Three of Canada's biggest banks are set to condemn the proposed merger of the Toronto and London stock exchanges, claiming the deal is akin to "selling out" and could lead to thousands of job losses, the National Post is reporting.
A group of financial institutions, including Toronto-Dominion Bank, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and National Bank of Canada, are set to issue their opinion on the proposed merger, which would combine the TMX Group with the London Stock Exchange and would be headquartered in the U.K.
"We believe globalization produces huge economic opportunities," the group says in the document obtained by the National Post. "But this does not mean we are obliged to support any deal that wraps itself in the flag of globalization.
"Canadians are quite capable of competing and winning on the global stage," the letter says. "Our success does not depend on selling out or waiting for others to 'save' us."
Former federal industry minister Jim Prentice, who left politics last year to work as a senior executive with CIBC, told the Canadian Club of Toronto on Tuesday that government should step in to prevent the deal from going through if certain permanent conditions to protect Canada's interests are not put in place.
"If these conditions are not acceptable, then the transaction should not be approved," Prentice said in an interview after the speech.
The three banks now stand opposite to the Royal Bank of Canada, whose CEO last week endorsed the merger as a means of preserving the TSX.
