Scotiabank
In 2018, Scotiabank purchased MD Financial from the Canadian Medical Association for $2.6 Billion. With this acquisition, Scotiabank released the Scotiabank Healthcare+ program. This program is designed for Physicians only and offers the following benefits for personal banking:
- Free Scotia One Chequing Account with:
- Unlimited e-transfers
- Automatic approval for $5,000 in overdraft protection
- ScotiaLine Personal Lines of Credit up to $300,000 with preferred interest rates of Prime -0.25% (currently 3.70%) with no annual fee.
- Physician student lines of credit will convert into revolving lines of credit without transitioning into repayment.
- First-year annual fee rebate on Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite credit card.
- Scotiabank Momentum Plus savings account with no monthly account fee and unlimited self-serve transactions.
For business banking, the Scotiabank Healthcare + program offers the following benefits:
- Scotia Professional Plan (SPP) Credit Line with low monthly fees and an interest rate of Prime + 0.00%. No annual fee.
- A free SPP Plus Account Plan with 110 free transactions.
- SPP Lite Overdraft protection with low monthly plan fees and an interest rate of Prime. No annual fee.
- Scotiabank Passport Visa for Business with a one-year annual fee rebate for the primary cardholder.
If the structure outlined above does not align with your current banking, there is likely an opportunity for savings.
RBC
Effective June 17th, 2019, Royal Bank released its own package directed towards professionals called the Healthcare Advantage program. This program is similar to the one being offered by Scotiabank with one key exception, it applies to Physicians and Dentists! The Healthcare Advantage Program offers the following benefits for personal banking:
- Free RBC VIP Chequing account with:
- Unlimited e-transfers.
- Automatic approval for $5,000 in overdraft protection.
- 12 free bank drafts per year.
- Free cheques.
- Medical & Dental Royal Credit Lines up to $350,000 with preferred interest rates of Prime -0.25% with no annual fees.
- Conversion of student lines of credit into revolving Royal Credit lines.
- Ongoing fee rebate on the RBC Avion Visa card to be applied for as long as you are in practice.
- No charge for additional cardholders within the same account.
- RBC Homeline Plans (line of credit attached to your Royal Bank mortgage) will qualify for an interest rate of prime -0.25%.
On the business banking side, the RBC Healthcare Advantage program offers the following benefits:
- Free RBC Digital Choice Business Bank account with unlimited transactions.
- One-year free rebate on the RBC Avion Infinite Business credit card.
- Royal Business Operating Line of Credit at Prime -0.25% with low monthly fees.
- RBC term loans at Prime -0.25%
Again, if your current banking structure sees rates that are higher than the ones outlined below, there may be an opportunity to save on interest, or simply simplify your overall banking.
Other Institutions
If you don’t bank with either of these two institutions, don’t feel as though you have to go out and change your whole banking structure. Many banking institutions in Canada have been slowly releasing their own deals in order to match the above-detailed programs. Most banks are currently offering student lines of credit at prime -0.25%, however, the opportunity to convert the credit into a permanent facility has been received with mixed success.
If your banking representative has not contacted you to inform you of these changes, we suggest that you contact them directly and quote the above program or contact your TPC Financial coordinator to liaise with your baking representative.
If you have any questions regarding your current structure or are contemplating a change in banking, feel free to reach out to our office and our team of experts would be more than happy to assist.