The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) financial services cluster is concentrated in Toronto and includes the five largest Canadian banks and approximately 80% of foreign banks operating in Canada. It is home to the Toronto Stock Exchange, one of the world's largest stock exchanges. The cluster benefits from its large population and proximity to major educational institutions. It faces competition from other major financial centers like New York and London but continues innovating with new technologies like contactless payments and mobile banking apps.

1. GTA Financial Services Cluster SaimaKassam MRK625 / April 2010 http://saimakassam.wordpress.com

2. What is a Cluster? a “cluster” is defined by Porter as: a concentration of companies and industries in a geographic region, which are interconnected by the markets they serve, and the products they produce, as well as the suppliers, trade associations and educational institutions these geographic concentrations of economic activity have some competitive advantage, and thus (usually) exports the change, over time, of a cluster, or group of clusters is best described by a system of innovation

3. Profile of the GTA Cluster Home to the five largest banks and approx. 80% of foreign banks (operating in Toronto) Canada’s most prominent and world recognized stock exchange: the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) High traffic area (100,000 people per day)

4. Profile of the GTA Cluster Major players in the GTA’s financial services sector: Banks Credit Agencies Security Dealers Insurance

5. GTA – Educational Institutions

6. Cluster Structures (GTA) Center of Excellence Toronto Financial Services Alliance (TFSA) Business Incubator Toronto Business Development Centre Financial Literacy Portal Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) TMX Money Financial Portal Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX)

7. Direct Competition New York London

8. New York Financial Services Cluster Three major sub-clusters Banking Securities Insurance Concentration of employment

9. London Financial Services Cluster Located in the heart of downtown London “World Financial Leader” Driven by innovation

10. Innovations Contactless technology RFID technology Zoompass Mobile banking “there’s an app for that!”

11. Toronto in the News CIBC the first Canadian bank to introduce banking app for mobile phones Ontario budget to help Toronto grow

12. GTA Financial Services Cluster SaimaKassam MRK625 / April 2010 http://saimakassam.wordpress.com