For those of us concerned about how the much publicized American financial meltdown will permeate north of the border, we should all take some relief in knowing that a World Economic Forum Report on global competitiveness has rated Canada’s banking system as the soundest system in the world.
These statistics were released to quell the panic due to the global financial crisis and bank failures. To help rectify the situation, halt panic selling and to restore some trust in world banking systems, central banks in Europe, the UK, the United States, China, Canada, Sweden, and Switzerland have slashed interest rates.
Canada scored a world high 6.8 points out of a possible 7 points. Sweden, Luxembourg, Austria and Denmark scored close behind at 6.7. The well documented crisis in the U.S. has them ranked 40th, just behind Estonia, Barbados, and Namibia.
Although our two countries are close geographically and it would be naïve to report we weren’t linked economically, it is important for Canadians to understand that we have financial systems in place to prevent the crisis that has paralyzed the U.S.