This paper documents some stylized facts about the Canadian financial structure. I explore these empirical facts in the context of the Canadian financial legislation. I find that, over the 1990s, Canadian businesses became more heavily dependent on financial markets as their primary source of external funding. Data display a trend towards a more "market-oriented" financial system. The analysis suggests that this new trend started after the 1980 banking legislation amendments. The trend was considerably accentuated after the 1992 amendments. I construct a new series for the off-balance-sheet activities of Canadian banks that converts the non-interest income of banks into a credit equivalent. Combined with other evidence, this credit equivalent series suggests a healthy growth trend in banking activity. Financial institutions are broadening their business lines and participating more actively in the arrangement of market financing. Regarding direct finance, the data indicate that Canadian firms issue a substantial share of their bonds in the U.S. bond market. They also issue an increasing share of their stocks in the U.S. stock market. I conjecture that there is some form of incompleteness in the Canadian markets. A noticeable fraction of Canadian issuances in the U.S. involves riskier firms for which U.S. markets seem more mature.
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Find related papers by JEL classification: G20 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - General G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Mortgages
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