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The three fathers of the North America Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) have become promiscuous, with all three signing free trade agreements with other parties and with more on the way. [...]

With two-fifths of global trade Falling under preferential trade agreements and numerous trade disputes hampering export flows in various parts of the world, plotting a secure route through the storms [...]

Issues concerning Canada's export finance sector are discussed. Exporters obtaining financing from a number of sources, including banks, the Export Development Corp and credit unions.

Small-business lending has become a highly contentious and politicized issue in Canada. However, critics who claim that banks are not providing enough financing to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) are getting most of the media attention, while many satisfied SME borrowers and bankers who are highly supportive of SME lending are staying in the background. However, the focus of the public debate over small-business lending seems to be misdirected since the real problem is the high taxation that restricts access to equity financing., Those who blame the banks for not extending enough credit to SMEs are missing the real problem: high taxes that restrict access to equity financing. The business of small-business lending [...]

Canadian bankers are anticipating the potentially positive results of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development Ministerial Conference on Electronic Commerce, to be held in Oct 1998 in Ottawa. With such topics as data and privacy protection, consumer protection and the Year 2000 Problem, the conference is expected to iron out the confusion and controversy attendant to the operationalization of e-commerce. Considered as pioneers of e-commerce, Canadian banks are particularly hopeful that the conference will be able to write the rules of conduct on online finance., Boldly going where few have gone before, Canadian banks are pioneers of electronic commerce. So they have a special interest in an upcoming OECD conference in Ottawa whose aim, no [...]

The trade missions of Team Canada are helpful to the country's business community. Designed to impress foreign countries and seek foreign investments, the missions also aim to put the name of Canada in the list of the most attractive places to do business. The team's mission to Latin America in Jan 1998 alone resulted in a record 306 deals valued at $1.78 billion. Signed by 140 companies, the deal includes 117 various contracts., They may seem somewhat stagy but the prime minister's trade missions work. With government heavyweights along to help open foreign doors, Canadian companies do some serious selling abroad. That means [...]

In the wake of Asia's currency crisis and October's market turmoil, APEC leaders meeting in Vancouver must confront the urgent need to harmonize and liberalize financial services across the Pacific [...]

A recent survey co-sponsored by the Assn. of Government Accountants and Coopers & Lybrand LLP reveals the widespread support of financial managers and inspectors generals (IGs) for the Financial Officers Act of 1990 and associated legislation, the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 and the Government Management Reform Act of 1994 (GMRA). These laws are all intended to improve financial management in the federal government. The results of the survey show that financial executives and IGs are in favor of financial statements similar to those used in the private sector. Two thirds of the respondents expect that their organizations will be able to meet the GMRA deadline of Mar. 1, 1997 for all federal agencies to develop auditable financial statements.

The creation of the World Trade Organization has brought the dream of free trade in financial services closer to reality. The path towards a truly borderless banking is proving to be a difficult one, especially since the US refuses to participate in a multilateral deal for fear that countries would gain greater access to the American market without making similar concessions. Fortunately, the willingness of the European Union to participate in the initiative has helped put the liberalization process back on track., Despite U.S. recalcitrance, the world is moving gradually towards freer trade in financial services under the new WTO. That dark cloud on the horizon is China. In the years leading [...]

Canada's major banks continue to maintain a presence in South America despite the risks involved in operating in such a volatile market. However, Canadian banks are closely watching their investments in the region. Bankers recently had a scare when the Mexican peso was devalued in Dec. 1994, triggering a temporary collapse in the money market. Canadian banks operating in Latin America include the Bank of Nova Scotia, Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Montreal, Toronto Dominion Bank, National Bank of Canada and CIBC., Despite the disasters of the 1980s and January's Mexican meltdown scare, Canadian banks are still attracted to 'the other' America. It's all part of having a global outlook. June will [...]

The government of Ottawa, Ontario in the 1990s began consulting with the banking sector on the important issue of export financing. While the government took sole responsibility for export financing earlier, much to the displeasure of banks which considered the policy as constituting unfair competition, there has been a willingness to open up the area to institutions that could help shoulder the risks involved. A cooperative venture is foreseen., Recent moves by Ottawa to help small businesses grow through exports are opening up opportunities for the banks and signalling a change in their relationship with the EDC. The business [...]

As they step up their presence in the People's Republic of China, Canadian banks join a multinational crowd of financial institutions jockeying for position in the world's largest emerging market. [...]

The completion of the Uruguay Round of GATT trade negotiations and the creation of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) will open new opportunities for the Canadian banking industry. The GATS establishes guidelines for greater market-access in the international market. Canadian vendors of electronic banking services can penetrate newer markets through the adoption of the GATS., New global opportunities for Canadian banks have been opened up by the completion of the Uruguay Round of the GATT and the creation of a new General Agreement on Trade [...]

Companies will soon be compelled to shift to market-value accounting. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has already released Rule No 107 entitled 'Disclosures about Fair Value of Financial Instruments,' and is currently working on guidelines on full market-value disclosure in financial statements. Many bankers have reservations about market-value accounting, claiming that it lacks objectivity and will yield fluctuating profits. These bankers are overlooking the potential benefits of the new accounting method. Market-value analysis can generate information that can be used in improving the performance of the bank, including changes in net market value and volatility in earnings and financial positions. Knowledge of the market value of their assets and liabilities can also help banks win the confidence of investors. Fair-value disclosure should will not have a significant affect on bank stocks.

Like a couple of Banquo's ghosts, governance and security issues have crashed the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) party. It has been quite a party. An exclusive one, that [...]

Inevitably, economic turmoil in one country is often seen as a doom and gloom sign for others. But this is not necessarily the case. Structured trade financiers can look to [...]

Byline: David Clarke OTTAWA - A new proposal for Canadian securities regulation was put on the table last month, but don't look for any change soon. On Dec. 7, the [...]

Byline: David Clarke NIAGARA FALLS, Ontario - Business is good for the Canadian hedge fund industry. Assets in Canadian-based hedge funds grew to US$11.4 billion last year, a 39% increase [...]

As many as 17% of 70 Canadian pension funds with assets of more than C$1 billion are less than 90% funded, and 9% of these large funds are less than [...]

A political season is looming. South of the border, www.whitehouse.gov and such are up for grabs in the November elections - and from all accounts, the Government of Canada portal, [...]

The Canada geese (www.cws-scf.ec. gc.ca/canbird/ goose/goosmap.htm) hadn't yet begun V-ing their way back north when the dot.com stock market veered south, sending feathers flying as investors and entrepreneurs suddenly suspected [...]

Arguably there were some great moments in the millennium just passed, although one grows reluctant to admit even that in the face of all the overwrought claims being made about [...]

Name that domain Things are hopping down at CIRA, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (http://junco. cira.ca/) which is relaunching the .ca domain names and at the same time initiating a [...]

Quick reviews of a few of the sites to see for those with an interest in financial services.Pity the poor banker who can't find how to get around in cyberspace. [...]

The structured solution to trade financing problems may not be what Latin America wants. But it is by and large what it is going to get, along with whatever other [...]

Paul Martin, Canada's finance minister and chairman of the G-20, won his bet that he could safely host simultaneous meetings of G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors, the International [...]

With a focus on regulation and ownership of market intermediaries, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) began three weeks of hearings on the future of the Canadian securities industry in Toronto [...]

Control of the $100 billion Canadian mortgage market is up for grabs, and chartered banks, trust companies, insurance firms, and credit unions are all battling for a share. So far [...]

Although the Canadian commercial paper markets are among the oldest in the world, their annual growth rates are small, averaging 10 percent per year for the past five years. In Canada, the amount of commercial paper issues outstanding from domestic corporations dropped 17 percent from 1985 to 1986. This market sluggishness is due to a combination of a lack of interest by foreign investors and reluctance by conservative domestic investors to buy anything less than the highest rated paper (in order to minimize risk). Because of declining prices for energy and mineral commodities, 22 Canadian oil and mining firms, traditionally heavy bond issuers, have had their ratings downgraded. Unlike the U.S. commercial paper markets in which 60 percent of securities are directly issued by the companies, Canadian commercial paper markets are 66 percent dealer-managed., While newer short-term paper markets around the world are flowing freely, the Canadian commercial paper market is silting up. Of 175 formal commercial paper programmes, only 105 are still active. [...]

MONTREAL -- New evidence of the gravity of Canada's bank crisis has been supplied by the nation's central bank. The bank of Canada released figures last Friday showing that it [...]

MONTREAL--Will the Mercantile Bank of Canada be the next victim of this country's spreading bank crisis? And is Citicorp the key to resolving the situation? Withdrawals by panicky depositors have [...]

MONTREAL -- Canadian bank management talent has been at a premium since the 1980 Canadian Bank Act opened up the country to foreign banks. To their annoyance, Canadian-owned banks found [...]

MONTREAL -- The Canadian Bankers' Association has fired the first salvo in what promises to be a bitterly fought lobbying war againt proposed sweeping changes in Canada's federal banking laws. [...]

MONTREAL -- This has been a year of unusual turmoil for Canadian banking, and the government in Ottawa is moving forward with proposals expected to produce legislation in the coming [...]

Canada Banks Get Challenge From Bronfmans' Trilon Corp. Tightly regulated chartered banks in Canada are barred from operating anywhere but on the fringes of trust, insurance, and securities dealing activities. [...]

MONTREAL -- Unicorp Canada Corp., the Toronto-based investment holding company, has recently been engaged in a legal battle over its acquisition of considerabled stock in New Jersey's City Federal Savings [...]

MONTREAL -- Canada is abuzz with rumors about who will be found culpable as inquiries into the failure of the Canadian Commercial Bank put politicians and regulators on the spot. [...]

MONTREAL -- Expansion is on the agenda for Power Financial Corp., the holding company established a year ago to consolidate the financial services institutions acquired over the past 15 years [...]

Montreal -- A bill doubling the foregn bank asset ceiling from 8% to 16% of total domestic bank assets received approval from Canada's Parliament late last week. The measure makes [...]

Ontario Proposes Opening Securities Business to Banks TORONTO -- Penetration by banks of the securities industry will likely become a reality next Jan. 1 in Ontario, where the provincial government [...]

Canadian Banks' Fears Subside, But Low Oil Price Effect Lingers MONTREAL -- The initial panic in Canadian banking circles has ebbed, but the reality of overexposure to an oil industry [...]