Thank you, sir.
It's my pleasure to present to all of you today, and I thank you for this opportunity.
I am Nav Bubber, director of the Scotia Private Client Group at Scotiabank.
You just heard from Cam Vidler of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce on the opportunities that the Indian market has to offer to Canadian companies. I would like to add to Cam's comments, both in my capacity as a representative of Scotiabank and as a board member of the Canada-Indian Business Council.
There are two key points I would like to make today. First, I want to emphasize the importance of securing this agreement. The timing is excellent for a trade agreement with such an important market. Second, Canada has several strengths that make it an ideal trading partner for India, something we believe needs to be effectively communicated.
Before I go into details, let me briefly summarize our experience in India. Scotiabank is Canada's most international bank. With more than 81,000 employees, Scotiabank and its affiliates serve about 19 million customers in more than 55 countries around the world.
We have been in India since 1984 and are proud to be the most active Canadian bank. With more than 170 employees and five branches, we offer a broad range of corporate and commercial services along with some retail banking products. ScotiaMocatta, our precious metals division, is now one of the largest precious metal dealers in India and has been recognized as the “Best Bullion Bank” for the past four years.
But this is just a start. We would love to expand our operations, but the regulatory environment and market access barriers for foreign banks in India have definitely slowed our progress. A trade deal could help remove such barriers and allow us to make a much larger contribution to the development of the Indian banking sector as a whole.
In our view, Canada has some unique qualifications as a potential trade partner for India: the strength and stability of our economy; consistent and transparent policies; a multicultural and educated workforce; and also top-tier sectors in education, energy, and services such as banking.
The mix of stability, policy orientation, and sectoral expertise make Canadian institutions ideal partners, with the ability to meaningfully contribute to India's economic transformation. Looking at the financial sector specifically, Canadian banks are global leaders in risk management, corporate governance, and financial control. We also have a proven track record of partnering in the development of banking sectors around the globe.
We want to bring these strengths to India. In light of what Canada has to offer, the CEPA agreement needs to provide increased market access and transparency for Canadian companies, to increase access for all financial services in respect of right of establishment, and to grant Canada full national and most-favoured-nation treatment.
In terms of market access, the two main barriers are India's 5% foreign ownership limit on domestic private sector banks, which prevents Canadian banks from expanding through partnerships, and the branch authorization policy, which limits the ability of foreign banks to open new branches because of the imposition of non-transparent quotas.
In return, we encourage Canada's negotiating team to consider a strong market access offer to India in areas of their interest, such as labour mobility. This will ensure mutual benefits and a successful agreement.
I believe that Scotiabank's history in India and Asia as a whole, and our deep commitment to the development of emerging markets place us in a unique position to offer insights on this topic. I hope these recommendations are helpful in your deliberations.
Thank you.