May 23, 2013, Toronto — Credit unions outperform banks when it comes
to serving the financial needs of small and medium-sized enterprises,
according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).
Among the big five banks, the Bank of Montreal (BMO) and Scotiabank
were tied with the highest overall scores while CIBC received the
lowest.
“Banks need to pay close attention to the report’s
findings if they are serious about serving the small business market,”
said Doug Bruce, CFIB’s vice-president of research. “Overall, credit
unions do the best job of serving entrepreneurs, while Scotiabank and
BMO are tied in receiving the highest overall scores among the big
banks. CIBC is the worst big bank for small business – that’s the same
as it was in 2010, when we issued our previous banking report.”
In addition to providing bank scores by size of business, CFIB’s Battle of the Banks
report includes a wealth of information, including SME market shares of
the banks, and policy recommendations. The bank scores are based upon
nearly 13,000 survey responses from small business owners on four key
issues: financing, fees, experience with account managers, and service.
Battle
of the Banks shows a disturbing trend: the smaller the business, the
lower the overall bank score. Compared to larger businesses, smaller
firms have a tougher time getting the financing they need from their
bank.
“Access to affordable financing and banking services is
essential for hard-working entrepreneurs, and it’s clear that all of the
banks should do more to serve small business clients,” said Dan Kelly,
president and CEO of CFIB. “I strongly encourage small business owners
to visit the CFIB website and find out how their bank performed in our
report.”
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