There is a real thread developing amongst banks and their strategies, as they realise their marketing to home nationals misses immigrants. And immigrants form a large part of every country’s make up now.
Here is a further update on the Canadian Banks efforts to develop market share amongst “new Canadians”.
In order to reach them, RBC too has set up a multilingual website and can facilitate non-resident account openings online. The site averages about 5,000 hits a month.
“The Chinese version is already about 35 per cent of the traffic,” Whitmell said.
“We’ve launched that so that anybody, anywhere around the globe has the ability to initiate that relationship with RBC – even before they arrive in Canada.
Banks are using all kinds of activities to attract immigrants:
For its part, Bank of Montreal (TSX:BMO) plans to hold free seminars in Hong Kong and mainland China in the coming months to brief prospective immigrants about Canadian banking, taxation, education, real estate and culture.
Prior to their departure, new Chinese clients are able to establish personal deposit accounts in Canada while also arranging MasterCards, banking cards and residential mortgages.
“We want to be proactive,” said Peggy Sum, BMO’s senior vice-president, Asian market. “All those things are important for settlement.”
There is real incentive to attract new immigrants because their profile is generally positive.
Immigrants, however, are generally encouraged to bring enough to support themselves for at least six months.
That’s creating a lucrative opportunity for Canadian banks given the high savings rate in some Asian countries. In China, that number is high as 40 per cent compared to a negative savings rate in Canada.
Relevance to Bankwatch:
International migration between countries is significant, and unstoppable. The profile of those migrants is strong because they are advised or required to bring deposits with them for self protection and support.
Bankwatch 