Montréal, World-Class Financial Centre

• The financial sector is a catalyst of Québec's economic vitality, as shown by the jobs it creates. In 2009, for instance, close to 224,100 jobs were directly linked to the finance and insurance fields.

• The dominant institutions on the Québec financial market are the major federally chartered banks such as the Bank of Montréal, National Bank of Canada and Laurentian Bank, most of which have their head offices in Montréal.

• The Mouvement Desjardins is Canada's largest cooperative financial group, with assets of CDN$152 billion as at December 31, 2008. It has a network of 480 savings and credit unions, of which 460 are located in Québec.

Deposit Institutions in Québec (2010)

Sources: Institut de la statistique du Québec, Confédération des caisses populaires et d'économie Desjardins du Québec and Autorité des marchés financiers

Regulation, Control and Compensation

Québec and Canada have developed a solid regulatory, control and compensatory infrastructure to ensure the stability, growth and competitiveness of Québec's financial institutions.

• The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) is the chief federal regulatory organization for banks, trust and loan companies, insurance companies, credit unions, fraternal societies and pension plans constituted or registered under federal law.

• Financial institutions and market intermediaries under Québec jurisdiction (savings and credit unions, savings and trust companies, life and health and damage insurers, insurance brokers and investment dealers) are governed by comprehensive regulations.

• Oversight and control structures of Québec financial institutions fall within the jurisdiction of the Autorité des marchés financiers, the Montréal Exchange and various self-regulating bodies of the market intermediaries sector.

• A deposit insurance system protects depositors in the event of a "default" by a deposit-taking institution. Compensation plans in other sectors are private.