Financial Services

Atlantic Canada’s Financial Services Capital

• Halifax is Atlantic Canada’s hub city and financial services capital. The city generates 19% of the Maritime Provinces’ total GDP, and has one of the largest concentrations of financial services companies in Canada.
• Halifax has over 2,600 firms in the finance, insurance, and real estate (FIRE) sector and it employs 14,000 people.
• Halifax’s insurance industry is expected to grow 25% between 2010 and 2013, according to the Conference Board of Canada.  
• We are the regional headquarters of Canada’s largest banks -- “the Big 5” - Royal Bank of Canada, TD Bank, ScotiaBank, Bank of Montreal, and CIBC. They have added almost 500 new employees in Halifax in the past three years.
• The Business Development Bank of Canada is Canada’s business development bank.  From more than 100 offices across the country, BDC promotes entrepreneurship by providing highly tailored financing, venture capital and consulting services to entrepreneurs.
• A number of global financial services providers have arrived recently, including Citco Fund Services, Butterfield Fund Services, Marsh, Olympia Capital, and Meridian Fund Services (Canada) Ltd. 

Why Choose Halifax?

• We’re strategically located, whether you are moving goods in and out of North America, or delivering services across European, North American and Caribbean time zones.
• Political, economic and legal stability. Nova Scotia is a stable province to do business from a political, economic and legal perspective. Canada, furthermore, has one of the soundest banking systems in the entire world.
• We’re Canada’s smart city, with one of the best educated workforces in all of Canada. More than two-thirds of Halifax's population has a trade, college or university designation. We have one of the largest concentrations of universities in North America, producing the talent you need, with six universities offering a multitude of undergraduate and graduate programs. This is in addition to the some 11,000 students across Nova Scotia who attend the Nova Scotia Community College, as well as students graduating from universities in nearby provinces. Three universities and one college in metro Halifax alone offer programs important to the financial services sector. 
• Dynamic ICT-intensive back-office/nearshoring cluster. Halifax has developed a significant ICT-enabled middle/back office cluster in Greater Halifax that includes: International hedge fund administrators like Butterfield Fulcrum, Citco Fund Services and Meridian Fund Services; insurance and reinsurance firms like Admiral Insurance, Flagstone Re and Marsh; and due diligence firms like Castle Hall Associates.
• Reliable and secure telecommunications infrastructure that includes: Hibernia Atlantic’s Halifax International Exchange Centre, providing fast and secure transmission of data between commercial North American and European clients; a  stable and self-sufficient power grid; and 100% Broadband availability.
• Competitive business costs. Halifax offers more competitive business costs compared to other cities across North America. In its 2010 Competitive Alternatives survey of 95 jurisdictions in ten countries, KPMG found that Halifax had significantly lower business costs related to financial services than most other North American cities. Halifax also offers inexpensive office space and competitive financial services salaries.

• Incentivies to meet your needs. The Nova Scotia Payroll Rebate, administered by Nova Scotia Business Inc., supports companies improving their competitiveness in export markets through innovation, productivity improvements or investments in product development, as well as companies locating or expanding in the province. The rebate has been a key tool in securing financial services investment to Greater Halifax in recent years.
• Ocean. Nightlife. Affordable living. Environmental stewardship. Quality of life that is the envy of the world!
• We have immigration-friendly policies and employer support programs to help you attract foreign workers. The Nova Scotia Nominee Program (NSNP) Skilled Worker stream helps employers hire workers whose skills may be in limited supply in the province. Work permits issued from the Nova Scotia Office of Immigration are processed more quickly, on average, than most other provinces.
• We’re committed to helping you grow here.

Industry Voices

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