Banco Santander looks to branch out in Canada [Video]

TORONTO –

It’s not every day, or even every decade, that a big foreign bank decides to have a go at Canada’s retail banking market.

But Spain’s Banco Santander — which has already shown an ability to attract customers, with more than 168 million of them worldwide — is poised to be among the few that have tried as it nears the all-clear to expand in Canada.

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A fresh international challenger has the potential to add competition to the country’s banking oligopoly, though experts warn it won’t be easy to shake up the status quo.

“You’d think the Canadian banking market should be ripe for disruption, and yet that never seems to happen,” said Andrew Spence, author of the recently published book, “Fleeced: Canadians …