Growth in trust activities in 2006

Deposit institutions Organization

Montréal – The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) today released the 2006 report on trust companies and savings companies in Québec. The report notes that trust companies with operations in Québec posted a 147.0% increase in trust activities over the past year based on assets under administration.

The report, which was tabled today in the National by Minister of Finance Monique Jérôme-Forget, indicates that assets related to these activities grew from $1,126.9 billion as at December 31, 2005 to $2,783.8 billion Including RBC Dexia Investor Services, a Canadian chartered trust company that obtained a licence to operate in Québec on December 13, 2005, but only began its operations in 2006. as at December 31, 2006. Excluding the company mentioned in note 1, whose assets under administration represent 57.5% of all trust company assets under administration, this increase would have been 5.0%.

The report also states that, as at December 31, 2006, a total of 37 trust companies were licensed to carry on business in Québec, namely, three with a Québec charter and 34 with a federal charter. Furthermore, 30 of these companies were registered with the AMF under the Deposit Insurance Act and authorized to receive deposits from the public.

Compared with 2005, two trust companies had their licences cancelled and one trust company, which had obtained its licence in 2005, began its operations in 2006. Total assets therefore rose 10.9%, from $80.1 billion in 2005 to $88.8 billion in 2006. Excluding the companies affected by the above-mentioned events, assets of the remaining trust companies still active at the end of 2005 rose 0.3%.

In addition, net earnings of trust companies over the past year, for all of their activities in Canada, jumped 7.1% from $722.9 million in 2005 to $774.3 million in 2006. However, again excluding the companies affected by the above-mentioned events, net earnings of the remaining trust companies still active at the end of 2005 fell 12.1% compared with the previous year. Operating expenses rose 17.9% for the period, thereby reducing profit margins. The net earnings ratio of these companies stood at 26.2% in 2006, down from 34.3% in 2005.

With respect to savings and credit in Québec, the report states that trust companies collected 15.8% of their deposits from Quebeckers in 2006 and extended 27.9% of their mortgage loans to Quebeckers.

The 2006 report on trust companies and savings companies in Québec is available (in French only) on the AMF website. 1 Including RBC Dexia Investor Services, a Canadian chartered trust company that obtained a licence to operate in Québec on December 13, 2005, but only began its operations in 2006.

The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) is the regulatory and oversight body for Québec's financial sector.

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