Statistics Canada reports that Canada’s deposit-accepting intermediaries (banks, trust companies, caisses populaires and credit unions) produced services worth $46.5 billion in 2000, up 4.5% from $44.5 billion in 1999.

This improvement was partly propelled by strong performances in the corporate and institutional finance segment as well as the fiduciary services segment of their operations. Robust global economic conditions in 2000 provided fertile ground for growth in both segments.

Non-interest income in 2000 rose 19.5% to $23.8 billion, but net interest income slipped 7.7% to $22.7 billion. The non-interest income of these intermediaries in 2000 comprised 51.2% of the total value of services produced, up from 44.8% in 1999. The growth in non-interest income, which continued the trend seen over the last several years, indicated a shift away from income earned by deposits and loans to income earned mostly by providing fee-based services.

Retail banking services made up the largest share of the overall value of services, followed by treasury and investment banking, as well as corporate and institutional finance. The value of fiduciary services leapt ahead in 2000, the result of higher demand for services in support of corporate and institutional finance.

Retail banking services remained the dominant activity of deposit-accepting intermediaries in 2000, generating $27.8 billion of the total value of services produced, up 0.5% from 1999. Retail banking made up 59.8% of the overall value of services produced, down slightly from 62.2% in 1999.

The value of treasury and investment banking services rose 12.5% to $9.7 billion in 2000, the result of higher demand for retail investment products. Much of the overall growth in this segment came from net interest income that surged to $1.1 billion over all of 2000 from $709.0 million in 1999. The total value of corporate and institutional finance services produced reached $3.7 billion in 2000, up 22.2% from 1999. The corporate and institutional finance segment accounted for 8% of the total value of services produced in 2000, up from 6.8% in 1999.

The value of electronic financial services declined 7.4% from $3.4 billion in 1999 to $3.2 billion in 2000, reflecting higher investment costs. This segment accounted for 6.8% of the overall value of services produced, down slightly from 7.7% in 1999.

Fiduciary services advanced strongly in 2000, continuing the significant unbroken growth of the past few years. Fiduciary services amounted to $2.1 billion, up 20.7%. They accounted for 4.5% of the value of all services produced in 2000, up from 3.9% in 1999.