Public policy considerations intersect with virtually everything the financial services sector does, yet governments make many public policy decisions without specific data on the Canadian marketplace. In Financial Services and Public Policy, contributors address this shortcoming by considering a wide range of concerns, including lending to small businesses, the role of microcredit and raising venture capital, the impact of state guarantees of pension plans, the structure and performance of credit unions, and maintaining competition after bank mergers.

The financial services sector drives the Canadian economy. It is the banker, lender, broker, and insurer of millions of Canadians at every stage of their lives. It provides corporate finance, shapes the growth of small business, and assists individual Canadians to achieve their financial goals. It is a major employer all across the country. Canadian financial institutions are also active globally and are influenced by international as well as domestic policy issues and decisions. Financial Services and Public Policy lays the foundation for today's public policy debates and decisions that will shape Canada's financial services sector into the twenty-first century.

Contributors include Nick Bontis (McMaster University), David A. Brown (Ontario Securities Commission), John Chant (University of British Columbia), Douglas J. Cumming (University of Alberta and University of New South Wales), David Dodge (Bank of Canada), A. Ellen Farrell (St. Mary's University), Klaus P. Fischer (Laval University and CIRPÉE), Mario Fortin (Université de Sherbrooke), Fred Gorbet (York University), Jean-Pierre Gueyié (Université de Québec à Montréal), George Haines (Carleton University), Tessa Hebb (University of Oxford), Lewis D. Johnson (Queen's University), Mary Kelly (Wilfrid Laurier University), Anne Kleffner (University of Calgary), André Leclerc (Université de Moncton), Jeffrey G. MacIntosh (University of Toronto), Harold MacKay (Macpherson Leslie and Tyerman LLP), Judith Madill (Carleton University), Nadia Massoud (University of Alberta), Edwin H. Neave (Queen's University), Norma L. Nielson (University of Calgary), Marie-Hélène Noiseux (Université de Québec à Montréal), Tony Porter (McMaster University), Iain Ramsay (York University), Allan L. Riding (Carleton University), Christopher Waddell (Carleton University), and Toni Williams (York University).