Paul Weinberg lives in Toronto. He is a freelance writer and Canadian correspondent for Inter Press Services. He also writes for NOW Weekly.
Call it backstop or bail-out, Canadian taxpayers could foot big bill.
by Paul Weinberg
TORONTO, May 30, 2012 (IPS) — Potential storms are on the horizon for much praised, regulated and privately-owned Canadian banks which survived the 2008 financial meltdown unscathed, unlike some of their larger counterparts in the United States.
During the crisis, Canada was given the thumbs up for having the soundest banking system in a survey of corporate executives by the World Economic Forum.
Nevertheless, the interrelated nature of the international banking system makes Canadian banks, valued at 6.3 trillion dollars in total, still vulnerable, says David MacDonald, a senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives in Ottawa.