A House of Commons Finance Committee has issued guidelines for bank mergers, but says any union must provide at least the same financial services at the same or lower price.

The parliamentary committee had been asked by Finance Minister John Manley to offer some clarification on the issues of public interest in relation to possible mergers among the country’s biggest banks.

“Clearly, the public interest is safeguarded when, following a large bank merger, all Canadians and Canadian businesses of all sizes and sectors and in all regions of Canada can access a comparable range of services as before the merger, with comparable convenience and at a comparable or lower price and similar or higher quality,” the committee report said.

The committee makes 11 recommendations. Among others, it says banks must minimize job losses and not reduce access to loans for small and mid-sized business. Banks must also ensure service will continue to rural communities. As well, mergers should be subject to review by the Competition Bureau, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions and the Commons finance committee.

Bankers will be carefully watching for signals from Manley. If the minister responds quickly, one banker said recently, that suggests the minister would view a merger positively. According to some reports, Ottawa is poised to make its position known on the issue within as little as two weeks.

Some banks believe there will be a brief window for deal-making this spring before Ottawa becomes completely immersed in the Liberal leadership race. First off the block could be the Bank of Montreal and Bank of Nova Scotia, whose merger plan was reportedly rejected last year by Ottawa but could be quickly renewed.