Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Bethlenfalvy, I'm going to ask you a different question. I know that the DBRS is also involved in rating financial institutions, and I know you have a background in the banking industry as well, with TD. Recently the economics editor of the British Broadcasting Corporation published an article on the BBC website that said a number of things about the Canadian banking system. I'd like to share those with you.
She was very critical of the British banks and the performance of the British government and she said:
Nowhere is immune, but by most key measures, the Canadians are coming out of this crisis in a league of their own.
Take the banking system. Canada's banks have not just had fewer bailouts than other countries. Ghey've had none. Zero. Not a dime.
She said:
As the FT pointed out today, of the seven institutions in the world that still retain a triple-A Moody's credit rating, two are Canadian banks. And as their competitors have tumbled, so they have ascended the global rankings: all five Canadian banks now rank in the world top 50.
She further said:
Of course, Canada has been hit by this crisis--about a third of its GDP is taken up with exports to the US. ... But it looks set to have the shallowest recession of all the G7 economies, with the smallest decline in activity in 2009 and fastest growth in 2010.
Its sober management of the public finances has even left it room for a decent-sized stimulus package for this year and next. Net debt last year was an irritating 22% of GDP.
I wonder if you could comment on the comparisons between the Canadian banks and the banks in Europe and the United States.