Winner of the 2018 Donner Prize for the Best Public Policy Book by Canadian authors, Stumbling Giants by Patricia Meredith and James L. Darroch presents a compelling new vision of the Canadian banking industry in which stakeholders work together to propel the country’s banking system into the twenty-first century.

Canada’s big six banks survived the 2008 financial crisis by adhering to traditional banking practices, which made them a safe harbour amidst the turmoil. With banks earning 40 per cent return on equity from practices such as in-person retail banking, pressure from investors with short-term interests continues to discourage technological innovation and adaptation.

However, today’s global information economy has transformed the financial lives of individuals and companies alike. Meredith and Darroch argue that Canadian banks refuse to address the disruptive info-tech changes that ultimately threaten their very existence. The authors also set forth a cohesive set of recommendations to prepare the nation’s banks for the challenges and opportunities offered by the digital age.

This call to action for the Canadian banking will resonate with financial sector managers, policy makers, and, above all, general readers.

Patricia Meredith is a global thought leader in transformative governance. She works with leaders in both the public and private sectors to take on the challenges of the information age. An accomplished author, consultant and educator, she is a fellow of the Clarkson Institute for Board Effectiveness at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. Her previous publication, Catalytic Governance, is also published by University of Toronto Press.

Patricia Meredith's profile page

James L. Darroch is an Associate Professor of Strategic Management and and the CIT Chair in Financial Services, Schulich School of Business, York University. His research focuses upon strategic management with an emphasis on governance and enterprise risk management in financial services firms.
In 1997, he joined the working group for the Toronto International Centre for Financial Sector Supervision (Toronto Center). From 2002 to 2006 he was Co-Program Director for the Risk Management Curriculum at the Bank of Montreal. He is currently Director of the Financial Services Program, and co-director of the Masters Certificate in Financial Services Leadership and the Professional Banking Program offered by the Schulich Executive Education Centre.
Representative of his current research focus is: “The Limits of Strategic Rationality: Ethics, Risk Management, and Governance,” Journal of Business Ethics, 92:3 (2010) (with David Weitzner).

James L. Darroch's profile page

• Winner, 2018 Donner Prize
• Short-listed, The National Business Book Award