While the Royal Bank still has the largest share of the market, other financial institutions are stepping in to serve small and medium-sized enterprises (SME).

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) has been tracking SME bank market share over the last few decades. A report prepared by CFIB senior research analyst Queenie Wong suggests that efforts to win SMEs have dwindled over the last few decades among certain large banks.

"Most notably, CIBC has dropped their market share by half over the last few decades which translates into lost opportunities to expand other banking and payment services in the SME market. Although Royal Bank still retains its first place position, it has lost significant ground over the last few decades. Bank of Montreal has also been on the decline since 1997 but gained slightly in market share from 2012 to 2015," writes Wong. "In contrast, Scotiabank and TD Canada Trust have crept up to second and third place as market share leaders over the last few decades."

The report also points out that credit unions have been gradually gaining market share among SMEs, growing from 5.5% in 1989 to 11.5%. In addition, the research revealed some stark regional differences: for example, Desjardins is very well positioned in Quebec with a 42.6% share of the market in that province.

The full report is available on the CFIB web site.