Stumbling Giants

Winner of the 2018 Donner Prize for the Best Public Policy Book by Canadian authors, Stumbling Giants by Patricia Meredith and James L. Darroch presents a compelling new vision of the Canadian banking industry in which stakeholders work together to propel the country’s banking system into the twenty-first century.

Canada’s big six banks survived the 2008 financial crisis by adhering to traditional banking practices, which made them a safe harbour amidst the turmoil. With banks earning 40 per cent return on equity from practices such as in-person retail banking, pressure from investors with short-term interests continues to discourage technological innovation and adaptation.

However, today’s global information economy has transformed the financial lives of individuals and companies alike. Meredith and Darroch argue that Canadian banks refuse to address the disruptive info-tech changes that ultimately threaten their very existence. The authors also set forth a cohesive set of recommendations to prepare the nation’s banks for the challenges and opportunities offered by the digital age.

This call to action for the Canadian banking will resonate with financial sector managers, policy makers, and, above all, general readers.

In Stumbling Giants, Patricia Meredith and James L. Darroch embark on an audacious and startling examination of Canada’s big banks. Meredith and Darroch’s new vision for the Canadian banking industry is a call to action for all interested stakeholders to work together in creating a banking system for the twenty-first century.

• Imprint: Rotman-UTP Publishing
• Published: October 2017
• Pages: 256

• epub: 9781442620445
• pdf: 9781442620438
• hardcover: 9781442649514

Patricia Meredith is a Fellow at the David & Sharon Johnston Centre for Governance Innovation at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, and a Senior Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, University of Waterloo. Her previous book Stumbling Giants, co-authored with James L. Darroch, was the Winner of the 2018 Donner Prize for the Best Public Policy Book by Canadian authors.

James L. Darroch is Associate Professor of Strategic Management and the CIT Chair in Financial Services at Schulich School of Business, York University, and Director of the Financial Services Program and Co-Director of the Masters Certificate in Financial Services Leadership and the Professional Banking Program at the Schulich Executive Education Centre. His research focuses on strategic management with an emphasis on governance and enterprise risk management in financial services firms. He was formerly Co-Program Director for the Risk Management Curriculum at the Bank of Montreal.

"As Meredith and Darroch suggest, the Canadian banks have only one option to effectively adapt to the Information Age. The banks must collaborate with each other and all stakeholders to create efficient and accessible 21st century banking services for Canadians."

David Dodge, former Governor, Bank of Canada

"This is a serious contribution to an important public policy issue and will likely (and hopefully) stimulate good discussion and debate."

Fred Gorbet, former Deputy Minister of Finance and Chair, Financial Services Program at the Schulich School of Business

"Meredith and Darroch have written an excellent book that addresses the entire Canadian banking industry in an insightful and comprehensive way. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the industry."

David Denison, former CEO, CPP Investment Board

"Stumbling Giants is a must-read. A thoughtful study of the Canadian banking industry, it will challenge policy makers and financial service leaders to rethink the shape of the industry. With a tsunami of new entrants and new technologies transforming the old retail banking model, the banks have no higher priority than to innovate themselves to meet the changing needs of customers in the digital age."

Barbara Stymiest, former Member of Group Executive, RBC Financial Group

"Over the past 30 years the Canadian banks have neglected the small business banking goose that laid the golden eggs. As Meredith and Darroch point out, while aggressively pursuing consumer mortgage and loan growth and fee income, bankers lost the ability to effectively assess risk and price small and medium-sized business loans. This does not auger well for growth in the Canadian economy."

Brien Gray, former Executive Vice President, Canadian Federation of Independent Business