Bank of Canada year-end balance sheet

Summary#

This is the Bank of Canada’s unaudited Statement of financial position as at December 31, 2022. It shows the Bank’s snapshot of assets, liabilities and equity, with totals of 410,710 (amounts are in millions of dollars). The statement was signed on January 25, 2023 by Coralia Bulhoes and Tiff Macklem.

What it does#

• Publishes the Bank’s main balance-sheet numbers (unaudited) for the end of December 31, 2022.
• Key line items in the statement include:
  • Total assets: 410,710
  • Cash and foreign deposits: 14
  • Total investments: 378,206 (includes Government of Canada bonds carried at 108,750 and 232,357 in bonds carried at fair value)
  • Derivatives — indemnity agreements with the Government of Canada: 31,346
  • Capital assets (property, intangible, right-of-use): 671
  • Other assets: 468
  • Bank notes in circulation: 119,726
  • Total deposits: 273,333 (Government of Canada 66,845; Members of Payments Canada 196,092; Other deposits 10,396)
  • Securities sold under repurchase agreements: 17,396
  • Total liabilities (sum of liabilities items): 410,807
  • Equity breakdown: share capital 5; statutory and special reserves 100; investment revaluation reserve 440; actuarial gains reserve 444; accumulated deficit (1,086); total equity (97)
• The document is a routine financial disclosure and is labelled unaudited.

Who's affected#

• Canadians who follow public finances, monetary policy, or central-bank operations.
• Economists, market analysts, investors and financial journalists who track central-bank balance-sheet size and composition.
• Government departments and financial institutions that interact with the Bank of Canada (for example, in deposits, repurchase agreements, or payments systems).
• The general public indirectly, because the Bank’s balance sheet underlies monetary policy and currency issuance.

Why it matters#

• The statement shows the scale and composition of the Bank’s assets and liabilities at year‑end. That matters for understanding how the Bank implements monetary policy and supports the financial system.
• The large investment and deposit figures reflect the Bank’s holdings and counterparties — for example, government bonds and Members of Payments Canada.
• The statement shows a small negative equity figure ((97)), which is an accounting outcome that can draw attention but does not by itself change the Bank’s role or operations. The document is unaudited, which means figures may be finalized later.