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Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank), Bank of Montreal, and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce are the banks people usually mean by the big five. OSFI also lists National Bank of Canada with those five as domestic systemically important banks. Tangerine Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of Scotiabank. Simplii Financial is a division of CIBC. Desjardins is a Quebec cooperative. EQ Bank is a trade name of Equitable Bank. Wealthsimple is not a bank.
OSFI’s systemically important banks page names six domestic banks: Bank of Montreal, Bank of Nova Scotia, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, National Bank of Canada, Royal Bank of Canada, and Toronto-Dominion Bank. CDIC lists each of those names as a member institution.
Tangerine and Simplii are direct-banking brands of Scotiabank and CIBC. Desjardins caisses in Quebec are covered by the AMF, not CDIC. Wealthsimple says it is a financial technology company and that it holds cash in trust at CDIC-member banks.
Verdicts use the digital services rubric, not the grocery score. A Canada region on a foreign cloud is not a Canadian operator. Notes about PIPEDA or the US CLOUD Act are not legal advice.
| Name | Ownership / parent | HQ | Data residency | Infrastructure | Pricing | Best for | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RBC | Royal Bank of Canada, a Schedule I bank under the Bank Act (Canada), on its 2025 annual report on Form 40-F. No foreign parent is named there. | Corporate headquarters: Royal Bank Plaza, 200 Bay Street, Toronto. Head office: 1 Place Ville-Marie, Montreal. Both addresses are in the 2025 Form 40-F. | Where customer account data is stored was not stated on the Form 40-F pages checked. | OSFI lists Royal Bank of Canada as a domestic systemically important bank, and also as a global systemically important bank. CDIC lists Royal Bank of Canada as a member. CDIC insures eligible deposits up to $100,000 per category, including principal and interest. | Retail account fees are on RBC’s own fee schedule. This page does not compare rates or recommend an account. Checked 2026-11-06. | A Schedule I bank with corporate headquarters in Toronto and a Montreal head office. | Canadian operator, data location unstatedConfidence: High |
| TD | The Toronto-Dominion Bank and its subsidiaries (TD Bank Group). The corporate profile does not name a foreign parent. | Headquartered in Toronto. Corporate office: TD Bank Tower, 66 Wellington Street West, Toronto, ON M5K 1A2, on the corporate profile. | Where customer account data is stored was not stated on the corporate profile checked. | OSFI lists Toronto-Dominion Bank as a domestic systemically important bank, and also as a global systemically important bank. CDIC lists The Toronto-Dominion Bank as a member. Eligible deposits are insured up to $100,000 per category. | Retail account fees are on TD’s own fee schedule. This page does not compare rates or recommend an account. Checked 2026-11-06. | Everyday banking at a Toronto-headquartered Schedule I bank on OSFI’s D-SIB list. | Canadian operator, data location unstatedConfidence: High |
| Scotiabank | The Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank). OSFI lists it as a domestic systemically important bank. No foreign parent is named on the pages checked. | Corporate headquarters: 40 Temperance Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5H 0B4, on Scotiabank’s investor relations contact page. | Where customer account data is stored was not stated on the investor relations page checked. | OSFI lists Bank of Nova Scotia as a domestic systemically important bank. CDIC lists The Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank) as a member. Eligible deposits are insured up to $100,000 per category. | Retail account fees are on Scotiabank’s own fee schedule. This page does not compare rates or recommend an account. Checked 2026-11-06. | A Toronto-headquartered bank that also owns Tangerine Bank. | Canadian operator, data location unstatedConfidence: High |
| BMO | Bank of Montreal, named in Schedule I of the Bank Act, on its annual information form for the year ended 31 October 2024. No foreign parent is named there. | Head office: 129 rue Saint Jacques, Montreal, Quebec, H2Y 1L6. Executive offices: 100 King Street West, 1 First Canadian Place, Toronto, Ontario, M5X 1A1. Both are in that annual information form. | Where customer account data is stored was not stated on the annual information form checked. | OSFI lists Bank of Montreal as a domestic systemically important bank. CDIC lists Bank of Montreal as a member. Eligible deposits are insured up to $100,000 per category. | Retail account fees are on BMO’s own fee schedule. This page does not compare rates or recommend an account. Checked 2026-11-06. | A Schedule I bank with its legal head office in Montreal and executive offices in Toronto. | Canadian operator, data location unstatedConfidence: High |
| CIBC | Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, governed by the Bank Act (Canada), on its 2025 annual information form. No foreign parent is named there. | Registered and head office: 81 Bay Street, CIBC Square, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5J 0E7, on the 2025 annual information form. | Where customer account data is stored was not stated on the annual information form checked. | OSFI lists Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce as a domestic systemically important bank. CDIC lists Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce as a member, and lists Simplii Financial under that member. Eligible deposits are insured up to $100,000 per category. | Retail account fees are on CIBC’s own fee schedule. This page does not compare rates or recommend an account. Checked 2026-11-06. | A Toronto-headquartered bank whose direct brand, Simplii, is part of the same CDIC member. | Canadian operator, data location unstatedConfidence: High |
| National Bank | National Bank of Canada. OSFI lists it as a domestic systemically important bank. No foreign parent is named on the pages checked. | National Bank’s 19 September 2024 announcement calls National Bank Place, 800 Saint-Jacques, Montreal, its new head office. | Where customer account data is stored was not stated on the head-office announcement checked. | OSFI lists National Bank of Canada as a domestic systemically important bank. CDIC lists National Bank of Canada as a member. Eligible deposits are insured up to $100,000 per category. | Retail account fees are on National Bank’s own fee schedule. This page does not compare rates or recommend an account. Checked 2026-11-06. | A Montreal-headquartered bank on the same OSFI list as the big five. | Canadian operator, data location unstatedConfidence: High |
| Desjardins | Desjardins Group, a cooperative financial group, on its Q2 2026 investor fact sheet. Not a federal Schedule I bank. | Head office: 100 Des Commandeurs Street, Lévis, Quebec, Canada G6V 7N5, on the Q2 2026 investor fact sheet. | Where customer account data is stored was not stated on the fact sheet or deposit pages checked. | The AMF says each Desjardins caisse in Quebec and the Fédération des caisses Desjardins du Québec are authorized deposit institutions. The AMF protects eligible deposits up to $100,000 per category. Desjardins’ deposit page says the same for Quebec. Its personal fee schedule says Caisse Desjardins Ontario Credit Union Inc. deposits are authorized by FSRA, not CDIC. | Account fees are on Desjardins’ own fee schedule. This page does not compare rates or recommend an account. Checked 2026-11-06. | Cooperative banking in Quebec, with deposit protection from the AMF rather than CDIC. | Canadian operator, data location unstatedConfidence: High |
| EQ Bank | EQ Bank is a trade name of Equitable Bank. Equitable Bank’s common questions page says it is a federally regulated Schedule I bank. No foreign parent is named on those pages. | Based in Toronto, on Equitable Bank’s common questions page. A street address was not on that page. | Where customer account data is stored was not stated on the deposit or FAQ pages checked. | Equitable Bank says it is a CDIC member and that EQ Bank and Equitable Bank deposits are covered together up to $100,000 per insured category, per depositor. CDIC lists Equitable Bank, with EQ Bank as a trade name. | Account fees and interest rates are on eqbank.ca. This page does not compare rates or recommend an account. Checked 2026-11-06. | A branchless Schedule I bank when you want EQ Bank deposits inside Equitable Bank’s CDIC coverage. | Canadian operator, data location unstatedConfidence: High |
| Tangerine | Tangerine is a trade name of Tangerine Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Bank of Nova Scotia, on Tangerine’s CDIC page. Tangerine’s relationship FAQ says Scotiabank bought ING DIRECT Canada on 15 November 2012 and that Tangerine is no longer affiliated with ING Group. | The CDIC and relationship pages call Tangerine Bank a Canadian chartered bank. A separate street address was not on those pages. The parent, Scotiabank, lists corporate headquarters in Toronto. | Where customer account data is stored was not stated on the CDIC or relationship pages checked. | Tangerine’s FAQ says Tangerine Bank is regulated by OSFI and is a CDIC member. Its CDIC page says it is a member in its own right, separate from Scotiabank. CDIC lists Tangerine Bank. Eligible deposits are insured up to $100,000 per category at that member. | Account fees and rates are on tangerine.ca. This page does not compare rates or recommend an account. Checked 2026-11-06. | Direct banking at a separate CDIC member owned by Scotiabank. | Canadian operator, data location unstatedConfidence: High |
| Simplii | Simplii Financial is a trademark and division of CIBC. Simplii’s FAQ says banking products branded Simplii are offered by CIBC. It is not a separate bank. | No separate Simplii head office is named. CIBC’s 2025 annual information form lists its head office at 81 Bay Street, Toronto. Simplii says banking services are not available in Quebec. | Where customer account data is stored was not stated on the Simplii pages checked. | Simplii’s homepage says CIBC is a CDIC member and that Simplii deposits do not get separate CDIC coverage from CIBC. Eligible Simplii and CIBC deposits are protected together up to CDIC’s maximum. CDIC lists Simplii Financial under Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. | Simplii’s about page says no monthly fees on its banking offer. Other product fees are on simplii.com. This page does not compare rates. Checked 2026-11-06. | No-fee digital banking that stays inside CIBC’s CDIC coverage. | Canadian operator, data location unstatedConfidence: High |
| Wealthsimple | Wealthsimple says it is a financial technology company, not a bank. Its chequing help centre says it is not a CDIC member. A parent company was not named on the pages checked. | Headquartered in Toronto, on Wealthsimple’s 3 December 2025 newsroom note. That note says the company was founded in 2014. | Where Wealthsimple’s own account systems store data was not stated on the pages checked. The help centre says chequing cash is held in trust at partner banks. | Not a bank and not a CDIC member. The help centre says chequing funds are placed in trust with Schedule I, CDIC-member institutions, with coverage described up to $1,000,000 across chequing accounts, and that Save accounts have $100,000 coverage. | Product fees are on wealthsimple.com. This page does not compare rates or recommend an account. Checked 2026-11-06. | Investing, spending, and saving tools from a Toronto company that is not itself a bank. | Canadian operator, data location unstatedConfidence: High |
Tangerine’s relationship page says Scotiabank bought ING DIRECT Canada on 15 November 2012 and that Tangerine is no longer affiliated with ING Group. The current parent is The Bank of Nova Scotia, a Canadian bank. Simplii is not a separate bank. It is a CIBC division, and Simplii deposits share CIBC’s CDIC limit.
Wealthsimple is not a bank and is not on the CDIC member list. A parent company was not named on the Wealthsimple pages checked. Desjardins caisse deposits in Quebec are protected by the AMF, not by CDIC. This is not financial advice.
People usually mean Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Scotiabank (Bank of Nova Scotia), Bank of Montreal, and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. OSFI does not use the phrase big 5. Its systemically important banks page lists those five plus National Bank of Canada.
Tangerine Bank is a Canadian Schedule I bank and a CDIC member in its own right. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank). Tangerine’s FAQ says Scotiabank bought ING DIRECT Canada on 15 November 2012 and that Tangerine is no longer affiliated with ING Group.
No. Wealthsimple says it is a financial technology company, not a bank, and its help centre says it is not a CDIC member. Chequing funds are held in trust at Schedule I, CDIC-member institutions. The help centre describes chequing coverage up to $1,000,000 across those partners, and $100,000 for Save accounts.
Interac’s about page says Interac is an all-Canadian company. Its e-Transfer disclosure says shareholders are a diverse body of financial services entities, including banks, credit unions, caisses populaires, and payment acquirers. Interac operates debit and e-Transfer. It is not a bank and it is not a CDIC member. About: https://www.interac.ca/en/company/about/secure-trusted-helping-canada-navigate-a-digital-future/ Disclosure: https://www.interac.ca/en/interac-e-transfer-disclosure/
CDIC insures eligible deposits at each member institution up to $100,000 per category, including principal and interest. Tangerine Bank is its own member. Simplii deposits count with CIBC. EQ Bank deposits count with Equitable Bank. Desjardins caisses in Quebec are covered by the AMF up to $100,000 per category, not by CDIC. Wealthsimple itself is not a CDIC member.
Primary pages opened for this check. Company marketing claims are cited as the company’s own words.