Recently, in Toronto, the very city we live in, we were in the midst of two possible bank mergers, which would have changed banking and on a larger scale the entire economy, in many ways.

In comparison to the larger banks of the world, Canada's most major banks are not even close to the size and caliber of international banks like ING Direct, for example. This would not typically be a problem for Canadian banks, however when these international banks move into Canada, which has happened already, and is bound to happen even more as time passes and Canada becomes a more prosperous country, it quickly becomes a very large problem. Banks are an extremely affluent business. Regardless of where you are in the world banks are right at the top of the list when it comes to capital, equity and earnings. Canada fits right in, in comparison to the rest of Canada. But when we compare Canada's banks to those of other countries, or even better, intern

Picture a bank without any branches. No tellers. No rows of desks. No racks of brochures, no automated teller machines outside. Picture, in fact, a virtual bank, one that for the customer exists only in his or her office or home, as images on a computer screen. US financial institutions are moving towards "virtual banking." This strategy is about making bank products and services available to customers any time and any place they want them. As virtual banking becomes more popular, it is very likely that more customer service will be seen while the number of traditional teller-staffed branches will decline. Bank customers will move away from traditional banking and will become more dependent on electronic transactions using ATMs or PCs (Britt, Savings&Community Banker, February 1995, p.9). Thanks to this "technical revolution", financial institutions are using software programs, online services, and even the Internet to allow customers to check balances, pay bills, and transfer funds among accounts. Bankers promise that, in the near future, we will also be able to more easily buy certificates of deposit, mutual funds, and other investments, and even apply for loans electronically.

(1996) "Economic Growth, The Poor and the Rich: In recent years, researchers have moved closer to answering the most important question in economics: why are some countries richer than others?" pg. 24 of The Economist May 25th 1996

James, Elijah (1994) Economics: A Problem-Solving Approach Third Edition, Prentice Hall Canada Inc., pg. # 4, 6, 15-16, 727,

Reid, Angus (1996) Shakedown: how the new economy is changing our lives, Doubleday Canada Limited pgs. # 2, 29-34, 64, 91-102, 103, 130-1, 139-40, 151-157, 160-175,

Some common words found in the essay are:
WebTech Inc, Managing Money, ING Direct, Web-Tech Inc, Banker February, Charlotte NC, Chemical Fargo, Recently Toronto, Data Website, Canada Limited, economic growth, internet banking, international banks, pgs #, home banking, et al, canada limited, aba banking journal, inc 17, 17 1995, lunt aba banking, people today's, inc 17 1995, 1995 internet banking, limited pgs #,
Approximate Word count = 2044
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)