Assessing the Impact of the Covid 19 Pandemic on the Banking System Performance: Evidence from the Canadian Banking Industry

ABSTRACT

The outbreak of the Coronavirus, which has caused a global crisis, has affected all aspects of human life. This pandemic has also seriously challenged the business environment, monetary and financial markets, and the performance of banks in countries. Accordingly, this paper aims to answer the question "What is the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic crisis on the performance of the Canadian banking industry? Thus, the main purpose of the study is to investigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the performance of the Canadian banking industry. For this purpose, the related literature was systematically reviewed to extract performance indicators. Then, a quantitative approach and a multiple case study strategy were used to examine the hypotheses and answer the questions. So, three Canadian banks including RBC bank, TD bank, and BMO were selected as cases. Document- and records-based method used to collect public data from official, and well-known economic and financial sources. For data analysis, structural equation analysis and correlation test were considered using Amos 28 and APSS 27. Based on the results, although the Covid-19 pandemic has shocked the Canadian banking industry, like many businesses, but because of its high capabilities, they have been able to manage the crisis well and come out of it successfully. The results show that the average profitability and efficiency of Canadian banks decreased slightly during the pandemic period, but it was not significant. In addition, during this period, business risk has increased slightly, but this situation has gradually returned to normal. Plus, some indicators such as the average of ROE, ROI, EPS, etc. after passing the initial shock, they have found a better position than the pre-crisis. Considering the newness of the pandemic and the lack of similar knowledge and experience that has surprised people, the results of this research contribute to the theoretical development ofthe literature, and its results can be used in the financial, banking, and commercial fields. Since the basis of the investigations was limited to the data of only three banks, therefore, it should be a little cautious in generalizing the results.