Canada: three oligopolies in a trenchcoat.
Bank service charges and overdraft fees can infuriate consumers, and more choices could lower their temperature.
From the perspective of investors, though, Canada’s cozy network of oligopolies – in which a few players dominate one sector – can look very different. Slim competition can keep upstarts out and profits in, driving strong shareholder returns and attractive dividends over the long term.
“We have a handful of oligopolies that are able to fend off new entrants (whether regional or foreign) without needing to destroy profits for an extended period of time, or where we need a government financed solution,” Ian de Verteuil, head of portfolio strategy at CIBC Capital Markets, said in an e-mail.
Supporting oligopolies was an overt decision by the Canadian government in the 1970s or 1980s, since we expected them to build up here and then spread into markets abroad. That has kind of worked out for banks, but not for our other oligopolies.
I agree with the sentiment wholeheartedly.