Your money is safe in Canadian banks

Canada Life - Mar 17, 2023
Recent news of bank failures in the U.S. may be making you nervous. Banking failures are extremely rare in Canada and customers are protected
Young woman sitting outside with a laptop looking away.

Don’t worry, your money is safe in Canadian banks 

It’s understandable that recent news of bank failures in the U.S. may be making you nervous. Could failures happen here? The good news is banking failures are extremely rare in Canada1 and customers are protected.

Deposit protection

The Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) is a federal Crown corporation that protects your eligible deposits at member financial institutions. You don’t need to apply or pay for the deposit insurance offered by CDIC because your eligible deposits are automatically insured. In the rare event your bank fails, you’re protected up to $100,000 per eligible deposit which you’ll be paid automatically.

Provincial protection

If you have deposits in a provincially regulated credit union, caisse populaire, or a provincially regulated trust and loan company, your eligible deposits are covered under your provincial insurance plan.2

Deposit insurance doesn’t cover mutual funds, stocks, bonds, Exchange Traded Funds (EFTs), cryptocurrencies or losses due to fraud or theft.3

Investment protection

Your investments may be protected if you deal with a company that’s a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF). CIPF only protects you in the event a member firm becomes insolvent. Check out this member list to see if a company you deal with is a member of CIFP.

Let’s talk

If you’re worried about how recent events in the American financial sector might affect your financial plan, contact me. We can review your plan together.

1. https://www.cdic.ca/newsroom/articles/bank-failures-in-canada-a-history/
2. https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/banking/deposit-insurance.html
3. https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/banking/deposit-insurance.html#toc2