Great Canadian biz quiz, Part 3
In the week leading up to Canada’s 150th birthday, Star columnist David Olive tests your knowledge of the country’s industry. 1. WestJet, founded in Calgary in 1996, was modelled on a) easyJet PLC (U.K.) b) Southwest Airlines Co. (U.S.) c) Ryanair Ltd. (Ireland) 2. At its peak circulation in the 1980s, each edition of the Sunday New York Times consumed this many trees’ worth of Canadian newsprint. a) 7,800 b) 16,000 c) 55,000 High and low finance: Match the illmanaged firm with the year of its demise. 3. Atlantic Acceptance Corp., Toronto 4. Canadian Commercial Bank, Edmonton; and Northland Bank, Calgary 5. Home Bank of Canada, Toronto 6. Principal Group Ltd., Edmonton a) 1923 b) 1965 c) 1985 d) 1987 7. Bank consolidation in Canada wrapped up long ago, while in the U.S. there remain about 8,000 independently owned banks. The last major Canadian bank merger, in 1979, was of a) Bank of Toronto and the Dominion Bank of Canada, creating Toronto-Dominion Bank
b) Canadian Bank of Commerce and the Imperial Bank of Canada, creating Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce c) Banque Canadienne Nationale and the Provincial Bank of Canada, creating National Bank of Canada 8. Of the former “four pillars” of the Canadian financial services industry, which one had not been largely absorbed by the Big Six banks by 2000? a) banking b) trust companies c) securities firms d) life insurers 9. In 1998, then federal finance minister Paul Martin rejected proposed mergers between Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal, and between a) Bank of Nova Scotia and National Bank of Canada b) National Bank of Canada and Caisse Populaires Desjardins c) Toronto-Dominion Bank and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce 10. A banklike Canada Trust, remaining of the big trust companies, greatly bolstered the size and customer-friendliness of its 2000 acquirer: a) Toronto-Dominion Bank b) Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce c) Bank of Montreal 11. Bank-issued credit cards first appeared in Canada in 1968, when four of the Big Five banks introduced a) Master Charge b) Chargex c) Diners Club 12. The first ATM machine was unveiled by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in a) 1969 b) 1973 c) 1981 Match the early ATM names with the financial institutions. 13) Bankette 14) Green Machine 15) JohnnyCash ... a) Toronto-Dominion Bank b) Canada Trust c) Royal Bank of Canada
Answers
1)b. 2) c. 3) b. 4) c. 5) a. 6) d. 7) c. 8) d. 9) c. 10) a. 11) b. 12) a. 13) c. 14) a. 15) b.