Freeland meets with bank regulator head, BoC following U.S. bank collapse

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is assuring Canadians that the country’s financial institutions are secure after meeting with the top of Canada’s bank regulator and the Bank of Canada.

The meeting follows the closure of California-based Silicon Valley Bank by the U.S. regulator on Friday, which also prompted Canada’s Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) to seize its Canadian assets on Sunday.

In a media statement, spokesperson Adrienne Vaupshas said Freeland met Monday with Superintendent of Financial Institutions Peter Routledge.

In line with the statement, Freeland also has convened meetings with the heads of national and regional Canadian financial institutions, which were attended by Routledge and Bank of Canada representatives.

Vaupshas said “significant structural and regulatory safeguards” are in place and that Canadian financial institutions “are stable and resilient.”

Freeland echoed that message in a tweet Tuesday. 

Routledge has emphasized the limited nature of the crisis in Canada and said that Silicon Valley Bank doesn’t hold business or individual deposits in Canada.