Eighty per cent of Canadian consumers are confident in the Canadian banking system, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) survey conducted just two weeks before the banks’ fourth-quarter earnings releases.

Given the recent bank earnings, they have even more reason to be confident. “Canadians know that the solid bank results of the last two weeks are a good thing,” says George Sheen, leader of the PwC Canada Financial Services Practice.

Furthermore, 72% of respondents to the survey said they feel banks are well run, and another 81% believe that the strength of the large Canadian banks is critical to the health of the overall economy.

“Canadians continue to see that our banks are well managed and can navigate through difficult times without the public bailouts that have haunted the industry globally,” says Sheen. “The banks have stuck by their clients — personal and business — did not turn off the taps and provided credit when the economy needed it.”

Indeed, when asked how their bank had responded to their personal needs for credit, of those surveyed who had a view, 79% believe their bank responded well. Interestingly, although Canadians are confident in their banks, only three in 10 Canadians believe the banks should consider further expansion outside of Canada.

“This sentiment likely stems from concern about the uncertainty of the global financial services industry. Canadians have seen the scattered remains of failed foreign banks and likely feel there is too much risk associated with our bank’s entering or extending themselves into new markets,” says John MacKinlay, leader of the PwC Canada Banking Performance Improvement Practice.

“However, in reality their relative strength in capital and sound risk management practices puts them in an enviable position when it comes to looking at acquisition opportunities in other countries,” he adds.

The survey of 1,544 Canadians was conducted for PwC by Leger Marketing.

IE