February 1, 2023
SHARE
COMMONS
Monopoly #12 – Overdrawn
The Big Five banks are about to get even bigger.
Arshy Mann
Host & Producer
Jordan Cornish
Producer
Noor Azrieh
Producer
André Proulx
Production Coordinator

Not only do the Big Five banks get away with charging exorbitant fees for basic services. Not only do they block any competitors by controlling Canada’s payment infrastructure. Not only are they totally entwined with the federal government. 

But the Big Five banks are about to get even bigger.

 

Featured in this episode: Colin Deacon, Keldon Bester, Alex Vronces

 

To learn more

“How blocked mergers foiled banks’ ambitions — and forced the Big Six to innovate” by James Bradshaw in The Globe and Mail

“How the push to modernize Canada’s payment systems went off the rails” by Jon Victor in The Logic

“How the Big Five banks control how money moves in Canada” by Alex Vronces in Policy Options

“RBC-HSBC banking merger is a slide to monopoly – Canada should just say no” by Keldon Bester in The Globe and Mail

 

Credits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Associate Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor) 

 

Sponsors: Rights Back At You, Athletic Greens 

 

If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.

 

You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime.

More from this series
This is the story of Canada’s first-ever video game union. And the lengths that the industry went to try to stop it in its tracks
July 3, 2024
The huge rise in international students in Canada — most of them from Punjab, India — has become one of the biggest stories in the country.
June 26, 2024
She expected to face opposition from tech companies and governments that are hostile to workers. But what she didn’t anticipate was that one of the biggest obstacles in her path would be a labour union. 
June 19, 2024
Mandalena Lewis is one of far too many flight attendants who have been harassed or assaulted on the job. And her story is just one example of a culture of sexism and abuse that she alleges pervades the airline industry.
June 12, 2024
In 2006, Zakaria Amara was arrested and imprisoned for planning what could have been one of the deadliest terror attacks in Canadian history. A ringleader of the so-called “Toronto 18,” he’s one of the most infamous Canadian convicts of the last few decades. 
June 5, 2024
♩♪ But Spotify, it’s nearly killed us Ticketmaster’s ground us to dust The companies got too large Now monopolies are in charge ♩♪
May 29, 2024
Not only do Canadian prisoners work for for-profit businesses, but they’re sometimes doing the most dangerous and nauseating work around
May 22, 2024
If we want to truly understand our criminal justice system and Canadian labour, we need to examine how prisoners work.
May 15, 2024
all podcasts arrow All Podcasts
COMMONS