willheim on Nostr: American banks, like most American businesses, don't do business in Canada because ...

American banks, like most American businesses, don't do business in Canada because it's hardly worth the cost and regulation. Canadian banks broke into the US primarily by buying over leveraged and failing assets post 2008 GFC. They also broke into South America from that opportunity. They were not, themselves, over leveraged because of some heavy regulations on Canada. The US is a freer market than Canada with 10x the population. That's 10x the customer base and 10x the growth potential. Why would an American operation even give a passing glance to Canadian taxes and regulations for a nation that possesses the same customer base as California with the GDP/capita equal to Alabama?

Note that US companies and, thus, their financiers do back cross border infrastructure projects, usually regarding energy. But, no, there is no Chase or BOA in Canada. All the credit cards are managed by American firms like Visa, MC, and Amex and that responsible for $2.5T of debt.