A winning slice of Canadian PII

Earlier this month, Canadian Gordon Nixon, CEO of Royal Bank of Canada, addressed the British Bankers Association annual conference and talked through the reasons why Canadian banks have weathered the worldwide financial crisis relatively unscathed. He summarised why and how Canada had got it right during the boom years. Simple concepts are the key; sound macro economic policy, well capitalised, well-managed banks, geographic and portfolio risk spreading, strong, common sense regulation; and most importantly the structure of the Canadian housing and mortgage markets, which feature strong risk management strategies.

Canadian practices and the regulation of solicitors mirror the English system in most respects. Solicitors have always controlled conveyancing, complying with a set of professional conduct rules that would be instantly recognisable in this country.

Disproportionate losses

In 1995, the profession in Ontario, governed by the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC), faced similar problems with its professional indemnity insurance (PII) market to those we’re currently facing in England & Wales. Canadian