Largely by means of amalgamations, the Commerce and the Royal have improved their positions relative to the Bank of Montreal. The growth of these two banks has been phenomenal. Thus, taking the Commerce, the total assets in 1870 were $7,844,681; in 1880 they were $21,435,711; in 1890, $22,596,520; in 1900, $42,822,799; and in 1912 (September 30th), $242,172,114. Since the beginning of the twentieth century the resources have increased nearly six fold. In that period it has absorbed the Bank of British Columbia, the Halifax Banking Company, the Merchants Bank of Prince Edward Island, and the Eastern Townships Bank.

The Royal Bank’s phenomenal growth also dates from the end of the nineteenth century. As late as 1898 its total assets were but $12,681,664; in 1910 they were $92,510,346; and in 1912 (September 30th), they amount to $172,908,661. In the list of banks absorbed by the Royal are Banco de Oriente, Santiago, Cuba; Banco del Comercio, Havana, Union Bank of Halifax, and Traders Bank of Canada.

The Bank of Montreal, too, has absorbed several other banks; but it can be said that it has not augmented its resources in that manner to such an extent as its rivals have. In recent years its absorptions began with the taking over of the Exchange Bank of Yarmouth in 1903. Afterwards the People’s Bank of Halifax and the People’s Bank of New Brunswick were absorbed on successive occasions. And, of course, the Bank of Montreal acquired a considerable portion of the Ontario Bank’s business through its action in assuming the liabilities of that institution.

In order to show the recent progress of the Canadian banking institutions now in existence, the following table is given, comparing them in respect of total assets as at September 30, 1912,[3] and December 31, 1890. The banks are given in order according to amount of paid-up capital as at the end of 1890:

Bank.December 31, 1890.September 30, 1912.
Montreal$ 47,978,000$ 240,503,000
Commerce23,061,000242,172,000
Merchants21,664,00083,805,000
British14,285,00067,528,000
Quebec9,030,00021,343,000
Toronto12,188,00057,643,000
Molsons12,186,00052,958,000
Imperial10,055,00078,110,000
Dominion12,407,00073,607,000
Nova Scotia8,911,00066,982,000
Ottawa5,534,00050,310,000
Hamilton6,719,00047,695,000
Nationale3,997,00024,158,000
Union6,419,00066,985,000
AMerchants (Halifax)5,849,000172,908,000
Standard6,052,00039,758,000
Hochelaga2,975,00029,475,000
New Brunswick3,070,00012,676,000
BJacques Cartier2,841,00012,115,000
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$215,221,000$1,440,731,000
ANow Royal Bank of Canada.
BNow Banque of Provinciale.

This table shows at a glance the wonderful progress made by the banking institutions of the country. Although Montreal can claim only about one-third of these institutions as her own, in the sense that they have head office in Montreal, yet it is the case that the financial development of the city has been promoted by the growth of practically all of the banks.

Probably there is no other country in the world able to show such a record of advancement. In the case of eighteen banks with resources in 1890 of $215,221,000, the increase has amounted to $1,225,000,000, or nearly six hundred per cent, in less than twenty-two years. Counting in the new banks it can be said that the resources at present are seven times the resources possessed in 1890 by the eighteen banks appearing in the first list.

BANK CLEARINGS

The statistics of bank clearings at the principal centers also serve to illustrate the financial growth of Montreal and of Canada. In 1892 there were clearing houses in operation at four cities—Montreal, Toronto, Halifax and Hamilton. The total of exchanges for each city in the year ending August, 1893, was: Montreal, $602,180,723; Toronto (exclusive of the Bank of Toronto), $326,009,971; Halifax, $59,835,278; and Hamilton, $38,871,401. The grand total was therefore $1,026,897,373. Montreal thus had about sixty per cent of the total.