They are all now more focussed on housing lending and some are pulling back from wealth management and international operations. Finally, it could also be argued that a large bank is, by its nature, more complex and hence more difficult to supervise than a set of smaller banks.
Growth in the third quarter will also likely remain below the economy’s potential because of the remaining trade restrictions on beef and cattle, as well as the effects of the power blackout in Ontario and of forest fires in Western Canada. The prices of some services have been temporarily depressed by SARS.