Canada

Interchange reductions for small Canadian businesses join global efforts to curb swipe fees, prompting Visa and Mastercard to diversify

The workforce management platform and payment company launched a card to pay corporate expenses, an option that the country's large banks have mostly avoided.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is planning its second executive shuffle in six months, which the CEO says is part of its routine talent-management process.

Provisions for credit losses rose 7% in the third quarter, which was less than other Canadian banks have reported. The Toronto-based company also benefited from the first full quarter of results from the unit it acquired from HSBC.

The Bank of Nova Scotia increased its provisions for potential credit losses in the third quarter and said its KeyCorp stake would provide a hefty return on investment.

KeyCorp wasn't seeking capital but saw the benefits of Scotiabank's minority stake. The deal would enable the Canadian lender to step into the U.S. consumer market.

VersaBank in London, Ontario, agreed nearly two years ago to buy a small Minnesota bank. The buyer's CEO says he remains hopeful approval will come soon.

Despite further delays, the country has taken two key steps to opening up access to its Real-Time Rail, including allowing payment companies to participate without a bank partner, but it has yet to commit to a date for the project to go live.

The Canadian bank reported a 70% decline in profits at its U.S. commercial banking and wealth management unit in the most recent quarter and boosted reserves amid distress in the commercial real estate market.

The Montreal-based bank reportedly hired JPMorgan Chase to consider its options.