[deMolay]

Just as an information share. The Alberta Treasury Bank 100% unconditionally insures all deposits no matter the size by the full backing of all the resources of the Province of Alberta. And that is more oil than Saudi Arabia. They do not have FDIC or anyother insurance plan. You can have 100M or 1B in one account and it is secure.

[Denny]

The Alberta Treasury Bank is actually an arm of the government of Alberta, its not a normal bank at all. Somewhat like the old Ontario Savings Bank, but it was founded on social credit principles, so if one gets involved with it, remember you are in essence getting involved with some socialist economic ideals.

Sorry, I should explain to people outside Canada, the social credit movement had some strange concepts about tinkering with the money supply to stimulate the economy in certain ways and in essence achieving a more level playing field between workers, farmers and commercial interests. It had strengths in British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec a few decades ago. Its largely gone from the political scene.

[deMolay]

Complete Bullshit. link

[deMolay]

Sorry wrong link. link

[Cashmere]

Will the resources write a check when the bank seizes up?

[deMolay]

Alberta has more oil than Saudi Arabia, is that enough resources to cover all bets. That is more than the paper at the Fed is worth. At least it is secured with hard assets 100%. How many banks do you know that can say that today. They don't even require FDIC insurance.

[Denny]

Complete Bullshit. link

Well, you can see, the "bank" is actually an arm of the government, in essence a socialist bank, the board is appointed by the Lieutenant-governor of Alberta. The whole credit union hypothesis was that the regular banks were concentrating wealth for the wealthy and social credit sought to make a more egalitarian ethic for the province. I am not saying they were necessarily wrong, but the social credit belief was that the wealth should have been spread among the public at large, whereas more modern schools of thought say that by seeking maximum returns, the banks act to stimulate the more profitable sectors of the economy.

The guarantee is only as good as the government of Alberta. Today, that is very good, seemingly better than many private sector banks, but its not necessarily so for all time.

[deMolay]

Denny have you ever been in an Alberta Treasury Bank. It is the National Bank of the Province of Alberta. It was started in 1938 by a Socred Government during the Great Depression when Canada would not aid Alberta. Because Albertans would not kiss Canada's ass. That is ancient history. It is operated at arms length from the Alberta Government and is a first tier bank. There is not another bank in Canada or the USA that is backed with 100% hard assets like the ATB. It doesn't have and doesn't require FDIC insurance. If the banks go for the big shit even if you have FDIC insurance, you will not get all your money. Because the FDIC can never cover all bets for everyone. At the ATB you will get all your money down to the penny.

[AlexdeLarge]

Alberta has more oil than Saudi Arabia,

Hmmmmm......................perhaps the Marines should pay a little visit.

[TheDude]

Alberta has more oil than Saudi Arabia

It isn't oil, it's an aggregate of bitumen, sand, clay, and water. Without steady inputs of water and NG in huge quantities AND massive industrial infrastructure (including the largest dump trucks ever built) it isn't good for anything but sealing canoes.

If I'm in the market for a reliable financial institution of the 22nd Century I'd much sooner place my trust in a region chockablock with stripper wells, like OK or TX. Those will be producing actual crude oil for hundreds of years.

[Snowrunner]

Alberta has more oil than Saudi Arabia,

Hmmmmm.........................perhaps the Marines should pay a little visit.

And that is why I am glad that Shrub sent all your guys and guns into the Arabian desert. Happy sandcastle building.

[Denny]

Denny have you ever been in an Alberta Treasury Bank.

Yes, once near Mannville Alberta, I can't recall the town name, maybe it was Vermillion.

I don't really have anything against the bank, it looked fine and I am sure one's money is secure these days. But, some people don't like getting into things that involve the government, that is all I was pointing out. Say, when it comes to taxes and the like, its like the government has a good idea of your net worth and your interest income, as they would in a socialist country.

Also, I know history, and yes, there was a time when Alberta was at the bottom of the financial barrel, a dustbowl. I applaud William Aberhart for the efforts he put into building Social Credit and boosting people's faith in the province at a troubled time. I think with all his good work and his focus on doing good , he did not realize he was straying at times into a socialist framework. Alkthouth that is not all bad either, like in Saskatchewan, when they adopted universal health care, as many of the farmers there had a hard time affording health care in the lean years.

[deMolay]

So Dude if Alberta doesn't have any oil, why is Alberta supplying more oil to the USA daily than Saudi Arabia. What is it you are buying at a premium. And what you were saying about the oil sands was true maybe 5 years ago. But alot has changed, and you haven't kept up. The technology has changed a lot.

[DaleFromCalgary]

"If I'm in the market for a reliable financial institution of the 22nd Century I'd much sooner place my trust in a region chockablock with stripper wells, like OK or TX. "

Actually most of Alberta's current conventional oil production is low-volume or stripper wells. I'm invested in one junior pete where we are making good money on 500 bpd throughout central and southern Alberta on infill freehold wells.

Alberta's conventional oil production peaked in the early 1970s, plateaued for a while as the superstraws were applied, and then fell off a cliff in the early 1990s. Today we have three times as many conventional wells producing one-third the oil. Statistics at www.capp.ca

By the way, the most socialist nation on Earth is the USA. Trillions of government dollars in banks, and billions of dollars for agricultural subsidies. The ethanol programme is a good example; if it was so wonderful, why isn't private industry doing it on its own?