
September 8th, 2026
President Donald Trump claimed on Wednesday that U.S. banks are not allowed to operate in Canada.
He made the statement during a meeting with U.S. travel executives in the Oval Office.
He was answering a question about possible renewed trade talks between the two countries.
Experts say the claim is false.
U.S. banks face restrictions in Canada, but they are not forbidden from entering the market.
The Canadian Bankers Association says 15 U.S.-based banks currently operate there as branches or subsidiaries.
Their combined assets are about $90.1 billion U.S. dollars.
Eight Canadian banks operate in the U.S., according to the Federal Reserve.
Trump also referred to the “Bank of Canada” as one of Canada’s big banks.
That is incorrect.
The Bank of Canada is the country’s central bank, similar to the U.S. Federal Reserve, not a commercial bank.
Canada has three bank categories.
Foreign banks can operate as Schedule II subsidiaries or Schedule III branches.
Schedule III branches cannot accept deposits below $150,000 Canadian dollars, which limits their retail business.
Schedule II banks must keep separate capital and liquidity structures.
James Thompson, a finance professor at the University of Waterloo, said Canada is a relatively small market.
He added that established Canadian banks make it expensive for U.S. banks to compete for retail customers.
September 8th, 2026

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