VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire -05/31/12)- In a keynote luncheon speech to the Vancouver Board of Trade, Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) president Terry Campbell today discussed how banks have contributed to B.C.'s economic success.

He highlighted the central role that banks have played in financing some of B.C.'s growth: "Last year in B.C. alone, banks authorized $12 billion to the construction industry, almost $7.4 billion to manufacturing, $4.4 billion to mining, quarrying and oil wells, and $3.4 billion to agriculture. If you take small and medium-sized enterprises as a whole, bank lending totalled almost $12 billion in this province alone."

"Put simply, banking customers in British Columbia and across Canada are best served by strong and profitable banks, and that is best achieved when we get the balance right between regulation on the one hand and innovation and competitiveness on the other," said Mr. Campbell.

Maintain B.C.'s Competitive Taxation Regime

Mr. Campbell commended the B.C. government's decision in recent years to eliminate capital taxes and reduce corporate and personal income tax rates to make B.C. more attractive to businesses, which helps strengthen B.C.'s economy. He cautioned against any changes to B.C.'s competitive taxation regime that could hurt the province's productivity.

"Unfortunately, we're seeing some troubling trends in some provinces, and calls from some people in B.C., when it comes to taxing the capital of financial institutions - something that is both perverse and counter-productive for the growth of the economy," said Mr. Campbell. "Perverse because banks are required to have large amounts of capital for safety and soundness reasons, and it doesn't make sense to tax what is needed for prudential reasons. Counter-productive because capital supports lending and when you tax away capital you are reducing the availability of credit to other sectors of the economy."

The Continued Need for a National Securities Regulator

Mr. Campbell also discussed the continued need for a national securities regulator and Ottawa's evolving approach to securities regulation following the Supreme Court of Canada ruling last December.

"Ottawa's approach to securities regulation is evolving given the Supreme Court of Canada's opinion of last December," he noted. "We know that your government has been an active participant in the project, and we commend the government for that. We encourage them, along with all other provincial and territorial governments, to continue to work with the federal government to develop a common securities regulatory regime that has the capacity to support fair and competitive markets for all Canadians."

Strong Banks, Effective Regulation and Supervision

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CBA President Praises B.C.'s Economic Success and How Strong Banks Contribute to the Economy