Bank Act revision in Canada: past and potential effects on market structure and competition

The work evaluates the Canadian Bank Act of 1967 and whether it had a sufficient market impact to achieve its intended goal of greater competition. The author first considers the nature of legally imposed barriers and the effects of their attenuation by the Act. The structure and conduct of the Canadian banking industry is then discussed and some insights into the efficacy of the Act in bringing to that industry more vigorous inter-firm competition are provided. JEL: G21, G28