The 'Big Six' Are Starting To Lose More Ground . . . | General financial discussion | Discussion forum

No pressure actually. The numbers don't mean what you think they mean:

But 24 per cent moved on to a new bank, Heidi Wilson, vice-president of Environics Research’s financial services segment, said, a three-point increase compared to 21 per cent in 2023 and 2021.

“In the 20 years we’ve been running this study, it’s the highest incidence ever of those switching a financial account; 24 per cent, or one in four Canadians, are choosing to go with a financial institution that is not their primary bank,” she said.

A large bank, like RBC, would notice if 21% or 24% of their clients left them in a year.

21% or 24% aren't switching banks. They are just switching an account, like a mortgage, credit card, or brokerage account, and remaining with their existing bank for the remaining products.

I did some digging to better define the "24%". This is what I found:
"The "Tipping Point": Switching activity hit a record 24% in February 2025, up from previous years.
Market Share Shift: A significant portion of this movement is away from the Big 6 banks toward digital-first institutions. Notably, Wealthsimple led the market in switching-driven growth during this period.
Digital Dominance: Online switching is now the primary channel, accounting for 55% of all switches (up from 49% in the previous wave)."

So about 13.2% use digital channels to accomplish the switch which tells me this percentage is comfortable with Digital First banks. My guess is that the "significance portion" moving away from the big 6 is on the order of 10% with the remaining 14% moving to another big six bank for the generous sign-up offers.

The writing is on the wall, Digital first banks will only get bigger at the expense of the Big Six. RBC, TD and NBC have the most to lose given they currently have no Digital only division.

What we do not know is the value of assets moved. Looking at the growth of AUM at places like EQB, Wealthsimple, Oaken Financial, Qtrade, and Questrade is one thought though some digital offerings have also been swallowed up in the other direction. I doubt very much the big 6 are sweating in any shape or form but we may see more promos from them.

Dean said

COIN said

Does your money feel more comfortable with the Big 6 banks or the smaller institutions?

D-pens ⬆️

I'm more comfortable with the 'Security' afforded by the Big 6 ... but I'm also more comfortable with the much better 'SA & GIC Rates' (and fewer fees) of
the Small Fries.

It's a Comfort Zone Balancing Act.
Dean

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AltaRed said

. . . I doubt very much the big 6 are sweating in any shape or form, but we may see more promos from them.

It's already started to happen.
Dean  

One thing about having accounts with CIBC and RBC, because I have been with them so long, I never pay any bank transfer charges. Each month the charge goes on and then they credit me back that amount. Basically, I totally use CIBC for funneling money out to other on-line banks. If I were to open an account with say Scotia Bank, then I would be charged at the senior's rate for moving money. So, as long as the RBC and CIBC are being so kind, I'll never close my chequing accounts with them.

There is a long track record of smaller firms getting into trouble and being bought/absorbed in larger firms. I am guessing the trend will continue BUT I also believe technology, regulatory changes such as open banking and innovation will allow smart fintechs to survive and blossom.... like Wealthsimple that has the financial backing and the skill sets to survive the early years.

Ultimately, I believe there are no more than half a dozen of those on today's HISA chart that will be here 10, if not 5, years from now. The survivors should become stronger as a result. One can see it in the CU world where there is a profound pace of consolidations taking place...out of necessity.

Dean said
…
Any guesses as to which of the Big 6 will be next?

None of the Big 6.

BMO won't. BMO had a partnership with Sobey's just like CIBC did with Loblaw. No digital-only BMO accounts came from those BMO Club Sobey accounts after the BMO-Sobey partnership ended.

Digital-only banking has no value, not even to an existing digital-only bank. Equitable Bank didn't even bother to migrate the digital-only Wyth Financial clients when they bought Concentra Bank.

Wyth account holders were given the URL to the EQ Bank site and instructed to sign themselves up, link their Wyth accounts themselves, and transfer the funds themselves before the Wyth accounts were closed.

Dean said
.All True ⬆️

But in the end, it's ... 'All About The Money' ... isn't it ?

Actually, it is about the profits and not the money.

The large banks have learned that it is better to not accept high-cost deposits when they can attract enough lower-cost ones.

RBC does know about Oaken's 2.80% savings account. RBC isn't going to match that 2.8% when it can attract enough savings account deposits with their 0.55% eSavings rate.

The banks have started to apply that discipline to their mortgage lending too. One isn't going to be offered their best mortgage rates now with no relationship. See bank CEO comments reported in Some banks rethinking strategy on mortgage competition.

The big banks do know how to find a sweet spot price for their products. Investor Economics reported that the Big Six Banks had over 75% of the high interest savings account deposits in Canada in December 2021 with low rates they offered on those accounts.