“Our banks are profitable because they’re very efficient compared to similar banks around the world. They manage their costs very well. Another factor is that they did relatively well through the global financial crisis. None failed or were bailed out by the government, unlike in Europe and the US where they recovered their profitability more slowly from a negative base following the crisis. Our banks’ profits dropped post-crisis and recovered more quickly in parallel with other countries with stable banks, like Canada and Australia.”