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Press conference following the release of the Financial System Review.

Introduction Thank you for the invitation to be here today. I’m honoured to be part of this panel. It’s been more than seven years since the global financial crisis began, and we’re still coping with its aftermath. One of the consequences of the crisis has been a disruption of financial globalization. Global capital flows—to give […]

Deputy Governor Lynn Patterson discusses proposed changes to the Bank’s financial market operations.

The Canadian payments environment has evolved with enhancements in technology, changes in user expectations and new regulatory standards. In response, the existing regulatory framework and core payments infrastructure are being enhanced. This article describes several revisions to the governance and regulation of the payments system as well as plans to update the core payments infrastructure. These initiatives will position the Canadian payments system to more effectively support a modern and vibrant economy by serving the payments needs of Canadians safely and efficiently as the payments industry continues to evolve.

The Bank of Canada’s 2013 Methods-of-Payment Survey indicates that the share of cash in the overall number of retail transactions has continued to decrease, mainly because of increased use of contactless credit cards. The share of cash in the total value of retail transactions was virtually unchanged from 2009 to 2013. In particular, the value share of cash transactions above $50 increased. Automated banking machines (ABMs), still the major source of cash for Canadians, were used less often in 2013 than in 2009. Cash use in Canada is broadly similar to that in Australia and the United States.

Senior Deputy Governor Wilkins discusses funding and market liquidity, and announces consultations on the Bank’s market operations and emergency lending frameworks.

Harold Gallagher, Wade McMahon and Ron Morrow examine the various sources of cyber attacks and their potential for systemic risk. Against this background, the report highlights efforts being made to protect against cyber-security threats, including individual and collective actions by financial institutions and financial market infrastructures, as well as initiatives by international organizations, regulatory authorities and governments. The authors then describe the coordination, under the Joint Operational Resilience Management program, of private and public sector actions in Canada for managing and testing capabilities during severe operational events such as cyber attacks.

Thomas Thorn and Harri Vikstedt examine the efforts being taken internationally and in Canada to enhance the governance and integrity of financial benchmarks. The report provides an overview of how interbank interest rate benchmarks are set and describes the weaknesses in the process that were exposed by the financial crisis. It also explains recent policy developments designed to make global and Canadian interbank benchmarks more robust.

Éric Chouinard and Graydon Paulin review the progress to date in implementing Basel III, the new framework of global regulatory standards for the banking sector developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. The report highlights the expected net benefits of implementing Basel III, as well as the challenges in ensuring international consistency in measuring the risk-weighted capital of banks. It includes a discussion on how implementing Basel III has affected the banking system in Canada and other important jurisdictions, and demonstrates the need for ongoing assessment of the effects on the financial system and the macroeconomy.

The Bank of Canada’s annual economic conference, held in October 2012, brought together experts from across Canada and around the world to discuss key issues concerning financial intermediation and vulnerabilities. The conference covered such topics as household finances and their relationship to financial stability, as well as bank regulation, securitization and shadow banking.