Thank you, Chair.
One of the witnesses mentioned that it is a highly regulated industry, but when we look at the current portfolio of all the five major banks that are here today, 30% to 40% of their lending is to the residential real estate market. When we include commercial real estate it's sometimes about 50% or over, but most of it is for refinancing existing stock, not creating new housing units. Maybe we should bring in credit guidance so that we can mandate the banks to give at least 10% to 20% to create new capital stock, either in real estate or in small-scale manufacturing, which I believe is required with onshoring, near-shoring and self-reliance so that it goes up.
Anyway, to come to today's issue, I have two particular questions for all. We are a developed and a technologically advanced country, but why is it that we're backward when it comes to global south countries, developing countries, that have faster real-time payment systems? If I have to transfer from my personal bank, from one bank in Nepean to another bank in Nepean, say, about $10,000, it takes over a week's time, whereas, in some global south countries, it can be done in a matter of seconds. Why is that?
I will start with the Bank of Montreal.
Ms. Douglas, why is it that our technology solutions are so backward that I can't transfer money instantly between my accounts within Canada, in the same area?
Let's start with that, then I can come to the other points.