September 2010: Canadian Banks Are the Safest in the World

Canadian politicians are jumping in joy today. The World Economic Forum says that Canada's banking system is the safest in the world - for the third straight year.

However, Canada slipped a notch to number 10 on the list in terms of competition. The top ranked is Switzerland, 2nd is Sweden, third is Singapore, with the United States falling to fourth.

The U'S' slipping competitiveness is attributed to a build-up in U.S. macroeconomic imbalances, a weakening of the country's public and private institutions, as well as concerns about the state of its financial markets.

Top 100 in order of competitivess:

1.Switzerland
Sweden
Singapore
United States
Germany
Japan
Finland
Netherlands
Denmark
10. Canada
Hong Kong SAR
United Kingdom
Taiwan, China
Norway
France
Australia
Qatar
Austria
Belgium
20.Luxembourg
Saudi Arabia
Korea, Rep.
New Zealand
Israel
United Arab Emirates
Malaysia
China
Brunei Darussalam
Ireland
30.Chile
Iceland
Tunisia
Estonia
Oman
Kuwait
Czech Republic
Bahrain
Thailand
Poland
40. Cyprus
Puerto Rico
Spain
Barbados
Indonesia
Slovenia
Portugal
Lithuania
Italy
Montenegro
50. Malta
India
Hungary
Panama
South Africa
Mauritius
Costa Rica
Azerbaijan
Brazil
Vietnam
60. Slovak Republic
Turkey
Sri Lanka
Russian Federation
Uruguay
Jordan
Mexico
Romania
Colombia
Iran
70. Latvia
Bulgaria
Kazakhstan
Peru
Namibia
Morocco
Botswana
Croatia
Guatemala
Macedonia, FYR
80. Rwanda
Egypt
El Salvador
Greece
Trinidad and Tobago
Philippines
Algeria
Argentina
Albania
Ukraine
90. Gambia, The
Honduras
Lebanon
Georgia
Moldova
Jamaica
Serbia
Syria
Armenia
Mongolia
100. Libya