Ontario is one of North America's top three financial services hubs. It is the home of the Canadian banking system which the World Economic Forum identified in 2010 – for the third year in a row – as the soundest in the world.

The U.K.-based Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) ranks Toronto among the world's top ten international financial centres.

Canada's financial industry is centered in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) with smaller clusters in Waterloo, London and Ottawa, Ontario. The GTA is North America's third largest financial services hub after New York City and Chicago in terms of industry employment and GFCI ranking.

The GTA is home to:

• 10 domestic banks and 39 foreign bank subsidiaries and branches
  
  
• the Toronto Stock Exchange, ranked 8th largest in the world based on domestic market equity capitalization , and the world leader in mining industry financing
  
  
• 58 institutional pension funds
  
  
• 190 insurance companies including two of the largest 10 global life insurers and three of the four largest P&C insurers in Canada
  
  
• 80 per cent of Canada's investment management industry representing $700 billion in assets
  
  
• 7 of the 10 largest global hedge fund administrators with sector total assets estimated at $32 billion
  
  
• a growing number of operational service providers including CIBC Mellon, State Street, RBC Dexia, Merrill Lynch Technology.

Among the foreign banks operating in Canada, 89 per cent have their Canadian headquarters in the Greater Toronto Area: American Express, Citco, Goldman Sachs, ICICI Bank, ING Direct, Northern Trust, UBS and many others.

Banks, credit card and insurance companies have also established customer service centers, software development centers and back office operations such as collections, accounting and transaction processing in smaller communities across the province.

Growth momentum draws billions in new investment

Ontario's financial services industry has grown steadily over the last decade (2000-2010), with employment rising by 31 per cent compared to the 0.3 per cent increase in the U.S.

Global leaders have recognized the competitive advantages of doing business here. In 2010, Canada's finance and insurance sector attracted $5.4 billion in foreign direct investment, an increase of 7 per cent over the previous year.