Our toughest competitor is complacency. That's unusual, if not heretical, talk at the Royal which has been Canada's largest bank for 70 years. Through that period, this Canadian landmark has often seemed as inpenetrable as its marble temples erected in early days. The Royal and other banks responded to deregulation with record profits textbook corporate success which created resentment on the part of many Canadians. For his part, Cleghorn argues that the banks are good employers, and that Canadians with mutual funds and pension funds invested in banks reap the profits.
Banks give out millions in charitable donations.
Cleghorn also believes banks pay more than their fair share of taxes. Because of public acrimony, banks and the financial services industry is the highest taxed sector of the Canadian economy. At a Canadian Club speech in Montreal, Cleghorn also defended service charges. Seniors and youth don't pay fees, and some 40 percent of our customers don't pay fees for basic services. And Canadian service charges are 50 percent less than in the United States.