Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is assuring that Canada's financial institutions are secure after meeting with the heads of Canada's bank regulator and the Bank of Canada on Sunday. A pedestrian passes a Silicon Valley Bank Private branch in San Francisco, Monday, March 13, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Jeff Chiu
OTTAWA – Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is assuring that Canada’s financial institutions are secure after meeting with the head of Canada’s bank regulator and the Bank of Canada.
The meeting follows the closure of California-based Silicon Valley Bank by U.S. regulator on Friday, which also prompted Canada’s Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) to seize its Canadian assets on Sunday.
In a statement, spokesperson Adrienne Vaupshas says Freeland met on Monday with Superintendent of Financial Institutions Peter Routledge.
According to the statement, Freeland has also convened meetings with the heads of national and regional Canadian financial institutions, which were attended by Routledge and Bank of Canada representatives.
Vaupshas says “significant structural and regulatory safeguards” are in place and that Canadian financial institutions “are stable and resilient.”
Routledge has emphasized the limited nature of the crisis in Canada and that Silicon Valley Bank doesn’t hold commercial or individual deposits in Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 14, 2023.
