western Canada and Quebec respectively as smaller Schedule 1 banks.

Have digital banks disrupted Canada’s banking industry?

While new digital banks are emerging, Canada’s established banks continue to dominate with stability across personal, business, investment banking, and wealth management products.