Canadian Banks Cater to Immigration

For years, a common complaint of new immigrants to Canada was that it was difficult to get a solid financial foothold in the first years after arriving. The lack of a Canadian credit history, for example, would prove to be a bar to obtaining credit, which - of course - prevents establishing a credit history. More recently, Canadian banks are specifically catering services to new immigrants, a population that grows by approximately 250,000 annually.

Recognizing the need to address the immigrant community, most of the large Canadian banks appoint a Director of Multicultural Markets in order to ensure that the needs of new Canadians are met. Canadian banks now seek to help a new Canadian with everything from opening bank accounts and applying for insurance and credit cards to giving advice on how to get a driver's licence, preparing taxes, even deciding where to live or send their kids to school. The Royal Bank of Canada's communitycorner.ca web site provides details on the demographic and cultural makeup of most communities in Canada. This helps prospective immigrants can check out neighbourhoods, including home values, and find cultural communities they want to be close to.